Last Summer

For the better part of last summer, Robert and I were temporarily living with my parents.  When one of Robert's professors called around August and asked him if he'd like to house sit back in Oxford for a week, he jumped at the chance.  Shocker.

One of Robert's house sitting duties was to keep the pool clean.

You better believe we gave that slide a few tries.

He was also responsible for watering the plants, a task best taken seriously in the August heat.  In this one section of the backyard, up against the house there were butterflies flitting around the flowers all day.     

I took at least 50 pictures to get about 5 decent ones.

I think butterflies are about the best insects ever.  They don't bite you or sting you.  They don't make any annoying sound.  They're not attracted to people food.  And they're just really beautiful and delicate, which is why I wanted to paint them.   

"Summer Sighting" 7x5 watercolor on paper by Holly B. Johnson ©2012

I made the bricks red in the background of my painting because I was remembering how H-O-T that day was, you know- one of those days where you start sweating the second you step outside.  I almost gave the painting a soft green background, but that would have been so cool and spring-esque and completely unfitting of the memory I was recalling.

I have another painting planned to go with the first one. 

future painting!

I used to start all my paintings with a really light watercolor sketch to lay out the composition.  The past year or so though I've found myself preferring to draw out my composition in pencil.  I draw really light, so light that when I scanned in my sketch to show it here it was nearly impossible to see.  I did find a filter effect though that brings out the drawing and it made most of my lines visible.

Besides the butterflies, there was one other creature I remember lurking around that backyard on the house sitting adventure last summer.  A sea creature really.  A furry one.  That couldn't quite stay out of the pool...

Don't worry. Rusty was an invited guest :)