Barn on a Hill, Spring

 © Robin Edmundson, 'Barn, Hill, Spring', watercolor, 8 x 6 inches.  Framed $125.

Sometimes I have a vision in my head of what I want to paint, so I paint it and it turns out that I only need one part of if after all.   This is a small crop of a much larger experiment.   Love this. 

Cherry Tree, Last Light

 

©Robin Edmundson, 'Cherry Tree, Last Light', watercolor,  9 x 12 inches.  Framed, $300

This time of year, there a space in the trees on the south that the evening sun shines through and spotlights that one little tree.   Enchanting. 

Russell's Tree

©Robin Edmundson, 'Russell's Tree', watercolor 18 x 24 inches.

We have a beautiful crabapple tree in our yard that blooms gloriously each May.  It smells divine and draws thousands of pollinators of all kinds to each.   The air is literally abuzz from the moment the first bloom opens. 

I've never tried painting it before.   All those blooms confuse my eye and I'm not confident in simplifying a subject like that.

In the spirit of saying just enough but not everything, I tried anyway, with a more restrained approach - just to see what that was like. pushing the extremes of the lights and darks, leaving out everything else but the tree and the grass.

I'm undecided about how successful it is and will likely sit with it for a few weeks before I touch it again.

I'd love to hear your opinion...Is it done?

Daffodils & Muscari

© Robin Edmundson, 'Daffodils & Muscari', watercolor, 14 x 10 inches.
Framed to 16 x 20 inches.  $375

Spring came this year regardless of the Shelter in Place orders.   The daffodils have been beautiful and my annual applications of bone meal mean more blooms, which makes me really happy. 

The last of the daffs began blooming just as the grape hyacinths [muscari] came on and that blue and yellow combination just makes my heart sing.

What is blooming in your part of the world these days?

In Full Bloom

© Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebell Wood, Full Bloom', watercolor and ink, 14 x 10 inches.
Framed to 20 x 16 inches.  $375.

I know it's too early for bluebells, but that delicious color just calls to me.   I've been thinking about my trees in different seasons, trying to figure new ways to combine favorite subjects in a new way.

Still some work to do, but I'm having fun doing it.

Trees and Bluebells

© Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebell Wood, Just Beginning to Bloom', watercolor and ink, 13 x 10 inches.
Framed to 20 x 16 inches.  $375.

It is almost bluebell season.   As soon as the weather warms, the tops of the leaves start to pop up along our creek and in the woods along the bottoms where it floods.

I love the contrast of the rough gray bark, that fresh moss and the blue, blue, blue of the flowers.

More Bluebells

©Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebells - 546', watercolor, 8 x 11 inches.
Matted and framed to 11 x 14 inches.  $225

Another view of the bluebell wood down by Richland Creek.  

This is the first time I used the 300# Indigo paper and I have to say that I love the pebbly texture. The company has made some manufacturing changes since this batch was purchased and I'm excited to try their new paper.  I hope it has this same great texture.

Rain Makes Green

©Robin Edmundson, 'Rain Makes Green - Goose Pond', watercolor, 18 x 24 inches.
Framed and matted to 24 x 30 inches.  $750.

We had a wet spring. 

A very wet spring.

Here's the thing though:  It's kind of magical to watch the clouds gather, the sky darken and those sheets of rain move in from across the flats and lowlands. 

The wetlands soak it up [It's what they do best] and things turn a gentle green.

Blue Bells

©Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebells-545', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.  $375
[Matted and framed to 16 x 20 inches]

Bluebells don't last long enough and this year was no exception.  That gorgeous blue stays with me and as I drive along our creeks, I watch for that signature blue every spring.

Catching that Morning Frost of Early Spring

©Robin Edmundson, 'Lyons Barn, Spring Morning', watercolor, 18 x 24 inches. 
Framed 26 x 34 inches. $750

It's a goal of mine to try to capture the light of different times of the year and different times of the day.  I love the way the light plays off the tiny little leaf tips in the trees, off the run-off in the hollows, off the new grass.   In this piece, I was working on that moment when golden morning light rakes across the hills on an early spring day when the frost is still blue in the low spots.

The Rain Won't Stop

© Robin Edmundson, 'The Rain Won't Stop', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches. 

This is a for-fun piece I did recently after days and days of rain.  The rivulets in the fields were a lovely contrast to the misty sky and trees.   The cows stayed on higher ground and the creeks filled up with muddy water.    Very Indiana.

Shed & Redbud

© Robin Edmundson 'Shed, Redbud & Chickens', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.  $375, framed.

One of the great things about being an artist is that we get to - [we are encouraged to!] - change reality so we get a better painting.  I love doing the same scene in different ways.   

