Spring Showers & Flowers

Winter arctic air has a sharp, clean scent. It is dry air and offers a clear view of the stars at night. Spring air is moist and humid. It has a earthy scent combined with chlorophyll and fragrant blossoms.

With lots of rain showers in Maine these past few weeks the moist air has arrived and everything is growing. The azaleas have fat fuchsia buds on them...

The rhododendron have big green buds...

The lilacs have tight violet buds..

The daffodils are in full bloom...as well as the grape hyacinth. 

The Tsukubai in the tiny side garden sits in a cluster of daffodils. I made this basin when I designed the gardens.

8x12 watercolor, Rives BFK

I found a nice spot to sketch in the shade with a view into the meditation garden... 

Polished granite and marble stones form the walkway by a second Tsukubai... 

...that sits on the edge of the grassy central island of the garden. My garden is an intimate walled space with old and new plantings  and small water features. 

8x12 watercolor, Rives BFK

There are a couple hundred narcissus growing around my studio.

They are planted in waves along a border of mature lilac bushes.

8x12 watercolor, Rives BFK

They blossom in successive displays; each group has their debut opening day ....some are species with an exquisite scent that fills the air with fragrance...

The azaleas were the exact match for my Derwent watercolor pencil "magenta".

I sat close to the shrub and sketched the tiny bright buds on the woody stems.

I marked all the notes in watercolor pencil as I moved about capturing the multitude of blossoms surrounding me... 

 I have a great love for plants, outdoor environments and botany. In college I had a double major in botany and art. I might easily have become an architect or garden designer. 

 8x12 watercolor,Rives BFK

White and blue violets poked up through the paving stones in the garden.

Pansies crowded a pot by my studio door...

8x12 watercolor,Rives BFK

A small birds nest made of clay and straw was discovered in the wisteria vine when we were pruning. I have no idea what kind of bird builds a nest of clay...many birds raise their families in this garden every spring.

8x12 watercolor,Rives BFK

More pansies leaned into the afternoon sun by the back door.

8x12 watercolor,Rives BFK

The azalea buds burst open after a series of afternoon showers. The rain even knocked some of the flower petals off. Every day brings changes. Everything is growing fast! The garden is a lovely little space for reflection and respite in this big bustling world.

 8x12 watercolor,Rives BFK

Spring Greens and May Gardens

It's still chilly here on the Maine coast. It always is cooler here in spring and summer than the rest of New England.

With longer hours of daylight and liberal rain showers everything is turning green!

Bright green!  There is so much green its hard to adjust your eyes to it.  Plenty of yellow too. A huge meadow in Berwick, Maine was filled with about a million dandelions.

I stopped to sketch the view.  The farmer stopped by to see what I was up to. He thought I was an agricultural agent taking notes...I guess sketching looks like note taking!  He wasn't too happy to see a million dandelions growing in his newly seeded meadow. 

This property is part of a very old farm.  A row of ancient maples on the edge of the  road were turning a bright chartreuse green.

I wanted to visit a number of different locations today, so I sketched and colored as we traveled. 

I used my water color pencils to mark some color notes. These pencils are great for quick studies. I get the basic info down while I'm on the go. At the end of the day I pull out my watercolors to fill in my notes.

The clouds moved in and out all day. 

2x3 watercolors, Rives BFK

Hamilton House  in South Berwick had misty green veils of leaves everywhere.  Everything was thriving and budding.

It has been a rough winter.  The barn at Hamilton House was missing three panes of glass from its high loft window.

The cherry tree in the barn yard was beginning to blossom.  

Big old trees that were growing near the house last summer are now gone. It made the house look bleak and a bit like "Wuthering Heights."

I sat down to sketch a cluster of tulips in a small walled garden.

 Three clusters of red tulips bloomed in a warm protected area near the stone wall.

The hum of a lawnmower filled the air. At the edge of the formal garden a landscaper mowed the steep hilly lawn.

The house and gardens overlook the Salmon Falls River. The river is tidal in this area below the falls.  It is often windy and cold here.

Clouds and steeple. 2x3 watercolor, Rives BFK 

Dandelion meadow. 3x4 watercolor, Rives BFK

Old maples. 3x4 watercolor, Rives BFK 

Island pond. 2x3 watercolor, Rives BFK 

Salmon Falls River at Berwick. 2x4 watercolor, Rives BFK 

Tulips. 3x4 watercolor, Rives BFK  

Salmon Falls River Island. 2x4 watercolor, Rives BFK 

Boats & Blossoms in Kennebunkport

Its been a cold spring along the Maine coast.  Spring is arriving in bits and pieces. The marshes along the Mousam River in Kennebunk are still brownish yellow. 

The trees are covered with red buds and still no leaves are in sight. 

6x8 charcoal & watercolor, Rives BFK

The weather is so changeable.  Sunny one day, cloudy the next . Its nice and warm then its windy and cold. 

The harbor in Kennebunkport is beginning to fill up.  These guys don't fish all winter.  A month ago there was one boat out in the river.  

The clouds overhead dropped rain every now and then so I focused on fast and furious sketching. 

My water brush delivered the perfect speedy color notes.

Mechanical pencils and my little Koi water color set are perfect for a quick set up when you are trying to dodge raindrops.

Moored, 6x10 watercolor on Rives BFK

Plowed fields and blooming forsythia, 3x5 watercolor Rives BFK

It was very quiet on the harbor. No fishermen, no parked trucks, just me sitting alone on a bench painting.

The quiet was broken by this strange, black lobsterboat.  I'd never seen anything like it. As it motored by to me I saw it was the secret service; a retired president is in town... 

Mt Agamenticus and moored skiff, 3x5 watercolor, Rives BFK

Across the street from the harbor a little shop was open for the season.  They were celebrating with blossoms of all colors piled in front on the sidewalk.  A delightful vision of spring and reminder of what is ahead !