Category Archives: country living

Clouds

Posted on October 26, 2016 | Comments Off

A.J.’s Clouds, oil on canvas, 24 x 30, Kit Miracle

Occasionally here in the Midwest we get some pretty fabulous cloud formations. They’re probably not any different than anywhere else, it’s just that we actually have the space to see them. This painting is from a photo that my son shared with me of some dramatic cumulonimbus clouds in August. Interestingly enough, I was taking photos of the same clouds from two miles away as was another friend who lives about 30 miles away. That’s how impressive the formations were. I decided to turn it into a painting for my son for Christmas. I don’t think he follows my blog or otherwise, this won’t be a surprise for him.

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Posted in country living, oil painting

Tagged art, clouds, oil painting

Sometimes you’ve just got to paint

Posted on June 26, 2016 | Comments Off

When pigs fly. Watercolor / pen and ink, 12 x 16. Kit Miracle

We’ve all heard the admonishment that you need to create art every day. But…life gets in the way. Jobs, family, gardening, etc. Sometimes I find all my have-t0′s overwhelming my urge to create. This weekend I just had to paint.

Yesterday, before I could get overly involved in the rest of the home tasks, I trucked my painting gear out to the front yard and painted this flowerbed which has been calling me for weeks. It seems to be a symphony of purples, mauves, and yellows this time of year. The heat was oppressive. The humidity was drenching. But I had a great time.

For you gardeners out there, you’re looking at purple cone flower, bee balm, weigela, daylilies, lambs ear, and a giant yucca. The flying pig is a bit difficult to make out but he’s one of my favorite yard statues, as he bounces on his spring in a strong breeze. Symbol of not-quite-lost causes.

Giant Moth Mullen Watercolor/ pen and ink, 16 x 12 Kit Miracle

Then, this morning I decided to capture this weed, Giant Moth Mullen. It is already 5 feet tall and will probably top 6 or 7 feet. It has fuzzy leaves, similar to lambs ear and the most interesting curly-type leaves and stalk. It will eventually have a tall spike of yellow flowers which in turn, will produce seeds that the goldfinches love. Probably how it came to be growing near my cellar door. Majestic!

BTW, I was inspired by a blog challenge by James Gurney, who held a recent competition of people who paint weeds. This painting is not entered as it is past date, but I thought it was a perfect subject.

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Posted in art, country living, pen and ink, plein air painting, Uncategorized

Tagged art, country living, gardening, kit miracle, painting, pen and ink, plein air

The value of temporary art

Posted on May 10, 2015 | Comments Off

I spent today, Mother’s Day, gardening. Last weekend I planted our considerable vegetable garden with the help of my granddaughter. Today, I concentrated on flowerbeds, planters and hanging baskets. The humidity was equal to the temperature so it was a hot, sticky day here in southern Indiana.

As I was dividing some ferns for the hanging baskets, it suddenly struck me how fugitive all my efforts were. Why am I doing this? I asked myself. Just because I love the results. I felt as if I were channeling my mother and both grandmothers, who were all great gardeners. A nice sentiment on Mother’s Day.

This led along a winding path of thinking about temporary art. Many artists have made their reputations with creating artwork which isn’t meant to last. Being the practical person that I am, I have always been a little skeptical. But just as Christo’s art events to swathe bridges and canyons in fabric, and Gonzales-Torez’s piles of candy in museums are temporary art, so is planting flowers. We do it for the sheer enjoyment and beauty.

My flowers will bring me great joy this summer until they are gone with the frosty fall. That’s enough. Isn’t it?

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Posted in art, country living, garden

Tagged art, gardening, kit miracle, temporary art

Life happens

Posted on February 22, 2015 | Comments Off

For those of you who follow this blog and may have wondered where I’ve been, I apologize for the scarcity of recent postings. Life happens.

Amid all the end of the year activities – holidays, performances, painting events, etc. – we had a family emergency. My husband had a second (and more severe) heart attack. In this case, it was a pretty scary situation to live in such a remote area. We actually drove 15 miles to meet the ambulance rather than trying to direct them to our house. He is doing well, thank you for asking, but as you may imagine, this event turned the household on end. He’s sticking with a strict vegan diet as touted by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn in Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. (Highly recommended, btw.) A total change to vegan has not been a huge issue since we grow and eat lots of vegetables. However, now there’s no meat or fish, no dairy, no eggs, no added fats. But the results have been rewarding. He’s lost 25+ pounds in the first six weeks and feels great. Anyway, a new way of eating for the family.

And my day job as director of a multi-discipline arts center has been busy but rewarding. Several performances, conferences to attend, booking for next season, and work on building expansion. But I still manage to find time to paint or draw.

