WOODLAND VIOLETS

Violets from the woods remind me of one of my favorite passage from Winnie the Poo: Piglet had got up early that morning to pick himself a bunch of violets: and when he had picked them and put them in a pot in the middle of his house, it suddenly came over him that nobody had ever picked Eeyore a bunch of violets, and the more he thought of this, the more he thought how sad it was to be an Animal who had never had a bunch of violets picked for him. So he hurried out again, saying to himself, "Eeyore, Violets," and then "Violets, Eeyore," in case he forgot, because it was that sort of day. 

MONET'S GIVERNY

My annual pilgrimage to Giverny... it's not so much a garden of flowers as of colors & tones. One hour from bustling Paris, Monet's famous house & garden sit quietly along the river valley & lush farmland. Early spring colors come from thousands of bulbs.

TAKE ME TO PARIS

Illuminated script from my archive

From a quick sketch that's not exactly exciting. Photoshop lets me play with various layers to turn this into an interesting greeting.

initial eiffel tower sketch

I scan a tea menu onto a watercolor wash

APPLE BLOSSOM EVERYWHERE

 Love these Spring mornings, pretty inspirations everywhere! Saw these yellow daffodils under the apple tree at a friend's lovely garden…new color combo!

Etsuko's Garden, 9AM