camellia cottage garden no.2

dear friends, well spring has arrived in Sydney, Australia with an abundance of colour and beauty. after finally launching this website of my art and continuing on with being at home a lot, i decided to take a week where i still did my day job, but instead of art after hours, i would garden. just for this week, it is a nice change during this plague that has over taken our lives. the garden did need some attention as it has been neglected of late. oh, and the weather has been resplendent, the sun is strong and the sky is the bluest of cobalt blue. it is beautiful to be out there in the green, the plants, the dirt, but those naughty weeds, they have taken over, miles and miles of wandering due have i taken off of my clivias, they are glowing this year, the orange is nearly fluorescent. there are still a few flowering camellias hanging on, but most have carpeted the undergrowth with their petals, which is just as lovely. petal carpet. i have been getting rid of the agapanthus that have over run the garden ever since we arrived, i have put them out on the kerb, hopefully someone may need them for an empty corner of their own garden. i think sometimes in our existence we need to take time, to change our activity, as presently, most of us feel we are living in a type of groundhog day, i feel this week is getting things in order in my surroundings, putting away the winter jumpers, getting ready for the summer heat, and the next stage of my art production. so fabulously exciting, i cant wait! i am pondering producing more camellia artworks, focussing on the camellia as a plant, its flower, leaves, form and texture. maybe some botanical like works…it is important as it is a feature, being that all my world, my studio, home and surroundings, camellias need to be a central focus as i am at the beginning of this part of my documented journey. such a simple flower, large, robust, yet delicate, such varieties. i think i have about sixteen types of camellia in my garden, many of them are of a pink hue, or white, the larger ones which are as tall as our home are probably about thirty plus years old, so their presence is constant. according to google: the camellia originates from the Far East in areas such as the eastern Himalayas, China, Japan and Malaysia, where it usually grows in coastal and mountain regions. the plant derives its name from the botanist Georg Kamel (1661-1706). pharmacist, botanist and missionary, the Moravian Jesuit Brother Josef Kamel (1661-1706) left the Hapsburg Empire to go to the Philippines where he continued his work and research. he was so successful that Carlo Linneo, the famous Swedish doctor and naturalist, named the genus Camellia after him. about a month ago i had the opportunity to hear an art chat via zoom from the national museum of women in the arts in Washington, three of the artists who were discussed were Elizabeth Blackwell, Mary Vaux Walcott and Berthe Hoola van Nooten, UK, USA and The Netherlands, they were female botanical artists from 1700’s,1800’s and early 1900’s. this chat was so inspirational to me, it reinstated my need for more botanical type works in my practice, these take skill, time and patience. I also viewed various Youtube clips on painting botanicals for more inspiration. So looking forward to this next stage of my practice. i think i need to also look at some australian artists who were quite botanical- margaret preston, margaret olley, ethel stephens and may gibbs to name a few. thanks for reading my blog no.2…

https://www.southworld.net/missionary-botanist-camellia-tea/