More flowers...

I have the best place in our house for orchids - our bathroom! They get extra humidity from baths and showers, plus, there is a big window with filtered southern light. The orchids seem to love it there. I currently have twenty two blossoms fully opened, with one pick one half opened. (22 and a half?) The photos I am posting today are from a couple of weeks ago, so I probably need to take some more photos. But at least I can give you a little sample!
Enjoy!

Here is a photo from a painting I did alla prima, which I can't seem to layer over. I just love it, even though it isn't anything like my other new paintings.

"Whistle Stop." Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches. ©2012 Karine M Swenson

Visits

My parents left yesterday, after being here for almost a week.  It was nice to have them come to the desert, since they live in Colorado where it has been quite cold.  They somehow managed to arrive for the most wonderful sunny, calm, balmy winter weather.  Now that they are gone, the wind is starting up and next week, rain may even fall!

It is interesting how having out of town guests seems to give us an excuse to finally visit some of the local attractions that we have wanted to see, but haven't quite made it.  The place we took Mom and Dad is called Gubler Orchids.  It is located about 25 minutes northwest of our house.  It is one of the nation's largest orchid growers.  It is a little surprising to find an orchid grower in the middle of the Mojave Desert.  Apparently, the desert is a great place to grow orchids, since there are four growing seasons, clean air and of course, plenty of sunshine.  I love orchids.  I love flowers of any kind, actually, but orchids have enchanted me ever since I first discovered they could be grown as a houseplant.  Gubler's is a seemingly endless line up of greenhouses, stuffed full of orchids of nearly every variety and color.  It is a lush, green haven for desert sore eyes.

You can take photos, go on a free tour of the facility, and of course, orchids are available to purchase.  I couldn't resist one miniature moth orchid with tiny nickel sized fuscia blooms.  The problem isn't deciding to buy an orchid, the problem is deciding which orchid!  I was lucky to get out of there with only one orchid.  I could have easily gotten into serious trouble.

 

 

The woman who lead us on our tour had an impressive wealth of orchid knowledge, but even more astounding was the way she walked backwards while talking to us about the orchids and the facility.  I would have tripped.  The visit was well worth the dusty 25 minute drive, and I hope to get back there before too long. 

Now I am anxious to return to my much neglected studio.  The paintings are piling up in my mind, and I must get started.