Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts

Friday, March 16, 2018

Garden Party - Ruth Andre


"Garden Party"
16"x3" Oil-Wax on Paper
Matted and Framed 22"x6"
-by Ruth Andre


Garden Photos
Ruth - 1996


Garden Photos - Ruth and Bailey 1996

This time of year the seed catalogs arrive and dreams start forming for a garden of vegetables and flowers. It is a dreamers dream thinking about the warm sunny days of spring planting a variety of seeds. One year I mentioned to my husband that I thought I needed therapy. I had recently lost my sister and I was overwhelmed with her loss. My husband told me to wait a minute and he would be back to talk to me. When he came back to the house he handed me a seed catalog that carried seeds of course but also carried plug plants. He then explained that he had disced an acre of land for my garden. 7,000 plants were planted that year. It sounds like a lot and it IS! The ground was ready and I planted. I then watered and trimmed and cut flowers and harvested vegetables and more and more. The weeds were a constant battle so I was out in my garden everyday that summer. At the end of summer after the garden was complete and the ground was cleaned I told my husband,  I have had therapy. Everyday I worked and thought about my sister and let the tears flow and then started remembering all of the good times we had shared together and how lucky I was to have had such a beautiful sister in my life. The painting today is titled, "Garden Party" in remembrance of the love for my sister and the love for the land. It has been, "A Painting Day".





Sunday, September 21, 2014

Windrow - Ruth Andre


"Windrow"
6"x6" oil on panel
by Ruth Andre

Windrows are often natural fence lines between properties. They can also be plantings that have been left untouched due to the fact they are in a fence row and the tractor disc cannot reach them. Windrows serve a good purpose sheltering the land from the wind and protecting the valuable topsoil. There is nothing worse than for a farmer to look out and see acres of topsoil skittering away in the wind. I have always thought the soil just moves from one farm to another and another until it finally comes home to rest. The painting today shows the farm fields at season's end. The harvest is finished for another season and the land is waiting for the winter cover crop to be planted. It is a beautiful time of year. A time to be thankful. I have so many memories from living on a farm and enjoying the ebb and flow of the changing seasons. It has been, "A Painting Day".

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Saying Good Bye - 2013


"Creekside Daffodils" 
16"x16"x1.5" oil & mixed medium on board
by Ruth Andre

Saying, good-bye is one of the hardest things for me to do. It takes considerable effort to leave a favorite person or place and move on and letting go. The year 2013 has been filled with many events, struggles and victories. I feel as if I have grown as a painter and as a person. For the past three months I have been traveling and getting things settled in our old home in Sikeston, Missouri. The time spent with friends, soaking up the mid-west lifestyle and walking the fertile farm ground has been such a delight. I laugh at myself sometimes as I remember the good times my husband and I spent on our farm. We had horses and dogs and cats. We farmed and we experimented with new crops. We made a life in a new land and made friends with those that thought people from California were a little different. I sometimes ask, why did we leave? I am still asking the same question as we get ready for the final move. I have learned how important my friends really are and how easy it is to laugh and cry with those you love. It is winter here in Sikeston and we have had a tornado, snow and heavy rains during our visit. I know spring is not far off and the daffodils will find their way to peak through from their dormant winter sleep both here in Sikeston and our new home in Sutter Creek, California. The painting above, "Creekside" is a nod to both my lost home and my new home. May your New Year be filled with all that you enjoy and may your dreams fill your heart. I am looking forward to getting back to my studio and enjoying many, "A Painting Day".