Carpe Diem; Daffodils and Paintcans by C.T. Rasmuss

Daffodils & Paint-cans  C.T. Rasmuss, pastels (April 2014).

 

When spring hits and wildflowers start blossoming in your yard, "seize the moment" I say, as I did and you can see in my still-life!  You may already know, if your a regular follower of my blogs; that to me spring is official when I see these brightly colored yellow Daffodils pop up all over my city (Cincinnati, OH).

 

Usually, I first notice them at my work in a vast quantity, but this year they surprised me at my new place, that I had moved into last spring; apparently after they disappeared since I didn't noticed them there last year.

 

 

photo by C.T. Rasmuss

 

So this year I picked flowers out of my very own yard (a first for me), placed them in a vase (well a makeshift vase- tall glass) and displayed their fleeting beauty in my kitchen.  As I starred at them for awhile, a good idea for a composition popped into my artist head! 

 

It was pretty close to what you see here, except for the substitution of Paint cans, paintbrushes/stirs, a couple pairs and a clove of garlic. 

 

And voi lah! a true and genuine still-life of the 21st century, it stands for "seizing life as we live it!", these flowers are gone by a  few days now, but the memory I have of them and my utilizing their mortal beauty, remains accounted for on paper; in graphite and pastel, in the way of the old masters and I'm proud of it, as much as anything I've done so far in my life.

 

 

 

 

 









 

 



Spring is Here; An Oil Painting by C.T. Rasmuss

Spring is Here  C.T. Rasmuss, oil (Mar. 2014).

In this painting, it's not the technique or outcome that I'm most concerned and or pleased with; if anything it's the title of the oil painting.  This painting I was able to finish in just one session, and completely out of my imagination, and so what about the title??  

Simple: Spring is Here, all of us that live in the Northern Hemisphere know this to be true, we can see the changes all around us, some of us see these changes sooner than others, be it the professions we're in; such as if your a gardener like myself or a farmer, also the regions we live in, etc. 

Speaking for myself, I realized Spring's arrival about two weeks ago, when I noticed new plant growth and perennial shoots coming out of the ground.  And now the calendar states it, but what really grabs my attention every year and calls to me are the wild Daffodils; last year I first noticed them (like the last 4 years) at a place I teach, but this year I first noticed them at the duplex I'm renting:

These happen to be a thing of real beauty, in that they happen all on their own, no one planted them there, and if they did it was long ago, and they are the last of their kind in this place, and fight every year to come back in even greater numbers I would imagine.  They are here and gone so fast, much quicker than other flowers I know of, it's like they announce spring and leave as fast as they came, they remind me of how spring is too, how quick it comes and how fast it goes, turning into summer, which isn't so bad, except for the heat, and lack of rain most summers lately.

All in all they remind me every year to get my but in gear and face the challenge of capturing as much beauty outdoors with my brush, before we're all forced inside again, and I'm forced once again to survive entirely off my imagination.