#2953 "June Morning Daisies and Red Clover"

#2953 "June Morning Daisies and Red Clover"
10 x 8 by 1/4 depth canvas panel(inches)
Started 10:00 am Monday, June 16th, 2025

I needed to loosen up my brushwork, and the daisies were in bloom. I set up my field easel in a thick patch of daisies and started throwing paint around. It is easy to get lost within a bouquet of flowers, and there was no desire to be absolutely botanically accurate. I simply wanted the colours and the feel of the foliage. Red clover also dotted the landscape, although those flowers were more purple in colour. 

An orange and dark brown butterfly flitted in as I was finishing. It landed on a daisy, and a few strokes later, it was depicted in the oils - on the upper left of the panel. A little research and my new friend was identified as a male Pearl Crescent butterfly. When this painting was published on Fine Art America, the Artificial Intelligence that they employ actually picked out the butterfly, although not the exact type...

Female turtles wandered around while I painted, looking for the perfect spot to lay their eggs. Every nest that we identify gets protected from the very persistent raccoons. There are typically a dozen nests protected every year. The turtles do an excellent job of hiding their efforts from my eyes, but they are no match for the nose of a hungry varmint. 

The following collage from 2025 summarizes the turtle nest protection program at Singleton. I want to build more of the very effective (and much lighter) 5.1 protectors, but time and materials are in short supply. Heavy steel grates and shipping palettes are still employed along with the early 2x4, nylon mesh boxes. The snapping turtle nests required large palettes to fully protect. 

I stepped away for a drink of water and returned to find an Eastern Phoebe perched right at the top of my easel. The zen of vertical posts scattered around the property might not be positive to people, but the birds sure appreciate them for hunting insects. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick