Beauty in the Texas Hill Country

Delicate yet Strong

There are some flowers that are so delicate, they seem to disappear in with the surrounding grasses.  However, if you spot them, they are a treat to behold.  The stalks are so thin, they seem as if they would break in the slightest breeze.  Yet, they are remarkably strong and stand up to the wind, bending but not breaking.

Prickly Poppy Portrait

Perhaps it’s the stems of these flowers that are prickly – the flowers certainly aren’t!  They are very soft and feathery looking, and moved gently in the breeze.  Growing up against a weathered fence post, they positioned themselves for a lovely nature portrait.

Texas Hill Blooms

Each spring, the Texas Hill Country is awash in wildflowers.  My husband and I were lucky enough to time our visit there so that we were able to enjoy wildflower blooms such as these strikingly purple blooms.  I believe the name of these treasures is Blue Phacelia.  Whatever their name, they made for a lovely wildflower portrait.

Waterlily Reflection

Deep in the Texas Hill Country, there is a farm called Wildseed Farms, near Fredericksburg.  Although the farm primarily focuses on various wildflowers that they grow and the seeds from those flowers that they sell, they do have a very tranquil pond with waterlilies.  This particular waterlily reflected the absolute serenity one could find there, with the water so still, the reflection is just about perfect.

Enjoy!

Note:  All of these images are available for purchase in a variety of formats and finishes via https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Lubec and Campobello Island Pencil Sketches

While exploring Lubec, Maine and Campobello Island, New Brunswick, there were some scenes that just needed to be digital pencil sketches.  Come take a look!

There was a small decorative footbridge in the campground where we stayed.  In front of the footbridge where a stream should be running, grew some wild irises, both white and blue.  I thought this made a charming small intimate nature portrait, ideally suited for a digital watercolor sketch.

Campground Irises

As we drove along Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, I notice a boat that had definitely seen better days.  It was beached on the shore, and had been left there to decay.  I thought it made a nice sketch, and I thought of how often we tend to discard things rather than repairing them. Still, this discard made for a picturesque scene.

Boat Wreck

In a couple of other posts, you’ll see a reference to an old cemetery in Lubec, Maine.  Across the road from the cemetery, this lovely, small field of flowers put on a little show.  The trees added a nice compliment, as did the small peninsula point that looks like it could be an island.  Don’t you just want to go and sit in the field and just daydream the afternoon away?

Shoreline Flowers

Enjoy!

Pencil Sketches from the Schoodic Peninsula

Jeff and I took a drive down the Schoodic Peninsula portion of Acadia National Park on our last day there.  There were many beautiful sights, and I made some pencil sketches of some of them!

There was a picnic area at a place called Frazier Point.  They had a sort of walking bridge out onto the middle of the channel where the tide would come in and go out.  At the foot of the steps to this bridge were some lovely wildflowers and wild roses that worked into a lovely pencil sketch.  I also decided to crop the piece so that it looks more like a true sketch would look.

Wildflowers at Frazier Point

A little bit after seeing the flowers at Frazier Point, we saw a lighthouse, the Winter Harbor Lighthouse.  Winter Harbor is the name of a small fishing village at the beginning of the Schoodic Peninsula, and this lighthouse was, it seems, named after the village.

Waves Crashing at Winter Harbor Lighthouse

Schoodic Point offered us a chance to walk down on some rather flat rocks to check out the waves crashing along them.  The seagulls also seemed to enjoy soaking in the sun and having such easy access to the water when they felt the need to seek out food!

Seagulls at Schoodic Point

Enjoy!

Art in the Desert

Here are some of my favorite images from the time we spent at Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona…….

Desert and Mountains

I love the contrast of this image.  Mountain peaks reaching up to touch the sky, and the desert life that hugs the earth.  And, the pop of color of the ocotillo blooms speaks to the vibrant life that exists in the desert.  It’s a starker kind of beauty that a typical lush landscape, but no less spectacular in its majesty.

Desert Floor

It seems strange to see saguaro cactus at the base of a mountain.  It’s not a typical grouping in most people’s minds.  Mountains are about as far from the desert as we imagine.  However, look at the green of the cactus and other plants – the saguaro are almost what would be called spring green in the Midwest where I grew up.  I truly enjoy this very different type of desert floor – one of the few places in the world where one can see saguaro cactus.

In the Desert

When I used to think of the desert, I thought of it as a very inhospitable place, where very little could live and grow.  How mistaken I was!  This image gives one a window to the marvelous life that exists in the desert – and this is only the plant life!  Cacti of different variety, and some other shrubs complement the golden sandy ground and the beautiful blue sky.  Yes, there is what seems to be a dead bush, but that only accents the vibrant living plants around it!

Nature’s Treasure

One doesn’t expect to see what seems to be a typical wildflower in the desert environment.  And, yet, here it is!  This flower just speaks to me of being a happy survivor, taking in nourishment as is provided, and certainly making the best of harsh surroundings.  This is a true lesson in resilience.

Ocotillo Bloom

My husband, Jeff, my most excellent photographer’s assistant, held the bloom of an ocotillo cactus in a better photographic angle to allow me to capture this image.  There was ever so slight of a breeze, which cause the bloom to sort of blur.  I decided to go with what Nature had given me, and transform this photo image into a watercolor abstract of the bloom.  The colors speak of springtime and the joy of nature coming to life again after the winter cold.  Of course, winter cold is a relative term in southern Arizona!

Enjoy!

Note:  Each of these images is available in a variety of sizes and finishes at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Pencil Sketches in the Woods

If you visited my travel blogs, you’ve seen some of these images in “reality” there.   Here, however, you will see a more artistic rendering of the images – compliments of my computer.  I wish I could produce this on pencil and paper, but my talents don’t lie in that arena. So, let’s take a look at what I can do!

Summer Daisies

Here’s a softer, gentler look at what I called a very happy flower. This rendition of them focuses on the more delicate side of these flowers.  These look like something out of a dream, I think.

Alder Woods

At first, I had thought these were birch trees.  But no, they are alders!  And, in the fall, the color of their leaves is a lovely golden color.  But, now, there’s not a trace of gold – only green.  Still, for this sketch, I chose to focus on the white of the tree trunks and their pattern as they stand in the woods.

Asters in the Woods

Ok, so this is not a sketch!  It’s an impressionist painting!  But, it seems to suite these blooms just fine!  It sort of emphasizes their softness, and it really sort of suggests the movement of them thru the gentle breeze.  Makes me want to sigh……Ahhh….

Enjoy!