It's that time...

...of the year when all the trees, shrubs, grasses and leaves call to me.  Try as I might, I just cannot seem to resist their colour and texture.

This past week I picked elderberries from a tree heavy with them; it beckons every time we pass it on our walks. A large bag of stems looked as though they were ripe with promise of jelly, but that's not what I was after this year.

As much as I enjoy making and eating  that delicious tart jelly, I was truly after these gorgeous stems.

Ranging in colour from green through red to dark purple, they make elegant filigree additions to mixed media paintings.

This mandala, created with painted papers and dried, pressed stems, is a favourite of mine. The delicate etching of them is reminiscent of fine lace.

'Elderberry Mandala'  Mixed Media on hand-painted paper-covered canvas  © Win Dinn

The elderberry stems used in this painting were instrumental in bringing about its sale in Puffin Design recently.  The Alberta purchaser apparently has a particular affinity for them.

'Changing Landscape' Mixed media on canvas © Win Dinn

And of course, there is always the possibility of jelly in the offing!

Are there gifts from Mother Nature you enjoy using in your work?  Or perhaps you use her design principles instead?  I'd love to see your comments below.

A New Year start...

and finish.  Having spent most of the first day of 2012 in the studio yesterday, I've finished (all but the final archival sprays) a 12 x 12 painting that has been in the works for some time.

Elderberry Mandala

The elderberry shrub is common in our area .  Fully ripe elderberries make wonderful wine, jelly and syrup and are great with blackberries in a pie.  John picks them when the berries have had the first frost for that last fact alone.  However, I save the picked stems and press them for their delightful filigree lace effect .  They make beautiful miniature trees, and I've previously done a series of paintings using them.

Red Hot Pair  (Sold)

The Elderberry Mandala is a painted paper-wrapped canvas (see workshop sidebar on the right) with stems affixed using heavy mat gel.  I admit I pre-finished the paper prior to fixing the stems, as I thought I'd likely drive myself crazy coating inside all those delicate lines.  I did, however, coat the stems after adding them to the painting.  It's a time-consuming, but necessary task, and I credit this type of work with making me the addled artist that you know!