California

Ever since I moved to California, my yearning to be close to nature has grown immensely. Even when we lived in metropolitan Los Angeles, I always found a way to be close to nature. My day usually starts with spending some time with the plants. I love to photograph the local parks just as much as I love to photograph the grand scenes of the California landscapes.

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

While I tend to the garden, I come across beautifully mottled leaves, an occasional green acorn, a knobbly branch, or even a piece of old rosewood. Since I always have a camera on me, it’s easy to pause from garden work for a few photos. I suppose I have always used photography to record the little things around me.

I have a dedicated Canson book that I use for painting flowers and leaves and such, but it’s too large to carry around all the time.

That changed when I started making my own books. Of the two books I made for nature journalling, I am keeping one for myself. I am giving the other one away along with the little artist colour paint kit ( valued at $45- ) as a thank you.

A little bit about my books – I am more than a little picky about paper. I use only very high quality artist-grade paper for my watercolour books. I hand stitch them the traditional way with special thread, then additionally use glue and other methods to secure the spine. The end papers are made with card stock and the book is finished by encasing it in a cover made with high quality book cloth.

The Giveaway has now ended.

I am thinking about taking my book to the parks around here. They are full of trees and during the months of March and April, the whole place is dotted with beautiful wild flowers. Soon afterwards, everything turns into straw from the harsh California summer, but for those few weeks, it is just wonderful to get close to the ground and find these little gems even if it means getting mud and dirt all over my clothes.

I have gotten requests for adding photo prints to my shop. I couldn’t think of a better way to start than by adding a set of sweet little wild flower photos that I have taken around here.

Purchase Dancing Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars happily dancing with each other

Purchase Wild Sweet Pea

Little wild sweet pea flowers saying hello

Purchase Butterfly Flower Vetch

The Common Vetch posing as a butterfly

I hope you like this set. I print them on high quality photo paper with archival ink. They can also be used as cards, framed as-is in a 5″ x 7″ frame, or displayed on a small table easel. You can find these northern California wildflower photos here in my shop. Let me know which one is your favourite.

Good luck to each one of you for the giveaway. My heartfelt thanks for visiting me and leaving such wonderful, encouraging words, and also for continuing to purchase from my shop. Each sale is very special to me because it enables me to make donations to my favourite shelters and humane societies.