dj pettitt - gentle whispering hues

painted crow photo

Before painting, this was a photo of a bunch of crows on the beach that I snapped last year.
Today was the first warm day we've had this year! And to make it extra special, there wasn't any wind. It was so incredibly nice to go outside without a coat, scarf, or boots, and feel the warmth of the sun soaking through me. This afternoon I enjoyed photographing the few flowers we have blooming as well as some happy birds. And the topper... it stayed light out until 8 PM.

Tulla and I had such a wonderful day.
Below are a few photos from the past few days, beginning with the winning Mr S of course :-) Such a busy boy he is. I laugh at how smart I thought I was when we had an arborist out to trim the trees, and I worked with him to preserve certain branches so I would have the perfect props when photographing birds.  Ha, Mr S sees things a bit differently.  He'll do anything for Mrs S, and constantly looks for the perfect twig or piece of bark to make the nursery more comfy for her. He makes many trips up the Maple and over to the Pine tree with the perfect token of his affection.

   

New book finished for my workshop in Orvieto Italy

Just finished a book sample for my Italy workshop in May. I'm so incredibly excited that after waiting so long, it's almost here. I leave on May 3rd, and I've been researching and deciding where I want to go during the extra week that I'll be there. I think I've decided on Siena and the surrounding area for 3 days, and Venice and Burano (the island with all the brightly painted houses) for the remaining 4 days. Any advice or favorite places that you've experienced in Italy? I would love to hear about it!

I'll also be teaching this same workshop in Australia in April, 2012!

angel photo by Bill Steiner
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

sunshine and other stuff

 
Spring sunshine,
You bring joy to my soul,
Forgiving of cold, winter nights.
Gentle but then, so warm to my skin,
My wildest dreams take flight.   -Yoli Fae

 
Winter is beautiful and fairly mild here, and we've actually had a few warmer days lately, with the sun peeking through the clouds for a few hours before the cold and rain return. I remind myself to be patient, and that spring isn't officially here until March 20th,

but those occasional bits of warmth make me crave the smallest ray of sunshine even more as I eagerly await my world once again filling with the softness of spring. I look forward to the arrival of crocus, hyacinth and daffodils, and the sound of returning birds singing about winter adventure, as well as new songs from birds who remain here for  the winter.

My mind is filled with visions of warm days, of shedding shoes, gloves, scarf, and coat. Trees budding, bees returning, garden dirt being tilled, and nests being built.

I imagine the joy of closing my eyes and feeling my heart touched by the  sound of birdsong, and the warmth of sunshine on my face.

I've been enjoying getting classes together for both this year and next. The 4 classes I'll be teaching in Melbourne, Australia next year are finished, and I'm pleased at how it's come together. The site for the 2012 retreat will be open for registration March 31st, and I'll post again closer to that date in case you'd like to take a peek!

Below are a couple digital collage using scans of previous work and my bird photos that I put together the other day. I look forward to creating more.

 
As I pass the kitchen window, I marvel at the variety of birds that gather here to eat and share their beauty with us. Below is the very shy Downy Woodpecker. They're so shy and elusive that this blurry shot is the best I've been able to get. In fact, I don't even see them when I'm outside, so I was thrilled that I captured this one through the window.

Here's another Woodpecker that I was able to photograph through the window. I couldn't figure out what kind of Sapsucker he was, and after a bit of research we think he's a hybrid from Red-Naped and Red-Breasted Sapsuckers. We were pretty excited to stumble on information about Sapsucker hybrids as well as a photo of one that was very similar to ours. I didn't know hybrid birds even existed!

Oh, and remember Mr Squirrel that I posted a photo of a while back? He's decided to stay, and brought his Mrs home to enjoy the bounty. Although we've only seen them together a couple times, we watch Mr S carry food up into the Pine tree next to the Maple where we feed everyone (he now has his own feeder), and we're pretty sure Mrs S will appear again soon with little ones in tow.
We see signs of nest construction- broken twigs and small chewed branches that have fallen on the ground, and we're pretty sure our first gray squirrel family have planned to stay a while and entertain us as they raise their family. The pine is old with suitable forks and cavities that they would like for their nursery. I plan to go out with binoculars and try to see the nest as soon as the sun comes out again.  
Before signing off, I had to share a couple shots of a red-breasted Nuthatch. The first one makes me smile. Their antics make them one of my favorite birds. They're never right side up for long.

 
Warm wishes for a fabulous and wonderful day from the beautiful Ms Tulla and I.

sample for book workshop in Australia

This was such a fun book! Signature wraps include lots of burnout velvet that doesn't photograph well, but in person is very rich and yummy.  I'll be teaching variations of this technique in Australia, 2012.

 

book covers for class samples

These will be fat, 6" square books for one of my classes in Australia 2012.

An Artful Journey - part two

It's taken much longer to post part two of my trip to An Artful Journey than I had hoped it would. Lots going on here, and I seem to continually be working on catching up. I figured it was better to post a bit late than not at all :-)

I arrived in Los Gatos before the rain began, so I was able to take a couple walks and shoot some of the new spring blooms without getting wet. Beautiful color everywhere! 

The Bird-of-Paradise were exquisite. Did you know they're closely related to banana plants?

 

I love Magnolia trees, and they were spectacular in the morning sun!

 

Not sure what this beauty is ... a type of Dogwood maybe?  

Not sure what this is either ... other than a gorgeous bush in someones yard.

 It was fun getting together with friends to visit, and see what Cindy has been up to as she prepares for An Artful Journey.

I tell you, that girl has the best ideas for making attendees feel welcome when they arrive at the retreat. And I'm not just saying that because we're friends. It truly is an incredibly unique, and wonderful event.

Lorri Scott hand died little pouches to be decorated and included in the bag of goodies for each attendee.

and of course The Royal Feline, aka, Max, looks it all over and gives his approval before anything is finalized.

I mentioned in my last post that we had everything from sunshine to snow while up at the Presentation Center.
Although wet at times, it was dreamy weather for photography and art workshops.

Below are photos from some of the classes. Unfortunately, I had to leave early and wasn't able to get shots of all of them. I'm sure Cindy did though, and she should be posting them soon on her blog.

So much beautiful color in Albie Smith's class!

And tons of color in Jesse Reno's class as well:

 

and the color wasn't just on the canvas!

Beauty everywhere... here are a few from Nina Bagley's class:

Below is the Lorrie table (all spelled differently) in Nina's class. One is missing though, she actually had 4 Lorrie's in her class!

Cindy and Nina goofing around and being cute!

Ahhh... all the workshops were so fabulous. Here are a few shots of Stephanie Lee's:

I took this photo from inside Stephanie's classroom, as she demoed outside. I love the bright patches of lime.

Orly Avineri taught this class, and brought her incredibly talented daughter who took Jesse Reno's class. I didn't make it to Orly's class to get photos, but heard stories about how wonderful it was!