You saw the first version of this in the previous post.  I decided to put a redbud in behind the shed because redbuds are *everywhere* out here.  They mean spring is in full swing.

A little secret about my chickens.  I come from a family with a lot of girls.  6 chickens is me, my sisters and my mom.  5 chickens is me and my sisters.  3 chickens is me and my daughters.  Whenever you see chickens in my artwork, you know I've put my family in there.

Chickens & Sheds

© Robin Edmundson, 'Shed, Willow & Chickens', watercolor, 9 x 12 inches.  $375, framed.

Our willows are starting to green up and I've been looking at them a lot. They sprout up wherever it's damp, which is just about everywhere. There are a few of them on this farm a couple of miles aways.  They have a lot of chickens, guineas and peacocks that roam in and out of their shed.  I love the gold chickens on spring green grass. 

I'm not done with this scene yet.  The next  version will have a blooming redbud instead of the willow.  And maybe a plowed field next to it.   And then I might do one with the shed door mostly closed....maybe....we'll see.

Blackberry Rd. Barn & Shed - Spring

© Robin Edmundson, 'Blackberry Rd. Barn & Shed - Spring', watercolor
14 x 10 inches.   Framed to 22 x 18 inches.  $375

This is the next in the spring series I've been working on.   It's the same property as the previous painting ['Blackberry Rd. Silo & Barn - Spring].  There are several buildings on this property and I'm excited to paint more of them.

Blackberry Rd. Barn & Silo - Spring

© Robin Edmundson, 'Blackberry Rd. Barn & Silo - Spring', watercolor, 14 x 10 inches.
$375. Framed to 22 x 18 inches.

This barn is just off Blackberry Rd., way out there near Freedom, Indiana.  I love the top of that old silo. 

I am loving this series of spring barns and pink trees.  More of these pieces are in the works.

Barrel Roof Barn - Spring

© Robin Edmundson, 'Barrel Roof Barn - Spring', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.  Framed to 17 x 21 inches.  $375

I don't know about you, but I've been thinking about spring.  And pink blooming trees.  And this barn that lives down the way from us.   I decided to get a head start on the season so here's the first of a series of barns and pink trees.  Watch for more.

Mustard Fields #2

This is the second version of what I posted yesterday.   I put more action in the front [masking fluid pens are my friend!] and used bt umber instead of raw umber for the trees.   I also punched up the clouds and added shadows under them to emphasize the brightness of the sunshine.  

I hated it when I was done, but after I came back I realized the composition was OK and I liked the difference in feel between this and the first version.   I think they're both keepers.  

Henbit Blooming #1

© Robin Edmundson, 'Henbit Blooming #1, watercolor, 10 x 14. 

When the henbit blooms out here, you see pink fields everywhere.   This is the first of two versions of this scene.   The top field is more green in the original.   Forgive the poor color balance here.

Late March, Rusty Roof - Finished

© Robin Edmundson, 'Late March, Rusty Roof', watercolor, 18 x 24 inches

It's finished.   I added the fence and the wire, and the shadows of the fenceposts.   I strengthened the purples in the henbit along the road and added some stones and texture.   I put doors in the barn.   I decided to leave the pasture as it was with no extra texture.   It's a quiet place for the eye and shows sunshine quite well.  Nothing there to slow the eye going straight to the little shed with the rusty roof.

I'll be doing more big paintings.  I like the challenge of filling all that space with paint.

Spring Bees

I did an inspection last week of all my hives.   They all survived the winter!   I'm a firm believer in the necessity for ventilated quilt boxes in this area.   It's the best way to mitigate the cold and the damp in the hives.  

Hive #1 - queenless.   Lots of drone brood and plenty of new bees, but no eggs or larvae and very little going on at the entrance, when all the other hives were bustling.  Dead giveaway that something was wrong.  That's why I decided to inspect when I did.

I gave this hive a frame of eggs from one hive and a frame of new larvae from a 3rd hive.   I kept this colony at only 1 box.  They're doing fine now and will raise their own queen.  I'll check again if I see something weird going on or in a month, when she should be out and laying.

Hive #2.  Booming!   Gorgeous striped queen.  A box already full of bees.  I put 2 supers on this one.

Hive #3.  Booming!   Gorgeous red queen.  7 frames of bees. 1 super.

Hive #4.  Booming!   Gorgeous blonde queen.  8 frames of bees. 2 supers.

I put the supers on now because we'll be in the spring flow before you know it.   I also gave everyone a jar of 1:1 syrup to get them through the bout of cold and rain we had last week.   When I went out today, they were bringing in tons of pollen and orienting like crazy.    I may actually get some honey this year.