Shades of Grey

Spring is close, but has not actually made an appearance yet. 

One day it is tantalizingly warm, the next our daffodils are layered in ice and snow.

As hard as it is for human beings to manage these temperature ups and downs, trees and grasses manage the changeover in sublime ways.

Stone cold grey trees merge delicately into silver, then to warming pinks at their twig-tips. Scrubby bushes spike their gnarly branches with clouds of pale flowers. Oceans of sallow grass warm to gold, then green, then a great splatter of wildflowers.

Those few days of uncertain season are my favorites.

©2013Patricia Scarborough 12 x 12 oil  Day Trips Series

 

I'm working on a series of paintings called Day Trips for my July exhibit at The Burkholder Project in Lincoln, Ne.. The point is to focus on the scenes we see near by, within a few miles of home. I used to drive by these old sheds twenty times a week before they were torn down to make way for new construction.  Interestingly, the new spiffy version of this acreage is not nearly as interesting as the old one.

 

As spring makes her full return I'll keep looking for these delightful areas where nature decorates  according to her own palette.