Finally the beans are in full bloom! I’ve been waiting to paint them before they start ripening. Once in a while a picture just paints itself and this one did. For once the sun stayed out, the weather was pleasant and the colors just fell onto the board. The so-called wildflower garden in the lower left is now terribly unkempt, with some echinacea and goldenrod taking over, a few lupines blooming way past their season. The bean crop looks to be a good one this year (there’s another teepee of it close by). Last year I carefully started the beans indoors where they thrived. But a week after I planted them outside a mouse or a vole cut them down–first and only time that has happened. At first I couldn’t imagine what was going on but then I looked out to see the little critter in action.
Found a terrific quote from Thomas Traherne: “…you never enjoy the world aright, till you so love the beauty of enjoying it that you are coveteous and earnest to persuade others to enjoy it.”
Scarlet Runner Beans 14 x 11-1/2 oil on birch panel $200 + S & H
