Thursday, July 26, 2007

Queen Anne's Lace with Astilbe

I am working on a large (for me) pastel painting, but it is going slowly. For the past two weeks I've been listening to the abrupt whine of a chop saw next door as my neighbor puts new siding on his house. In the meantime, the town is installing new water mains, and it seems that every moment of every day someone is running a loud mowing machine nearby. I have a headache. I am used to living in the boonies. I find even normal town noice difficult. Ah, but soldiering on while I plot to escape.

The tiny little watercolor sketches that I've been doing in the evening help ease the frustration of dealing with the noise. As casual as the little paintings are, I feel as if I've accomplished something. And, I have. I go to bed reminded of the small beauties I am surrounded with. This one, an informal bouquet from my garden, in an old olive oil jar on my table.

Canson watercolor on heavyweight sketch paper, 9x15 cm (3.5x6 in)