August, The Month

August! Here we are already. How is the garden growing and the the painting going? And what are my August ambitions?

The change always comes about mid-August, and it always catches me by surprise. I mean the day when I know that summer is fraying at the edges, that September isn’t far off and fall is just over the hill or up the valley. ~Hal Borland*

Three-quarters of 2023 is passing, and I am grateful the speed  of its departure has not quite unbalanced me.

How is the August Garden Growing?

The sunflowers are pretty, but not so plentiful . . . nor are the Black-eyed Susans. One gardening site warned that Sunflowers are not the friendliest of additions in flower beds. ( When Sunflowers Kill) 

Sigh . . . 

I have enjoyed the ones with richer colors . . . 

How Are the Paintings Going?

I weeded through my painting garden; passing along more than a few to a local charity shop, I hope they brighten strangers’ hearts. I need to make room for new ones! (Lord willing)

Degas said, “everyone has talent at twenty-five; the difficulty is to have it at fifty.” Whoa. 

That’s why  I like Grandma Moses.

She may not be the muse Matisse, or others have been, but her example is a motivator — she didn’t begin painting in earnest until she was 78. 

Of course, she also said if she hadn’t started painting, she’d have raised chickens.

I don’t know what I would have raised . . . but it wouldn’t have been chickens.

Do I Have August Ambitions?

Thank HEAVENS for Gesso . . . Wish they made a life-sized jar!

*From thequotegarden.com