Everyday Beauties

Friends along the way - This little butterfly accompanied me on my walk this evening.

Sneaky, isn't he?  Do you see him?  It's the same one - he was the only one about. 

And here is where I left him, enjoying the purple coneflowers.  Isn't he beautiful!  

This was actually the picture I was wanting to take, when I found my little friend.  The bee balm is beautiful this year!

Apples too!

One of the most gorgeous things in the world must surely be the sun-dappled leaves...This is just at the edge of my little woods.

Back up near the house to the coneflowers....and that's the end of my walk today!

**All photographs taken on my own property by C Caton

"The North Forty" By C Caton

I've just completed this one - April 2013 - and it is the largest I've done to date 24"x36".

"The North Forty"  Who doesn't long for a place to "get away from it all"...This farmer has his very own paradise to escape to flush with wildflowers, a fishing pond with cattails, trees and a lush green carpet, just on the other side of the windbreak. 

(As usual, I've had some glare issues here...It really isn't as easy to take a picture of a picture as you might think.)

"Springtime Prairie Cabin" by C Caton

"Springtime Prairie Cabin" By C Caton

Just completed, April 2013 -  A beautiful Spring day at the little prairie cabin...The trees have leafed out, the wildflowers are blooming, and the grasses are coming out of their winter doldrums!

I can't really tell you how other people paint, but when I do it, it's pretty much a "paint-as-I-go", unplanned thing.  I've never sketched out anything ahead of time, as there is usually a quite elaborate story going on through my mind as I paint, much of which I actually leave out of my paintings so that you can imagine your own.    In a sense, I suppose that most of my paintings are just a backdrop...Here is a beautiful day - for a picnic?  Flying a kite?  Reading your favorite book under the tree, surrounded by wildflowers?  Children running about?  Taking a stroll down the lane?  Collecting a basketful of flowers for your vase?