Art Adventures - by Patricia Banks©
Published August 2017 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Magazine
Published August 2017 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Magazine
The summer sun warms my heart and I feel happiest when I am outside immersed in nature. We recently moved houses and I now have a new garden to play in. Leigh Hunt said: “Colours are the smiles of Nature.” Well, I’m grinning from ear to ear back at Mother Nature in thanks for the amazing palette of joyful colors she has bestowed on me!
For an artist, colour is an essential element used in the design of a painting which may set a particular mood, add drama to, or highlight the subject. It is also an exciting element of design used by avid gardeners the world over, to create or enhance inviting spaces that appeal to various sensibilities. The element of colour may be used to stimulate specific emotions in the garden, as well.
As I plan my new garden and add my “personal touch” to it, I want specific spaces to invoke a range of feelings and moods. In the cool quiet of a summer shady spot, a small wrought iron table may be enhanced by the soft greens of Irish Moss under foot with a small pot of baby pink begonias to complement it. I could spend a few hours devoted to a good book here.
As I wander down the winding sun drenched path, a variety of colourful foliage appears. Beautiful fragrances waft up from the lavender and other aromatic herbs. These are strategically placed for added textural impact too; an opportunity to stimulate more senses. Reclining in comfortable chair on the patio, I am absorbed into a stimulating conversation with hot red and deep magenta geraniums, petunias showing off their warm yellows and passionate purples, and a sprinkling of stimulating oranges, pretty pinks, calming blues sparkling whites to round out the spectrum, all settled into the visual calm of green leaves.
My garden is a smorgasbord of emotions! Well, that’s my vision, anyways! It won’t look like that if I don’t get off my computer and get at it! Bring Nature’s smiles into your life and fill your senses with joy!
For an artist, colour is an essential element used in the design of a painting which may set a particular mood, add drama to, or highlight the subject. It is also an exciting element of design used by avid gardeners the world over, to create or enhance inviting spaces that appeal to various sensibilities. The element of colour may be used to stimulate specific emotions in the garden, as well.
As I plan my new garden and add my “personal touch” to it, I want specific spaces to invoke a range of feelings and moods. In the cool quiet of a summer shady spot, a small wrought iron table may be enhanced by the soft greens of Irish Moss under foot with a small pot of baby pink begonias to complement it. I could spend a few hours devoted to a good book here.
As I wander down the winding sun drenched path, a variety of colourful foliage appears. Beautiful fragrances waft up from the lavender and other aromatic herbs. These are strategically placed for added textural impact too; an opportunity to stimulate more senses. Reclining in comfortable chair on the patio, I am absorbed into a stimulating conversation with hot red and deep magenta geraniums, petunias showing off their warm yellows and passionate purples, and a sprinkling of stimulating oranges, pretty pinks, calming blues sparkling whites to round out the spectrum, all settled into the visual calm of green leaves.
My garden is a smorgasbord of emotions! Well, that’s my vision, anyways! It won’t look like that if I don’t get off my computer and get at it! Bring Nature’s smiles into your life and fill your senses with joy!
