Saturday I was up bright and early to join my Rotary club in planting saplings. (Actually, at this point they were more like twigs. We work with our City tree nursery to pot 2500 baby trees so that two years from now they will be ready to give away to folks in our community.)

As I was inserting slender future trees into their pots of warm compost/potting mixture, I was struck by the intense colors of some of the roots.

Right above the fibrous root ball. Right where that portion joined the main trunk. Oh my goodness! Incredible burnt sienna into red, and in some cases a wonderful bright orange.

Work was done mid-morning (2500 trees potted. Yayyy!) and I was home in my studio. And now I’m thinking about orange.

I looked around to see if I had samples in projects working. Well look at this!

This one is quite subtle. The background, which looks orange, is actually raw Sienna. The reddish-brown overprint with sponge paint helps the surface parts unify. It softens things up so the black screen printed tree forms don’t make it look like a Halloween Illustration.

In this detail of some recently printed/painted fabrics, the orange hue is also raw sienna. It pops so nicely in this little section because of its proximity and contrast with the teal blue that I used. (A color I love and create a lot.)

Now we’re talkin’ orange! A true orange-orange painted piece of fabric had glue resist circles printed on, with overpaint in a darker orange-red. A little of this goes a long way. But I think it will be a terrific splash.

All of these pieces are in the pile for a new work-in-progress. I have been inspired by reflections of tall pines in a small stream near my house. There are good hints of brown-orange in the photos I transferred. I am hoping the fabrics I am creating to go with the photo gives voice to the intricate variety I see in the trees and pines.

That makes a good conclusion to my Saturday: beginning and ending thinking about both beautiful color and wonderful trees.

. . . . . . . .

I only have a few more chances to promote the West Volusia Studio Tour. It’s COMING SOON! Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6, 10am – 5pm.   I love being on this tour and welcoming folks to my studio. If you are in driving distance of DeLand, please take the day and come do the tour. (Stops in downtown DeLand before or after are fun too.)

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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