#385 • Spring Chorale

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There's all kinds of serenading going on out there - it's a spring chorale. The birds, bees and wind have joined the undulating landscape with its textures, colors and movement. I'm no musician, but there has to be adagios, adantes, cadenzas, crescendos, decrescndos, flats and sharps out there. You name it, it's happening.

Spring Chorale • 8" X 8" watercolor framed to 12" X 12" • $250
To see more of my work, please visit my website http://www.claudiadiller.com

#384 • Daffodil Faeries

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For a good part of the day I allow myself to meander down that marvelous and magical road to make believe. Some call it a form of insanity. Others, like myself, call it a mental walkabout for medicinal purposes - mainlining fresh air to the brain.

It all began when I noticed a minuscule bug flitting around my studio. It buzzed my face, sat on my painting, and seemed to be genuinely interested in what I was doing. He's most active in the morning, maybe happy to have company after a long night alone in the dark.

I catch sight of my new little bug buddy as it flickers through a ray of sunlight, or see it jump out of the way just before I put my brush to paper. It got me to thinking about faeries - is this one?, and then daffodil faeries - 'tis the season after all, and then daffodil faeries riding bunnies in the moonlight - reaching perhaps.

It's strange where the mind goes. Stranger still is where it lands.

Daffodil Faeries • 8" X 8" watercolor framed to 12" X 12" • $250
To see more of my work, please visit my website http://www.claudiadiller.com

#383 • Lightning Bugs

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Chasing lightning bugs was an annual event when we kids were growing up in Connecticut. There was a big field beyond our backyard that was loaded with them. I do remember catching a few in my gently cupped hands, which was an art form. Injuring one would be unforgivable. And I never used a jar. They were too magical to be caught and imprisoned. 

We used to call them lightning bugs, but I guess they were called fireflies beyond our neighborhood tribe.  We were correct in calling them bugs because they are in fact beetles, not flies, but beyond that,  lightning bug vs firefly depended on where you grew up.

"As meteorological researcher Jason Keeler noted, the areas where people say "lightning bug" seem to overlap with the parts of the country where lightning strikes are particularly frequent."

"In 1949, linguist Hans Kurath found that "firefly" was particularly popular in large cities on the East Coast. Later, the Dictionary of American Regional English found that "lightning bug" was the more common term in the South and Midwest, but not the Pacific coast."

Here's the whole story if you're interested.
https://www.businessinsider.coclm/firefly-lightning-bug-english-language-map-2018-7

Lightning Bugs • 8" X 8" watercolor framed to 12" X 12" • $250
To see more of my work, please visit my website: http://www.claudiadiller.com

#382 • Simple

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I passed this house on one of the islands last summer.  I couldn't get over the flowers. But looking at it again, the simple lines of the house are what catches my eye now.

I've found myself craving simple these days. Reorganizing work space, cooking space, de-cluttering drawers and closets - looking for clean lines and simple panes of color. It's a way of seeing I suppose, but these days maybe more a way of being.

Simple • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $250