Sketch: Lilacs and Laundry

This year I have only five lilac clusters between both of my huge older lilacs. I’ll miss their sight and scent for the next few weeks! But last year this is what it looked like—my yard was much farther along in blooming last year—and the combination of “lilacs and laundry” inspired me to take part of an afternoon for a painting!

What got me in trouble today when I should have gotten some work done inside was how cute my laundry looked with the lilac blooming about it. I have a thing for laundry in paintings, so I decided to take some time to do a little sketch. I use my limited set of pastels outdoors so I don’t lose or damage the “good ones”, so I need to touch it up with some other colors and finish off the edges.

The lilac has never bloomed this much—after about 15 years it’s finally come into its prime. The red specks in the back are the first roses on my red climber that swings over the gate, the pink flowers on the chair and on the ground are the first geraniums blooming after I’ve brought them out of their winter home in the basement. The short blue is forget-me-nots, the tall is a flowering bulb called Camassia given to me as a gift years ago, still blooming reliable each spring.

Here’s the uncropped version of the sketch, and the framed version is below—it’s for sale in my Etsy shop.

And look—there must have been an artist in my yard!

I matted and framed this painting and it’s for sale in my Etsy shop—click here to go to that post.

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All images in this post are copyright © Bernadette E. Kazmarski and may not be used without prior written permission.