My Studio

copyright © kay eneim 2009

...A peek into my studio on a sunny day. It's always a sunny day here. Love that.

Fig and Manzanita Berries

"Fig and Manzanita Berries" . oil on linen panel . 14 x 18 . 2009

copyright© kay eneim 2009

...slice of a fig from the garden...

When I bought a twiggy little bare-root fig tree three years ago, the nurseryman told me it probably wouldn't fruit out if grown in a pot...that it would probably need more room for its roots in order to bear much fruit.

I wanted a fig tree in a pot because I thought it could provide some shade and be movable to spots in most need of shade while, at the same time, be pretty as a potted tree.

As it turns out, this little tree had close to fifty figs this summer...and still counting... and it has really large 10" leaves for shade...and it is a very beautiful little tree in the pot...so glad I tried it.

Our Dog 'Harry'

copyright © kay eneim 2009

We had to put our dog 'Harry' down today. We weren't ready for that. He was 10.

He was one of the greatest of the greats, in the realm of dogs. He and our youngest children grew up together. 

He belonged to these two. Our son used to tease his little sister and say he had the front half and she had the back half! But Harry was really our son's dog...he trained him, took care of him. He did a good job.

Even while so sick, Harry still wagged his tail when you came home or when he first saw you in the morning.

We will sure miss our dog, Harry.

Of Elizabeth Tolley's 'Between Showers'

Of Elizabeth Tolley's 'Between Showers' . oil on linen panel . 6 x 8 . 2009

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While away for a couple of days, I was trying out a limited palette of colors that I don't usually use. I decided to practice with the colors that I had taken with me. It was nighttime and I was too antsy to wait until the next day to paint outside...so I started to try some mixtures.

Elizabeth Tolley, whose work I very much like, has an instruction book for plein air painting: "Oil Painter's Solution Book-Landscapes". Her book is filled with her paintings for the purpose of allowing the reader to try to emulate and thus learn from her process. Though I did not use her palette of colors, I did use one of the paintings from her book.

...I'm still deciding on a plein air palette, but I like this little one.