The bone-chilling cold of the winter in the midwest and north east has driven me to find relief in perusing gardening books (and ordering more, of course). Before this most recent bout of snow and ice, I actually spotted the daffodils and crocuses poking up. Can’t wait for spring.

Meanwhile, life is returning to normal…somewhat. Back in the studio painting, reading, and…well…country living.

Life happens.

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Posted in country living, heart attack, opinion, vegan

Tagged disadvantages of country living, heart attack, opinion, vegan

Bobcat – Making a comeback

Posted on November 30, 2014 | Comments Off

As I have mentioned in a previous post, we have great fun observing the wildlife in this rural area. Our house sits in the middle of 90 acres (thus, My90Acres), and is a good mix of fields, streams and woods. The county I live in is very rural and has an abundance of wildlife.

We move our deer cam around and I check the SD card every couple of weeks. It’s always great fun to see what we’ve “caught.” Its latest location is near our drive where it crosses a creek on a culvert. Animals are a little lazy and will take the easy path across the culvert rather than wade through the creek so this location gets them going both across the creek and along the creek. The cam is triggered automatically and records both day and night with the infrared part. The animals can’t see it flash at night but they can hear the camera click. Some of them come right up to the camera and I’m as likely to get a closeup of a deer nose as a flock of birds in the day.

This past month the camera recorded all kinds of deer, foxes, two cats I’ve never seen in daylight, turkeys, squirrels, coyotes, rabbits, possums, birds of all kinds, my dog, and cars entering and leaving the property. To my delight, I also recorded this large male bobcat this month. I haven’t seen him since last year so was glad to observe him again. Based on comparing him to the size of my dog, I guess he’s about 30-34 pounds which is about tops for a male. Bobcats have been protected in Indiana for a while now but they may come off the protected list soon as their population has grown. They eat rabbits, possums, rats, and other small animals. Oh, and chickens. Not so good. Nevertheless, it’s so nice to know nature is thriving in the not quite wilderness. On the other hand, I really don’t want to record a mountain lion or bear in this area – as has been reported. That would be a little too scary for my taste.

Bobcat in southern Indiana

Bobcat – arrow points to stubby tail

Third photo of Bobcat

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Posted in country living

Tagged bobcat, country living, deer cam, indiana, wildlife

Simplify your backgrounds

Posted on June 25, 2014 | 2 comments

Often, when we venture into the great outdoors to paint, we are assaulted with visual overload. There’s just too much out there! I find that a good way to approach the problem of too much is to simplify my backgrounds. In this recent plein air painting of June lilies, I could have added a lot of trees and stuff in the background but decided to emphasize the flowers instead. I chose to do this by painting the background with a muted variety of purples and blues. As you can see, this really makes the flowers pop. By the way, the orange day lilies grow wild in great masses along the country roads this time of year.

June Day Lilies, oil on canvas, 12x16, Kit Miracle

June Day Lilies, oil on canvas, 12×16, Kit Miracle

The original area with a busy background.

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Posted in country living, garden, oil painting, painting instruction, plein air, plein air painting

Tagged art, country living, garden, kit miracle, oil painting, painting instruction, plein air

Felling a giant

Posted on June 14, 2014 | Comments Off

Memory of a giant

Several years ago, I did a painting called “Saturday Morning.” It basically depicted men working together on, yes, Saturday morning. This is what people do here in the country. You cannot do everything yourself so you pitch in and help the neighbor, or he you when you need it.

This morning we had to say goodbye to an old friend. We have a giant elm which was here since we bought the place over 25 years ago. Everyone marveled at its beautiful shape and how it had magically escaped elm disease. Unfortunately, it began dying last year and we had to take our old friend down today. It was very close to the house and would have been a real danger during the next big storm.

Taking down the elm which was leaning one way while we wanted to fell it in another was challenging and not without risk. Fortunately, these two guys have felled many trees but anything can happen. I documented this not only for my old tree friend but to let you know of some of the dangers. If you don’t know anything about taking down a tree, hire an expert.

: Giant elm on its last morning

: Making the first cuts

: Elm is very hard. It already wore out one chain on the saw.

: The tree has been notched in the direction it “should” fall. Now making cuts on the other side which will release it.

: Driving the wedges. This takes some real muscle.

: The elm starts to go but gets hung up in the surrounding trees. This is really dangerous and is called a “widow-maker” for a reason.

: Next step is even more dangerous. That is pushing the tree over with some heavy equipment.

: The tree is off the stump but still not down. The danger here is it could kick back, knock other branches down, etc.

: Finally, the tree crashes to the ground with much cracking and popping.

: There she lays.

: Sawing it into manageable lengths in order to drag it out where it can be worked on.

: Dragging out a log. This, too, is dangerous. If the log gets hung up, it can cause the tractor to tilt back over the driver. Or the chain can snap, injuring or killing the driver. Always need a spotter for this step.

