Artist Date at Brookgreen Gardens 3 '10

Author,  Julia Cameron popularized the concept of an "Artist Date" in her book The Artist's Way.  To quote Ms. Cameron, "An Artist Date  is a block of time , perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside  and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist."  There are only two rules for an artist date... (a) it must be something that you enjoy and ( b) it must be done alone.. no friends, no spouses, not pets that will draw you off course.

 I adhere to the principal and put it into practice religiously.   Sometimes my date with my inner artist is a visit to a gallery or museum to look at other artists work,  and sometimes it is just a walk in the woods.   (Now don't go rolling your eyes on me.   Where do you think I get my inspiration?.)

This weeks excursion was to Brookgreen Gardens to look for scenes for my the series I am painting of this National Historic Landmark.   Below: Tree Alley.. a different view.

 

The Gardens were beautiful..  Most of the bulbs were in full bloom. Magnolia blossom petals carpeted the ground  with pink , and filled the air with a perfume so lovely that  I wished I could find a way to paint that scent.

Above: Daffodils and old mill stone.

It was warm enough that even the boat tours were running (Below).

On the other hand, it was a lousy day for photos.  One minute a scene would be bright with sunshine and billowy clouds, the next gray and threatening.  I spent a lot of time waiting for the light .  Even so, the loaner camera I am using, wasn't fast enough .... many of my shots came out dark or with so much contrast as to be useless..  The wind whipped the flowers into a  blur, and the mosquitoes were ravenous.  Oh well... I  have to look at these photos as a seasonal reference for blooms, tree shapes  and weather.

Below: Snack shop under the cherry tree

 

At the gift shop,  I found a wonderful DVD of photos of Brookgreen Gardens  taken right after last February's snowfall.  The  photos were outstanding.   The credits on the Dust jacket only said "The Staff of Brookgreen", but  I suspect most, if not all, of the photos were taken by my friend Ann Malarich.    The DVD inspired me to consider a  snow series for Pawleys Plantation  .  The photos I took of this area after that snowfall were equally outstanding.  I should at least consider making them available via DVD.