Gardening for art

Collect plants, seeds, and flowers that you like to draw and paint, and plant them in the garden, patio, balcony, or indoors if you live in an apartment. Choose pots and planters with artsy sense; sculpted containers, and potted bowls, even unusual items such as sea shells and rocks with holes in them are ideal for planting tiny herbs and flowers.

I stick to a few seasonal varieties like giant sunflowers, and pumpkins in April and continue filling pages of a small sketch book through May, June, and July when they finally bloom. Sunflowers and pumpkins have the most interesting anatomies which offer an abundance of still life art subjects.

If you fill up pages of a small thick blank note book, try to move leaves and stem around gradually and slowly turn the face of the flower around .... keep sketching in close sequence to create an animated hand drawn cartoon. It'll be "a sunflower in summer breeze".

If you happen to have a dry piece of land in your property where weeds grow and create an ugly sight, try to invest a little in irrigating, and plant new trees and bushes... Fruit trees are delightful, healthy, and fabulous for shade.

For inspirations and ideas: Google

Butterfly garden, Fairy garden, Mediterranean kitchen garden, Lavender farms in Provence, and artichoke fields in California.

Peace