: A well-deserved break. Unfortunately, now the rest of the work begins with the clean-up, log splitting, stacking, etc. Nothing will go to waste for this old friend.

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Posted in country living, old house, Uncategorized

Tagged country living, danger, elm, felling a tree, old house

Spring flowers

Posted on June 1, 2014 | 6 comments

June Roses by the Woodshed, 12x16, oil on canvas, Kit Miracle

June Roses by the Woodshed, 12×16, oil on canvas, Kit Miracle

Spring flowers are almost a cliche. It’s difficult to paint them without getting too saccharine. But that is why we love them, isn’t it? Part of my spring busyness, as mentioned in an earlier post, is that I get carried away when I’m at the nursery. I always buy too much and then have to plant everything. This particular flowerbed is out by our woodshed and is probably the oldest one on the property. I think the rock wall was actually a base for a chicken coop, if I remember correctly what the former owner told us. The yucca and the weigila were already there but I’ve planted everything else. It’s always a fight between me and the wild critters who have eaten plenty of expensive perennials over the years. Since this flowerbed is furthest from the house, it generally gets the least attention so the plants have to be pretty hardy.

I painted this 12 x 16 oil yesterday morning. I love the strathing light. There was a nice breeze and low humidity so it was a pleasure to be at the easel again.

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Posted in art, country living, plein air painting

Tagged art, country living, kit miracle, oil painting

Spring Busyness

Posted on May 27, 2014 | 2 comments

Beginning around March, outdoor work really kicks up here in the country. This amounts to cleaning up debris left over from the winter, tidying flowerbeds, trimming dead branches, etc. Then preparing the garden patch and beds for planting. While it’s rewarding when it’s finished, at times I wish I lived in a condo near a big park. Well, not really but it is tiring.

This is also one of the most beautiful times outdoors here in southern Indiana. The trees start sporting a haze of pink and purple buds, understory trees like Dogwood and Redbud assault the eyes. Other times of the year, you wouldn’t even notice their scrawny selves. Spring also displays some of the most beautiful shades of greens from lime green to sea blue. By June, the woods and fields display a pretty even state of crayon green. Not my favorite color, I admit. Strange for a landscape painter.

This is also the time of year when I’m torn between my “have to” garden work and my vagabond painter self who just wants to toss the gear into the car and take off. I usually manage a bit of both.

Below are an assortment of a variety of spring paintings, some quite small at only 8 x 10, which is far smaller than my usual sizes. And, I’ll admit, while it’s always a joy to dive into the spirit of painting, the results are not always so great. Well, I tell myself, I always learn something. Even if it’s only something of what not to do next time. As usual, I always welcome your comments and feedback. Don’t be shy.

One of the most interesting colors is the limey-greenish-yellow of fields of wild mustard. I spotted this field one day with a dark grey storm rolling in which really set off the yellow. I did the first one from memory but it looks more like a Van Gogh spin-off. Later I went back and painted it from life. I think I like the second one better.

Abbett’s Field 12 x 16 oil on canvas – from memory

Abbett’s Field from life, 8 x 10, oil

This is a creek that I pass on my drive to work. Mostly attracted to the reflection in the water which is always a challenge. Again, from memory.

Creek near St. Anthony, 8 x 10, oil

And another drive-by painting of a farm with the distant blue hills, hazy sunrise and pond reflection.

Farm at sunrise on a hazy day, 12 x 16, oil

And this painting was started outdoors then brought inside. White oak trees have the most interesting spring green color with racemes of flower/pods. I didn’t quite capture it but it’s a good start. Since it’s near the house, I will try to paint it under other conditions and seasons.

White oak in spring with dogwoods, 18 x 24, oil

The final painting that I just completed is a goat farm that I pass each day. I love the evening shadows. They usually have about 30 goats but I thought that would be overkill.

The Goat Farm 12 x 16, oil

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Posted in country living, oil painting, plein air painting

Tagged country living, kit miracle, landscapes, oil painting, spring landscapes

Spring campfire

Posted on March 15, 2014 | Comments Off

It was a balmy spring day here. After the artic blast of a long winter, it felt great to bask in the sun, reading a book with a hot cup of tea. The peepers (frogs) were tuning up in the bottoms by the creek. My crocuses are finally in bloom and the promise of spring is not far off.

: Campfire with the full moon overhead.

Both of my boys were home today so tonight they decided to start a campfire and stretch out the evening. There is something primitive about gathering around a fire at night with other humans. It always grabs me in my innermost self.

A few toasted marshmallows. My granddaughter delighted with the “fireworks.” Our new puppy got tired and put himself to bed.

Country life is nice. Now I have to go shower the smoke out of my hair.