FIELD OF FLOWERS

This was the view I finally settled on from all the beautiful vistas at Chanticleer.  This field of yellow orange flowers went on and on reminding me of the possibility of life as a garden of Eden.

FIELD OF FLOWERS

Nancy Herman

8" x 16"

oil on canvas board

$300.00

Barnes Arboretum #6

As you come to the end of the formal gardens there is an open space where some beautiful unusual trees are planted, but on this trip I decided to examine them on the way out of the woods which were calling to me.
These woods are simply a relatively small dense patch of trees which, none the less, have all the mystery of a larger forest.  There is a big difference however as they are cared for, so they don't have vines strangling the trees or bushes and trees crowding each other.  This is a garden forest with paths and planned wild flowers.

If you look up or down you are rewarded by nature that has been lovingly cared for for a long time.  Tomorrow the Koi pond and Laura Barnes' retreat.

HOLLYHOCKS #3

Hollyhocks #3

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

6" x 8"

Hollyhocks are the flowers I associate with my childhood.  I think they were the first flowers I actually became aware of.  In the fog of early consciousness I was attracted to their centers and then frightened by some unexpected movement inside - probably bees.  I still retain this simultaneous attraction - repulsion feeling whenever I come upon them.

That is probably why I only have one plant in my garden this beautiful soft pink.

Recently I visited some friends who had the most spectacular Hollyhocks I have ever seen surrounding their very extensive, beautiful gardens.  They were at least 8 feet tall and blooming like teenagers.

$150.00

A Quiet Spot

While waiting for paintings to dry, here is a painting from last year at this time.

A lovely spot at the Appleford Estate.

Butterfly Bush and Bee Balm

BUTTERFLY BUSH AND BEE BALM

Nancy Herman

12" x 9"

oil on canvas board

Summer is in its full glory in my garden at the moment.  Unfortunately it is so hot that it is hard to really enjoy it.  Luckily I can still paint in my air conditioned studio and enjoy the colors and textures at a remove from the actual garden, which is steaming and full of insects who are out for blood.

Nature is beautiful and treacherous.  The human race has gone overboard to surpress and control nature for our own pleasure and safety.  We do whatever we can to change things to suit ourselves without suffient reflection about what the chain reaction of these changes will mean to ourselves and other creatures in the long run.  As a result there is very often not a 'long run' for many species and it may be our own survival will go the way of so many other forms of life.

In the meantime we have art and music to feed our spirit when nature is too harsh and we want to sit back and pretend all is well.

$200.00

Framed or not

Unframed $200.00 Framed $250.00

LETTUCE

LETTUCE

Nancy Herman

8"x 6"

oil on canvas board

I would like to sing the praises of growing lettuce.  I have been having a big salad for lunch every day for 3 months from my small garden of lettuce.  I think this is "Red Gem" ( I threw away the seed packet), which is not only delicious but beautiful.  If you haven't tried growing these tasty treats, give it a whirl.   All lettuce is easy to grow - plant it in the shade in this weather.  It doesn't like the heat.  I still have some that is quite tasty however as it is shaded by some large squash plants.  Lettuce from the garden is much more tender than what comes from the super market.  The varieties needed to withstand packing and long sessions waiting for customers are not what you can plant in your home garden and the difference is delicious.

HOLLYHOCK #1

HOLLYHOCK #1

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas board

Hollyhocks or Alcea are very old plants.  The remains of them have been found in the Neanderthal caves of Shanidar in Iran.  This unusual one popped up in my wild flower garden.  Perhaps it is a lovely gift from some ancient corner of Asia.

$125.00

LARKSPUR

You can't beat the beautiful Larkspur for color in June.  I have a bed of these lovely delicate flowers that reseed on their own, crowd out competitors and in general are a reliable joy.  If you live in the area and want seeds from them let me know.

THE GREEN DRAGON JOUST

While waiting for paintings to dry, check out my post on the Ardmore/Merion/Wynnewood Patch to find how I came to blows with the Green Dragon or Pinellia weed.

