Wet season garden

Here are a couple of photos of m poor neglected garden. In the wet season I don't have to walk around with the hose, so I forget to walk around at all! The weeds are taking over, some thngs thrive and some get drowned or strangled.

Here's a pawpaw that self seeded - I love the shape of their leaves.

Here's some thai basil, we son't eat much because the kids don't like it, but the purple and white flowers are beautiful (and much more successful than the gazania flowers I did plant - the packet says they grow like weeds, but not in my garden!)

On the front fence are some sword beans or poor man's beans. I got the seeds from the local church/ charity shop/ community garden - people bring produce and seeds to swap on Saturday mornings. I got an envelope of 4 seeds and they have grown like the proverbial bean stalk!! As soon as they sprouted I realized the pots they were in were too small, but I was advised not to disturb the roots, so I cut holes in the pots and planted them pots and all in the ground in the front yard. They have grown like crazy over the fence, over a small tree, and along the gate - threatening to tie the gates shut overnight!! I've had to prune it back a few times so the postman can still get to the letter box! It's producing plenty of flowers, a lot seem to be falling off, but there are a few bean pods. If anyone knows at which stage to pick them and how to cook them, please let me know.

and a garden drawing :)

sneaking time in the studio

After sitting for a while I did get back to those 2 canvases I posted about a few weeks ago. Here they are, I think they're finished now.

I've been trying to do a little bit of painting in the evenings, ( some weeks it happens, some weeks it doesn't). When I paint on Friday mornings I have lots of time, I get everything out on the dining table on the verandah, books and magazines for reference and inspiration, several canvases in various stages of progress, and squirt every colour of the rainbow out on my palette and settle in for a luxurious couple of hours of painting.

When I paint in the evenings it's on the run, maybe 20 minutes between the kids showers and packing lunchboxes. I work on a corner of the bench where some of my art supplies are sored, and just squirt out a couple of colours to work with. I usually work on backgrounds, underpainting fairly loosely. I've always felt that I needed a big chunk of time to get any painting done, but these little sessions are helping to keep the momentum going. Here are 2 more I finished on Friday that have come out of that process.

Coming up next Friday 6th March is the members show opening at DVAA - small works 12x12cm in the small gallery and life drawing in the main gallery. If it's not pouring with rain I'm aiming to be there!!