Lydia Brodskaya, Paintings

 Today I want to introduce you, fellow bloggers, to the work of the artist Lydia Brodskaya. She was born in St. Petersburg. She is the daughter of the famous artist, painter, graphic artist, teacher, organizer of art education Isaac Brodsky.

Lydia studied at the St. Petersburg Choreographic School, later entered the Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in the workshop of her father I. I. Brodsky.

 Lydia dedicated her works to the image of the native nature. She is the author of landscape paintings depicting the nature of the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Ukraine.

Lydia has participated in exhibitions since 1944. Her works have been exhibited in France, Finland, Poland, India, China, and Syria.

Pictures of Lydia Brodskaya (1910 -1991) are kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Museum.

 

 

 

 

source

Dry Grasses

 

When I walked along the lake, the sky was blue, there was a light frost. As I walked I was passed by skiers of all ages. And I was a little offended that I did not go skiing with them, did not catch up with the last skier with all my might.
 

But walking isn't bad either. There is something to see and see. Stems and ears of dry grasses were preserved along the coast, these were reeds, sedge, wormwood and other herbs. From spring to late autumn, they grow beautifully near the shore, partly in the water. When winter comes and snow covers the surface of the lake, these ears of dry grass remind us how beautiful it was last summer. As they grew, grains ripened and fell to the ground and into the water of the lake.

 

 Here is how artist Karen Margulis talks about dry grass:

"...How fortunate we are as artists. Even something as mundane as dried grasses can be seen as beautiful. Many would pass them without a second look. What is interesting about dead grass?  It's brown and ugly! But when we begin to see things through the eyes of an artist even the ugly becomes beautiful.
Brown is beautiful because brown is not just brown. Brown is purple and blue and orange. Brown stuff has subtle and beautiful colors. We just need to look carefully and allow our eyes to really see it".

 

 

The color of dry grass is changeable. It depends on the illumination of the sun and can be yellow-brown, and on cloudy days it can appear dark brown.
Only dried ears on grass stems glow in the rays of the sun, as if they say: soon everything will come to life, there will be new plants, new seeds, new fresh herbs. I wanted to take a photo to remember my stroll.

That's all for now, bye!

 

source 

source

This Is How I Usually Do Forcing Bulbs

Friends, despite the fact that tulips (daffodils, hyacinths) are now sold almost all year round, the forcing bulbs is a lot of fun, because it allows you to choose varieties to your liking, observe the entire process of plant development and get the desired flowering.

I plant tulips or daffodils for cold storage from 1 to 5 October. Before planting, it is recommended to clean the bulbs from covering scales so that the roots penetrate the soil more easily and the bulb takes root faster. I can also look for signs of disease and cull diseased bulbs.

  

 March, 8

This year I planted 3 tulips close to each other in a pot with a diameter of 14 cm. I add more soil, watered abundantly. Then I placed a pot with planted bulbs in a plastic bag, then in a fridge with a temperature of + 9C. During the cold storage period (13-14 weeks), I periodically inspected and watered them.
I rearranged the pot with already sprouted bulbs to the windowsill, when the sprouts reached 10 cm, and at the bottom of the shoot the rudiment of a flower was felt or seen. The photos below clearly show that tulip buds developed quickly.

 

February, 2

 February, 14

Tulips and other bulbs should be watered with cold water, preferably melted water, since it contains a minimum amount of salts and acids.

 February, 27

 

March, 9

This year some weeks after the end of cold storage, my tulips bloomed. Usually flowering lasts 7-10 days. I noticed that if the temperature is lowered, then flowering lasts 10-14 days. 

Last year I forced these yellow daffodils and they bloomed in March 2022.

Have you done forcing bulbs? What is your experience?

source