It all looks perfect from a distance

My little lemon tree looks so pretty from a distance. The leaves are green year round and it is either in bloom while also holding lots of beautiful lemons. I love to paint in my yard which also allows me to really notice things when they go amiss. I see this lemon tree everyday, walking by it several times without really noticing a problem.

I know, so you're thinking big deal, if you've seen one lemon tree you've seen them all right!? Well, as I got closer to draw and paint it, I could see the twisted, discolored leaves. From this closer position I can see the lack of fruit and blooms. I can see the twisted curled leaves and weird growth. I notice it's stress and see that something is terribly wrong. Since I have had this little tree for many years I know it suffers from an internal parasite called leaf miner. Leaf miners wait for their opportunity to attack a tree and then wreak havoc unnoticed unless you're looking for the signs.

This little tree is a lot like us, a lot like me! From a distance we may look fine, attempting to set fruit and bloom as usual. Trying to appear like all is fine but underneath something might be terribly wrong. Unless we are willing to get close enough to see it, it will go undetected. At the same time the tree has to be willing to allow people to get close enough to see the problem which it is working so hard to cover up and deal with alone.

The good news is that it's so treatable with some extra attention my little tree will be well on its way to a full crop of lemons. As the tree grows it gets stronger and the ugly curled up leaves will be replaced by green glossy ones. 

More lemons

Now you have to figure out which one are you, the little lemon tree or the artist painting the tree. Maybe, today you're both. If you are the tree you might need to allow people close enough to see you, exposing some of your weaknesses. If you are the artist you might need to really see the problem and be able to offer some help in the supporting the recovery or solution. The blessing from the experience is that the tree produces more fruit from which the artist, the tree and others gets to enjoy!

We all want to be a Happy Little Lemon Tree!

New art supplies!

I just love buying new art supplies, it doesn't even matter what it is, I love them. I happened to be teaching an art quilting class all about different mediums on fabric. One of my students said she found these cool pens that didn't seem to bleed on fabric and the colors were great. I decided that I needed to go get some and play. Many of you have probably already used them but I haven't so they are new and fun to me! They are called Faber-Castell Artist Brush Pens. I think they use them for coloring comic book drawings or illustrations, I guess. I opened them the other night just to peek at them and decided to try them on paper first. They are just small markers but they are waterproof and have good color that doesn't bleed when you draw over it with another marker. For instance, I did all the black lines first then colored over them with the yellow marker, nothing bled and my yellow marker is still yellow. We are trying them on fabrics to, once I wash it I will let you know how it goes! Here is my quick practice sketch of Lemons that Marta brought me from her tree.

EDM #24 and #124 more in my fruit series

I am still painting fruit. I am really starting to enjoy it, gives me an excuse to eat while I paint! Did I need an excuse, well, just in case. I did the lemons that Marta brought me and the blood oranges. I haven't used the lemons yet, too cold for lemonaid and I haven't been in the mood to bake sooo, they sit, waiting. The sun has been out and warming everything up again but now I see clouds coming in and the wind is starting to blow. I was having such a good time too, painting outside!