"Water Dancing"

Another scene I spotted on the same hike. I like the way the plants look like they're growing out of the clouds. I could paint a hundred variations of plants in the pond. But I think I'll stop at these two and move on. 

"Surface Tension"

I spotted these plants on an early morning hike and loved the simplicity of the composition. It had a peaceful, zen-like quality to it. Hope you enjoy it as well. 

"Wolcott Barn"

Visited Wolcott Mill Metropark a couple weeks ago and noticed this cool scene. Unfortunately there was no color in it, just shades of black and white. However, there was another similar building that had some late blooming phlox in front of it. So I combined the two images and this is the end result. I think it kinda works. 

"Busha's"

My grandparents came from Poland in the beginning of the last century. My grandpa built this modest house in Hamtramck and together they raised eight children there. I found their wedding photos and painted them in front of the house. I decided to paint them in black and white, so they're sort of ghosts, looking over their house. The house hasn't changed much over the years and is still in our family--my cousin's son now lives there. 

"Brush Up"

As I got out of the shower early one morning, I noticed the sun coming in through the blinds, creating this cool composition. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a pic. Just a few minutes later, the sun had gone behind the clouds and the image was gone. I don't think it's been at the same angle since. This probably only happens a couple times a year. What are the odds, eh? 

"Not so Mighty Huron"

I recently bought a MetroPark pass and have been going on hikes at the various parks. It's interesting how the terrain and the flora vary from park to park. Especially considering they're all in the Metro Detroit area. This scene was on a hike along the Huron River in Lower Huron MetroPark. It was eerily quiet and the river was so peaceful, I could have sat there for hours. Truly a nice break from the noise and hectic pace of the city. 

"ThistleFest"

One of the weirder things I've seen while on a nature hike. This was at Stony Creek Metropark. In a huge field, I noticed this bunch of thistle. And we're talking some major league thistle. These things were six or seven feet tall. They looked like something from outer space. So I took a photo for reference and this is the painting I came up with. The photo doesn't capture what it really looks like. Even after paying around with photoshop, the colors are still off. Oh well. Now I see why painters are  skeptical about photographing their work. And I'm amazed at how far off famous paintings look even in expensive art books. 

"Shadow Blooms"

On a late afternoon walk I noticed a planter filled with flowers. Their shadows created this striking image so I took a snap of it. Then I turned it into a painting. No biggie. It's just reinforced the notion to always view life as either a photo or a painting. 

"'W' is for Woods"

Out on a walk at The Pinery, I spotted this grouping of trees. I noticed they formed the letter "W" and  thought they'd make an interesting painting. Not much more to tell than that. Except I learned a valuable lesson on our stay camping this year: Take a lot more nature hikes! Ya just never know what you'll see. And the Pinery has at least a dozen hikes that go through a surprising number of different terrains. There's always next year. 

"Room with a View

Here's another painting of the Cotswold Cottage. We were walking through the cottage and I noticed this striking view. There wasn't anyone around and I took the liberty of opening the window. I think it gave the painting a different dynamic. What a perfect scene. 

"Cotswold Cottage"

GreenfieLd Village is one of my favorite places to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. And the garden at the Cotswold Cottage never fails to amaze me. No matter when I visit it, the whole garden seems to be in bloom. Hats off to the master gardener. Truly inspiring!