Disaster! What a terrible Day!!!

June 1, 2015June 1, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

This is a Short blog. I have a list of things to do that I need to get done today. It was going to be a late night and I was prepared for it.

The blog I wrote didn’t go straightforwardly as for some reason with this new Mac program with photos in the cloud, I can’t download them straight to my blog unless I do it on my iPad! It took ages to work out and then everything else started going pear-shaped.

I was printing for the Garden Show at Stansted this weekend and ran out of ink. It is the very special ink used in Giclee prints that is archival. I had to refill the printer. The desk was cluttered as I didn’t have time to clear it in between jobs ( several jobs at once you understand). The ink was on the table, I dropped paper, applicators etc,etc. but then got it done.

I settled down to carry on and looked up at my last masterpiece. It was called 52 shades of grey: Bearded Iris. It is now called 52 shades of grey and one of Vivid Magenta.

I had scanned it, so you might see it sort of – if I can stop feeling so devastated.

What about my list? Not even a fifth of the way through.

Stunning Irises workshop in Bosham

June 1, 2015June 1, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I haven’t been very good at keeping up with my blogging as there has been so much going on this month. We came back from our weekend away, back into the thick of things and preparation for the three-day workshop that has just happened.

A few weeks ago I held a workshop for Fieldbreaks at Goodnestone Park in Kent. That was a great success (according to the students) and it was time to do the same thing here in Bosham. Irises is really the thing at the moment. Unfortunately they are so short lived. Stately and elegant in their glorious drapery; some with beards, some without; some very slim and sylph-like, others plump and very ‘Reuben-ish’. If you remember, he liked to paint women with something to them – buxom and a bit more.

We had something of everything here. The simplest in appearance were the ones you get in the supermarkets – we had a lot of them! Others brought beautiful bearded Irises and some, very beautiful slim yellow irises or blue irises with highly patterned falls (the name of one of the petals). Common for all was the way God has assembled them for us.

So that we would have a better idea of how an Iris really looks and how it is assembled, we actually took a few of them to pieces and there was a queue for the three microscopes. Initially, no-one on the workshop was interested in botanical illustration. After they had looked through the microscopes I actually saw some of them drawing what they had seen! It is exciting.

We were a little late in starting to paint the irises as a fair amount of time went into examining them and drawing them ready to paint. In fact unusually, no-one started painting until the next day. But it seems that the knowledge of what they were doing (i.e. careful observation of the plant), actually seemed to help them both in the drawing of their subjects and painting them.

The sun actually shone on the second day – but it did cast some strong shadows for some of these photos.

Work in Watercolour and Coloured pencil on the second day.

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And the paintings at the end of the three days. All took Irises home with them to complete their work.

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So what now? Tomorrow, all day, I will be demonstrating Coloured pencil in botanical art at the Society of Floral Painters Exhibition at the Oxmarket in Chichester. The exhibition is open until Sunday midday, when it will be taken down. Do try and take the opportunity to go there to have a look.

I will be having my penultimate botanical weekly art class for this school year, on Wednesday, and Thursday we will be setting up for the Stansted Garden Show due to happen from Friday until Sunday. There will be a lot to see there and I will be continuing my demonstration in coloured pencil. I understand that the weather is to improve for the occasion. I hope to see you.

A relaxing weekend

May 23, 2015May 23, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I may be away from home for a few days, but they do say that a change is as good as a rest!

Robin normally does the food at my workshops (lunches). They have always been greatly appreciated but we felt it was time he learnt to cook, so he is on a cookery course at Ashburton on the edge of Dartmoor. The journey here yesterday was horrendous, particularly as it is of course a bank holiday weekend!

Early this morning the weather was beautiful and the sun shone. Robin went off to the Ashburton Cookery School and I went into the little town to buy a hat. I needed one if I was going to do any botanical art work. Behind the place that we are staying is a steep slope with a garden cut into it. At the top is a patio with table and chairs and even a little summer house. It is a beautiful little sun trap.

But back to buying my hat. This is what I saw in the shop where I bought it – in fact, it was following him(or her), that lead me to the hats!

With my new wide brimmed hat I now had an opportunity to paint, or knit, or read or fall asleep. I had brought with me the Bearded Iris that I was drawing in graphite at the SFP demonstration on Thursday. I could if I wanted to, do a little more on it if I chose to. As it was a graphite picture, I could actually do it whilst sitting in the garden – so that’s what I did.

This is it so far.

Botanical art and 50th Nurses reunion

May 22, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I knew that May was going to be a jam packed month, but……. I’m still trying to breath sensibly!

It started with Open Studios for two weekends, sandwiching my weekly botanical art shop and a workshop at Goodnestone Park in Kent. Once that was all cleared up, it was preparation for the nurses reunion.

I never got as far as to finish an individual picture for all the girls meeting again (with some husbands – 26 of us), but I did manage eight, so gave a copy of each of them to the 17 girls( yes we are). The flowers included, Hellebore, Snowflake, Gorse, Primrose, Canary Bird Rose, Bluebell, Periwinkle and Aqualegia.
People started arriving on Thursday, we met for supper on Friday, then from Saturday afternoon we hosted everything from home!!!. Afternoon tea, a super dinner provided by local caterers ( I couldn’t do it), and then Sunday brunch as people waved goodbye until the next reunion. I gave the caterers earplugs (which I don’t think they used), although I really felt sorry for the people downstairs in the pub where we had our Friday meal. Our neighbours sensibly went out for the evening on Saturday.

Monday morning, 09:30 sharp, we were at the Oxmarket in Chichester. It was the Society of Floral Painters (SFP) hanging in day. Robin was a runner and I was on the selection panel. I have to say that we have some really lovely work in this year. We spent all Monday and Tuesday selecting and hanging the artwork. You can come and see it until 6 June, except for Mindays, although it will be open this bank holiday Monday.

This isn’t meant to be a diary, but there is a lot going on at the moment.

Yesterday I had my normal class in the morning and then we went into London to bust Chelsea, with a small stop on the way at the Chelsea Physic garden. I have to say that was the best bit. It’s so peaceful there. We go home late last night, up early again today and the day was spent demonstrating for me at the Oxmarket and Robin was stewarding.

Once we got home this evening I marked a couple of London Art College assignments and tomorrow we are off to Devon. Robin is going on a cookery course and I’m going to sleep!

A day at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

It is 11:30 in the morning and I am sitting in the Chelsea Physic Garden, drinking a cup of coffee, looking out over beautifully sunny flower beds. I am recovering from a shock – a very pleasant one, but still a shock.

I had applied for membership with the Chelsea Florilegium and was invited to submit five pictures for review today. My ‘bag carrier’ Robin (his phrase – not mine) and I took the early train from Bosham and arrived here precisely on time at 11:00. I delivered my pictures and was told that we would be collected from downstairs about 20 minutes later.

I think it was about five minutes or so and they came to tell me the good news. I have been accepted. I am still recovering.

No doubt as time goes on you will hear more about my involvement with the Florilegium, but today I am taking advantage of a very pleasant day out, in beautiful relaxing surroundings. However, it will mean a bit of gardening when we get home as I have spotted some ‘must have’ plants!

Me, writing the words of this blog post to you.

I’m afraid that after we were given the good news, Robin did spoil me for the rest of the day. We spent the rest of the time meandering around the garden, with a break for a lovely lunch. I’m glad that it was so early in the year as not everything was above soil level – but even today there was so much to look at. Although I had forgotten my phone and camera, I was able to take one or two pics with Robin’s iPad.

How to plant what size bulbs at which depth!

We noticed this super idea in a bed that was about to be filled.With the aid of pot fragments, they had created the shape of a flower pot, laid different size bulbs at different depths from the soil surface to show how deep bulbs of certain sizes should be planted. It looked really good and certainly brought home how to plant bulbs.

I was intrigued by this plant. It is Ribes speciosum, the common name is apparently ‘fuchsia-flowered gooseberry’. It was growing up a wall. The flowers were small and elongated, very delicate as well as attractive.

Rosa chinensis 'Crimson Bengal' — Rosa chinensis ‘Crimson Bengal’

Roses at this time of year! I thought that the Canary Bird Rose was one of the earliest. We have quite a large on in our garden, but it hasn’t begun to flower yet. But this Rosa Chinensis ‘Crimson Bengal’ was in full flower. Again very attractive and in particular at this time of year before so much has started flowering.

It won’t be too long before everything in the garden begins to run rampant. So being able to study fewer plants in more detail, is quite a treat.

If you take a trip to London – do go to the Chelsea Physic Garden too. It is well worth it. It is the second oldest botanical garden in England after the one in Oxford, and is from 1673.

My garden challenge; all the plants I want to paint – today!

April 6, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

Anyone following my blog will see that I have posted three pages which are new, into my Portfolio. They are not blog posts. The reason for this is that my daughter in Norway convinced me that I could really improve my website http://www.gaynorsflora.com. I was having problems with the platform I was using for the website and it wasn’t easy to make any changes to it. She felt that I could turn my Blog into my website – with her help.

