A Healthy Waiting Room

A neighbor friend of mine recently gave me a lovely pot of violets, an inspiring subject for a painter, but as I found out insightful as well.

She and her husband receive a pot of violets each time they visit their optometrist’s office. She continued to explain, she’d read an article in the waiting room on things to watch for when choosing a doctor. This list included taking note of the waiting room's plants. Do they look healthy, drab, or dead? The philosophy being if the doctor’s office fails to care for the plants under their supervision, what does this say about the care you will receive?

She was comforted by this observation, noting not only does their optometrist care for their plants, but they provide their patients with them. She had numerous violets about her kitchen counter and was happy to share one with me.

My original 5x7 watercolor, Pot of Violets, is available for sale from my Etsy Shop.

Snow Day in the Berkshires

Erica Dale Strzepek, Resting For Now,
Watercolor & Gouache, 5x7 inches, ©2012 

A snow day yesterday in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts meant no school for my boys. Between naps, snacks, endless PBS shows, and shoveling I worked on some small 5x7 blank greeting cards. Their small size allows for quick, finished work, very rewarding feeling for me. I find my recipients are always charmed by a personal card.

I snap pictures where ever we go, always with a painting in mind for later. The theme of abandoned trucks is a favorite subject of mine, this group of work is from a site in Williamsburg, Massachusetts off Route 9.

Erica Dale Strzepek, At Home in The Woods,
Watercolor & Gouache, 5x7 inches, ©2012

The drive along Route 9 provides beautiful vignettes of humble New England farms, the rambling Mill River, and the charming Williamsburg center including the Meekins Public Library and the Williamsburg General Store. We enjoy stopping a wonderful bakery, Bread Euphoria, located on the town line. It is along Route 9 I have often admired a unique property cluttered with old steam engines, numerous pieces of farm equipment, various barns and out buildings with plenty of old vehicles.

Erica Dale Strzepek, Here We Sit,
Watercolor & Gouache, 5x7 inches, ©2012

My Williamsburg series of blank cards is available for purchase from my Etsy Shop. Each card is an original painting, not a reproduction, each card sold separately.