flowers – Sheryl Kirby

New Work – Abstract Fuchsias

I add new pieces on a near-daily basis, but I don’t always update the main blog page.

I’m particularly proud of these fuchsia flowers, as they remind me of the basket that graced our back porch every summer, just outside a window where we could sit at the breakfast table and watch swarms of hummingbirds feed. Google says a group of hummingbirds is called a “charm”, which is absolutely perfect.

This work is available on a variety of items such as mugs and cushion covers. Please click on the image for more info.

To see a new piece of art (pretty much) every day, please follow my Instagram account.

New Work – Hanging Garden

One of the things that inspired me to try my hand at painting (in any medium) a few years back was wanting to paint lush, colourful florals. The hanging garden, or the idea of a garden so full of vines and blooms that it begins to escape the confines of a trellis or fence and breaks free to another space, ideally one that is austere and plain so the flowers are even more of a delight because they are so unexpected, is something that I have aspired to achieve.

This is a first attempt, in Corel Painter, and while it certainly has imperfections, I am absolutely delighted with it in spite of (or maybe because of) that fact. Some of these flowers don’t actually grow on vines, but, hey, art is all about imagination, right?

Flower Power

A few of the abstract floral works from my Grandmother’s Garden collection have been uploaded to various print on demand sites and are now available on a whole slew of things from clothing to paper products to decor items. I was especially happy with the way the artwork turned out on some pieces from le Galeriste – these are really lovely scarves, dresses, skirts, and tops (some are even reversible!) that would be perfect for summer occasions such as weddings.

Currently, I have items featuring Sakura, Poppies, Pansies and Bleeding Hearts. Mores styles in my le Galeriste shop, and more designs coming soon. Continue reading “Flower Power”

Flower Child

So florals are big this spring. They’re showing up on everything from dresses to pants to bags.

I’ve always been big on florals. Maybe not on fabric – the wrong print can make the wrong person look like they’re wearing Aunt Bertha’s curtains – but who doesn’t love having flowers in their life? Living in a place without a garden of my own, I desperately miss having fresh flowers. I try to buy cut flowers but a certain family member seems to consider them salad.

Continue reading “Flower Child”

Flowers from the Bird Lady

BIRDLADY from FORTNIGHT LINGERIE on Vimeo.

Parkdale, my neighbourhood since 1993, is known for its many characters. People who make the place unique and colourful, people who definitely dance to their own drummer. For 90 some-odd years, one of those characters was Annie Ross. Born in the building that stands on the south-west corner of Queen and Dunn in 1913, she lived there her entire life until her death in 2004. Miss Ross never married, instead running her family’s flower shop at the front of the building, and spending her retirement years in a small apartment at the back where she was known for feeding the local pigeons; thus her nickname, The Bird Lady.

Miss Ross could tell you stories of how Parkdale had changed and grown. She could remember when the lot directly across the street from her on Dunn was a field for horses. She could tell about how the buildings went up along Queen, or how the mansions along Jameson came down to make way for apartment buildings. And she could tell you about books. In a 4-minute short documentary filmed before her death, she talks about how she began keeping track of all the books she read in her lifetime, some 8,600 different titles.

Continue reading “Flowers from the Bird Lady”

Hearts and Flowers

Greg came home with the very best Valentine’s Day gift ever. It wasn’t roses, or chocolates or tacky lingerie. It was a recount of a cell phone conversation he overheard on the streetcar on his way home.

The woman seated in front of him dialed up what was obviously her live-in boyfriend. And went about dropping hints left, right and centre, mentioning Valentine’s Day several times and even specifically asking her spouse to “pick up some flowers on the way home for dinner”.

Except that hubby was either dense, not into the Valentine’s game or was really just not that into her, because, as Greg recounted, her next statement was, “Oh. You’re going to the bar.”

There was some more mentions of picking up some flowers (hint, hint, hint), and finally, a “Have fun at the bar!” which no doubt was uttered with the most guilt-inducing tone she could muster. Greg also indicates that he was able to hear the line disconnect just as the woman said “I love you,” in a sad, tiny voice.

Continue reading “Hearts and Flowers”