Friday, April 06, 2007

IF: Spring Green


I love the newness and promises of hope that spring holds. The air comes alive with bird song and the smell of the first cut grass. The bulbs bloom and buds on the trees burst open as if overnight after waiting through winter. The birds start building their nests with care and anticipation of a new brood. What was bleakness all around us not so long ago is now green with new life, new energy. No wonder so many of us feel alive during this season of renewal!

Happy spring everyone!
(For some reason this thumbnail wouldn't upload on IF. After a zillion trys, I just uploaded a bunch of stems from my vase of orchids. Hey...it got you here!)


acrylic on canvas...click to enlarge

64 comments:

  1. I'm having trouble uploading my thumbnail for Illustration Friday!! Too busy and too frustrated to keep trying for now, but I'll be back :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Green as in spring, I know the feeling. Orchids are green too LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. So wonderful!! And so full of spring! Lov eit.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Green is my favorite color. Your painting and comments remind me of a Robert Frost poem. Please allow me to share it...

    Nature's first green is gold,
    Her hardest hue to hold.
    Her early leaf's a flower;
    But only so an hour.
    Then leaf subsides to leaf.
    So Eden sank to grief,
    So dawn goes down to day.
    Nothing gold can stay.

    Your illustration is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love springtime, this is perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Precious, Laurel. You captured the serenity of a new spring. So much hope in this piece. Yes, my sprits have lifted with the arrival of spring. It felt like a long, dreary winter. But, today is sunny and hitting 70! I'm going for a walk and wearing a t-shirt! Enjoy your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. simple and lovely, just perfect : )

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is fantastic, Laurel. Very soft.

    Nice touch with the canvas's texture as part of the composition :)

    cabanadigital.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree, and you represent it so well here. It might be my favorite season but my allergies sure take a pounding. Such is life. Keep up the excellent work!

    ReplyDelete
  10. OH, I really like this work!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice image :)

    *I hear ya on the thumbnail war.. I've been there :/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful nest and spring... , lovely execution, I love the little tag, a nice touch!

    I am envious, two days ago a new layer of snow covered all the green here and believe it -10ยบ! Oh well!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful painting, Laurel. Such a delicate nest, so carefully captured. Nice image for this week's theme, so full of promise...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely nest! I just love birds' nests. Happy spring to you too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very Nice! Happy Spring back to you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Happy Spring to You, Too!
    Wonderful illustration, so tender and delicate ♥

    ReplyDelete
  17. Happy Spring to You, Too!
    Wonderful illustration, so tender and delicate ♥

    ReplyDelete
  18. Laurel! This is so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  19. love your sweet little nest. Happy spring to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow! Beautiful painting! Happy Spring to you

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a lovely rendering of a nest! Wonderfully done. Congratulations on such a successful piece!

    ReplyDelete
  22. beautiful illo, so soft and tender.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Excellent job, great detail on the nest. Very very good work.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Happy spring to you too!

    Beautiful! Your light green style correspond with the essence of spring: new life. And your positive words about spring get me to long much more for spring...

    Thankyou very much for your warm words about my exhibition - it made my day!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Awesome painting. I really love song birds. We have an eastern bluebird house in the back yard. They are nesting now. It is amazing how hard they work to raise their young. They are totally obsessive compulsive and way territorial.

    ReplyDelete
  26. wow, its beautiful ! :o)))I love your "spring green",
    Best Wishes,
    Issi :o)

    ReplyDelete
  27. very sweet illustration; glad you were able to bring us the image

    ReplyDelete
  28. Nice illo.. very spring time and easter..!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wow it's so pretty! Love the detail! And thanks so much for the comment on my illo :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. So now I have caught up to Green. Perfect spring pallet and subject. Lucky we are not on the east coast, now that is not what I call spring.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Fnally get around to see everyone's "green" after the holiday weekend! this is pretty Laurel, thanks for the breath of fresh spring air as no spring here right now! btw - I sent you an email last week to answer your question about my blog header, did you get it? if not let me know and I'll resend it!

    ReplyDelete
  32. ah can almost smell spring..this one reminds me of Tasha Tudor's work....

    Spike is so good!Thanks for asking.(check back soon for a post with the Spike/Switchsky portrait my friend Wasserman coughed up for us)

    I must say I was tempted to put the bunny ears on Spike for Easter, but I am just not that cruel..hah!

    ReplyDelete
  33. love the soft brush work, pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Lovely painting. Your moldy oranges story is really touching. I'm glad I found that.

    ReplyDelete
  35. All manner of growing things to build this little nest, and I especially find the little feather here and there,placed with care, beautiful. Your work is amazing, this piece is spiring!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I meant spring, but it's spiring to.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Beautiful. By the way, how did the art show go?

    ReplyDelete
  38. very nice...unfortunately a cold snap has killed all of the flowering trees at this point in this neck of the woods...

    ReplyDelete
  39. great texture and great line work...

    ReplyDelete
  40. Really lovely, I like the softness of it.

    ReplyDelete
  41. what is it with the thumbnails that give so many of us so much grief??
    anyway, it feels easter'y and new life'ey, your work. very quiet yet powerful. great stuff

    ReplyDelete
  42. woah! beautifully simple illo and 48 comments... gee.. been long since i saw entries with such visitors.. (kinda makes me miss Anonymous 9 you know her) - hmm.. de ja vu .. think i wrote this before. hehe

    hope you have solved the thumbnail for IF just save as "file.jpeg" not jpg.. had that prob before too..

    ReplyDelete
  43. The speckled eggs are perfect. And I like the tag that is attached. I never would have thought to illustrate a nest. This is a great piece.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Thank you for your comment, Laurel! I think your illustration is even better for "green" though, it has such a nice atmosphere!

    ReplyDelete
  45. beautiful and so sensitive!
    it's as if you've painted it with the same love and tenderness you'd feel while holding little baby chicks and eggs in the palm of your hand...!

    ReplyDelete
  46. It makes me want to make a tiny nest:)

    ReplyDelete
  47. Oh, it's just beautiful! Now I want to draw a nest... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  48. Beautiful colours and a lovely, fragile feel, well done.

    ReplyDelete
  49. This is lovely. Beutiful colours and you really captured the frailty. I love the tag - it's a nice touch. In Canada where I am it is currently -3C. We had a white Easter, brrrrrrr. Happy Spring!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Lovely!!! I love it's serene and calming effect. Yay, I can't wait for spring! ;)

    Cheers,
    Theresa

    ReplyDelete
  51. Very beautiful and timely. Love this image.

    ReplyDelete
  52. lovely illustration. And I really like the way you talk about spring.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Beautiful post & picture. I particularly like the tag on it, for those who don't know it's a nest!

    ReplyDelete
  54. wonderful painting! i love the texture seen on the canvas.

    ReplyDelete
  55. I love your raven picture! What is the origin of the story - a wonderful tale.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Okay, I commented on the wrong post! :)

    ReplyDelete