Now is the time to visit Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm for some peony cheer. The peonies are in full bloom and they are exquisite! The colors, the smell, the shapes … just gorgeous. I love peonies sooooo much and I got to spend my morning immersed in them with my plain air setup. So much fun. Click here to see my video of my outing and painting.
I’ve been enjoying my neighborhood dog walks and all of the poppies that are in bloom right now. So gorgeous! Watching poppies dance in the breeze is so mesmerizing. I just can’t get enough of them. If you want to see my tiktok inspiration and process video, click here. I hope your spring is bursting with color and joy! Sending much love your way.
We’re back in Maine and it has taken me almost a week to find some sort of rhythm after a long, long drive home from South Carolina. I’m getting there though. 🙂 I even managed to wake up early enough to see some morning magic a few times this week–that can be difficult at this time of year because the sun rises at 5 am. So early! It’s so nice to see the boats making their way back to their moorings and to look out across Casco Bay from the prom. Such a magical view.
This is the last of the larger canvases I had to paint on while down in South Carolina and I couldn’t resist capturing that magical full moon I caught from the beach. Everything about that evening was dreamy … warm, breezy, clear and gorgeous! I rode my bike down to the beach with my beach blanket stuffed into my backpack and I sat there with my feet in the sand and just soaked up the beauty of the shifting light. Seeing the moon through that dune grass was sooooo cool. Click here to see my tiktok process video of this painting.
How could I not paint a painted bunting after seeing them for the first time?! They really look like flying painter’s palettes–they’re soooo gorgeous! We’ve got a little feeder up on the window and have really enjoyed watching a pair of cardinals come and go all spring, but then a couple of weeks ago, the painted buntings arrived! Every time I see them I get so excited and giddy. They are so sweet and fun to watch. They generally feed at the feeder 3 or 4 times a day and sometimes they perch on the edge of the deck too. Happiness! Here’s my tiktok video of the painted bunting painting process. 🙂
I never r-egret getting up for a sunrise … especially this particular one. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to witness the magic of this egret silhouetted in flight at sunrise on the beach. Just stunning. There are so many interesting things to observe on the beach at dawn and it never gets old. We’ve seen deer, an eagle, horseshoe crabs, starfish, sand dollars, jelly fish, an Atlantic gannet, osprey, pelicans, dolphins, crabs, herons and of course egrets. And now that May is here, the loggerhead turtles will be coming in to nest. I’m hoping to get to see one!
We have a favorite lunch spot in Beaufort–the Herban Market & Cafe–and we love sitting on their patio and looking out through the Spanish Moss at the sailboats in the harbor. For us Maine girls, it’s just so cool to see sailboats, palm trees, marsh and that gorgeous hanging moss all in the same view. WOW! 🙂
Sunsets over the lowcountry marsh are so STUNNING! We usually just stay put to watch them because the view from the deck is awesome, and as the sun goes down, it becomes more and more phenomenal. And the high tide is always an added bonus. The only bummer is that we often have uninvited guests at dusk. Those darn noseeums (tiny bugs that bite) always seem to make an appearance as soon as that sun gets low on the horizon. We just throw a towel over our shoulders to keep them at bay and watch the magic of mother nature’s light show. 🙂
The other morning I sat out on the deck with my coffee and soaked up the marsh view. The birds were singing, the tide was inching its way up and the colors were calling to me. I ran inside and got my paints and went to work. Half way through this painting the winds picked up and the sky grew overcast … I kept at it and then finally surrendered to the wind and went inside. I put the painting away for a couple of days and went back to finish it yesterday. This piece really captures the joy and feeling of witnessing the marsh come to life on a sunny morning. So special!
I love strawberries, don’t you? And it’s such a treat to get to enjoy strawberry season here in the Lowcountry and then again at home in early July. TWO strawberry seasons! 🙂 Nothing tastes quite as sweet and delicious as a strawberry right off the vine. They truly are nature’s candy. Yummm. Cheers to summer berries!