Well, in the last few days you will have seen the changes she has made using the basic WordPress platform. My daughter changed my old website to point to WordPress (she is into all of this stuff!), changed the template and I believe she has made it look stunning. By the way, she and my son convinced me to design the logo about a year ago. That was a difficult period before they thought the suggestions I made were good enough!

Now a lot is up to me to populate the pages she has created, so that now I am uploading a lot of my paintings (not all of them), onto the Portfolio page of the website. This will obviously take time as I want to do justice to my daughter who has spent so much time on it. Depending upon how this all works I will most likely upgrade my WordPress account, but I don’t think that will affect the address that is now shown.

Speaking of which – I have noticed that some people who have links to my old website might also have an additional pointer in that address. Unfortunately, this means that in some instances they get a message saying there is nothing there. If you make sure that your links are pointing to http://www.gaynorsflora.com – without any additions to the address, there shouldn’t be any problem and it should be easy to navigate to the page you want from the menu.

Yesterday and today I took a load of pictures in the garden. It has been a very mild winter and quite a bit arrived very early, other plants didn’t do their normal winter thing – like the everlasting spinach! If anyone can tell me the name of the small Japanese flowering cherry in one of the pictures, I would be most grateful. I seem to remember it started with a ‘K’, but I have lost the label.

When looking at the pictures, imagine the birdsong; several black birds, a Song Thrush, Robins, Tits – bearded and otherwise, Chaffinches and Goldfinch etc. An amazing musical background to these lovely plants.

When I have sent this off, I have to do some gardening (weeding), and mark some LAC assignments that are mounting up over Easter. Then maybe I will be able to get back to the painting.

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Happy New Year!

January 4, 2015April 4, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

This is a rather delayed New Year greeting, but as soon as our Christmas Guests left I went down with a ‘large’. I think I am recovering!

The holiday period has not given me much time to paint, but I have now managed to finish off the Bear’s Britches in Pen and Ink. The only problem now is that I am looking for a suitable title. All the titles I have thought of so far seem only to be understood by me.

The Acanthus has quite a history in that it is well known and used a lot in Greek and Roman designs. It is a very stately and elegant plant. The one in our garden is very tall, and quite beautiful particularly as the flowers open down the stem. But get too near and it pricks you. Yes, it is an extremely prickly plant and certainly looks after itself. It is even more prickly in its dried state as I have been drawing it. Does this give anyone any ideas for a meaningful title?

Now I am in the process of marking more assignments and clearing up the shed to start another picture. I always have to go through this process. Once a picture is finished, the shed has to be cleared of all the debris accumulated from the making of it, so that I can start off with new thoughts and feelings about the next picture. I know what it is going to be, but first out with the old!

It is very fitting isn’t it? Out with the old year and artwork and in with 2015 and a new picture and its challenges.

A Peaceful Christmas to all

December 18, 2014April 4, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I am at last beginning to calm down a little and prepare myself for relaxing at Christmas with the family.

I haven’t done any more of my Acanthus, but it is still in the house in case I get five minutes. But I haven’t!

But I have been busy cleaning and making the place sparkle. My husband has done all the the heavy stuff, cleaned ceilings etc., whilst I have been busy with the nooks and crannies, cupboards and drawers. How much dust and muck can enter a house when you are receiving botanical art pictures for an exhibition, and then delivering them back to the owners afterwards? Palmengarten is now washed out of the house and my hair. Thank goodness!

The day after tomorrow our Christmas visitors arrive. It will be lovely to see both the adults and grandchildren. I am hoping that they will want to decorate the tree.

But now, whilst I do have five minutes I would like to wish you all a very peaceful Christmas.

My Christmas Greeting is unusual this year, but as it is cold and damp outside (we are in the UK), I thought that this might remind you and me of what is to come. The picture is watercolour on Vellum (Goat’s skin) and called ‘Bean here before’. You might have seen it before as I was painting it.

I think that Bees buzzing amongst the Runner beans is a very peaceful sound and by wishing for peace at Christmas, it is a good start to the New Year. I hope you think so too.

Last day of Norwegian holiday

July 13, 2014April 4, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

Imagine, following the week of botanical art where weather and temperature were ideal, we have had a heatwave. It was hot by UK standards at 30 degrees and over for a whole week. But we are in Norway – further north. It apparently has beaten records for the last 70 years!

Today it broke. We have had some sun, but this afternoon it clouded over and we actually had a little rain. With any luck it will pass over night and we will have a nice day for travelling back home tomorrow. But the hot heat is past and today I can think – just a bit as I am still on holiday.

As my brain is still trying to cool down I will just give you some photos taken at Stavern the day before yesterday.