FOLLY

Folly is a word we don't use much anymore except to describe these structures with no other purpose than to decorate the landscape or as in this case define the vista and make elegant shadows.   Perhaps it is because so much of what we do is 'foolish and lacking in good sense' that the word has lost its defining power.  This Folly at Chanticleer provides a welcome oasis of shade in the midst of the lovely gardens, so in the real sense of the word it is not "folly" at all.

See auction at DailyPaintworks for purchase

ALLIUM AND SPIREA

This meadow at Chanticleer filled with Allium and this unusual yellow orange Spirea that positively glows, is an unusual combination of colors that really knocks my socks off.   It required a larger canvas than usual. This one is 9" x 12".

Where does the expression "knock your socks off" come from?  It originally meant to hit someone so hard that not only their shoes but their socks were knocked off.  Now of course it simply means to be suddenly amazed.
To quote the Word Detective where I found this info, " if it seems surprising that a very violent metaphor should end up as an expression of critical acclaim, keep in mind that the term "blown away," now routinely found in book and movie rave reviews, originally meant "to be killed by gunfire."

Framed or not

Unframed $200.00 Framed $250.00

Poppies and Lettuce Garden

The delightful, delicate dance of Poppies through the saucy salad of lively lettuce is just one of the eye pleasers at Chanticleer.  (If you think I went overboard with the alliteration please appreciate that I did show some restraint by not making it "pretty" poppies).

Seriously all the many gardens at Chanticleer are filled with surprising color and unusual combinations of plants.  There is a living art work everywhere you look. 

Chanticleer Lettuce Garden #1

The next few days will be devoted to the beautiful gardens at Chanticleer.  Here is the area imediately behind the entrance where several varieties of lettuce create lovely patterns in May and June. Chanticleer has a tantalizing combination of textures and colors everywhere you wander.

Formal Garden in the Fog

The formal garden is just beginning to come to its second flowering.  The tulips, daffodils and iris are over, or almost over.  You can just see a few in the middle distance.  The peonies are just starting to open up in the foreground.

Continuing the fog metaphor, Joseph Conrad said,  "It is not the clear-sighted who rule the world. Great achievements are accomplished in a blessed, warm fog." 

This is an interesting quote.  It is certainly true that the clear sighted are often not the ones in control of ruling the world, and it may also be true that some great decisions are made in a blessed warm fog, but when people who are not clear sighted rule, the fog of their decision making does not appear to be "blessed".  


The leaders of the Middle East for the past 20 or 30 years certainly have not been making decisions in a "blessed" warm fog.  Short sighted rulers seem to be governed by a hot fog of self serving megalomania. They remain in power because those governed are in the midst of a fog of fear and resignation.  The internet has proved, in this case, to be the sun that broke through that fog and gave courage to those oppressed.  Suddenly they saw the long view and the fog lifted.  What happens as a result of this sudden break with their past reality is bound to be very chaotic, as we don't adjust easily to such great rents in our sense of what is real.

PURPLE GARDEN IN THE FOG

All colors have their own place on the continuum from dark to light and purple is the most pure at the dark end of that continuum, making these Allium  glow in the dark.

Since I began painting this group of work centered around fog, I have been thinking of all the ways perception, influenced by one parameter only can be altered.  Fog is a good metaphor as it diminishes the distance you can see radically and yet keeps the immediate surroundings recognizable.  You see just beyond your own nose.  You don't get the big picture.  Those around you see the same things you do, so you agree about what reality is.

Our perceptions are always colored by one fog or another.  Some large examples are the fog of prejudice, ignorance, envy, greed or fear.  But we  all have our own set of convictions that keep us in a fog.  Whatever the fog  that puts a veil over our eyes, it keeps us from enjoying the long view, but may be very satisfying in its limited way.

SOLD

FLOWERS and FRUIT

Cloudy with chance of rain again today.  I made a short video to remind myself of what all this rain produces.  The music is played by Tatyana Featherman from one of the ballet albums produced by White Feather Productions.  This is an enterprize of our local ballet school, the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet in Narberth. If this video does not work click HERE.