Janet Zeh Art Blog - paintings of birds, flowers, seascapes and country landscapes.
The sunlit clouds sweeping through the sky add drama to this painting and turn the blue-green waters off the shore of Oahu a muted gray. On the left, you can just see the roof of a house behind a foliage-covered garden wall. Sure would be nice to live there! 
I wish I could tell you that this is a scene from my garden. Alas, beautiful Bougainvillea doesn't grow like that here in New England. But perhaps you live in a warmer climate and you're lucky enough to grow these. The bracts are the colorful part of a bougainvillea rather than the inconspicuous white flower. This scene was inspired by the garden of some friends who live in south Texas. They are always telling me about the swallows that fly about their place and I thought it would be just right to add a couple of swallows to this painting.
It already seems so long ago that the hummingbirds were visiting my garden every day. It's now bitter cold in New England. BRRR! You'd think it was January. The hummingbirds have all flown far south for the winter. So, what a delight it is to paint this little bird! It makes the day warm and sunny just to look at it. I hope you are in a warmer place, but if not, this little painting might just make you feel that you are... 
Just a blush of color to these petunias - they are almost white, but with the slightest hint of lavendar. I love how the colors blend in this painting. It almost seemed to have painted itself, I just hung on to the brush and watched it happen!
Here's an action scene! These boats are part of a sailboat race off the coast of southern New England. I love watching them fly over the water with the wind. Many people love the sight of sailboats and, as I had several sailboat scenes this past summer at my outdoor shows, I noticed a few things. First, men are especially drawn to the sailboat paintings. Second, it doesn't matter much if they sail or not. I think half told me they do sail and the rest don't. So, if you are wondering what to give that hard to please male, a sailboat painting could be just the thing! 
This is a smaller version of an acrylic rose painting that I had at my outdoor shows this summer. It was a big hit, and so even though that one is no longer available, I thought I'd do one for you. Young people especially love the acrylic flower paintings for their brilliant color. If you have a young couple or student on your shopping list who needs something for their walls, this could just be it!
While visiting Albuquerque, New Mexico one year, I took a stroll with some family members along the trails at the base of the Sandia Mountains. I'll never forget the sight of flocks of bluebirds everywhere we went. Swooping and dipping, they made brilliant blue flashes against the desert terrain. That was in the wintertime, so not much was blooming.
What I love about this scene is the action in it. The tropical breezes are blowing the palm trees and the surf is crashing in to shore. The north shore of Hawaii has the largest, most spectacular surf in the world at Waimea Bay. But it can be dangerous in winter with powerful rip tides and swells reaching to 30 feet. Summertime is the time to enjoy taking a swim here! In any case, I'd love to be there just to watch the surf rush in.
A native of tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia, gardenias need high humidity and a warm climate to grow. They are evergreens with thick leathery leaves. The flowers can be quite large and have a strong sweet scent. You can grow them indoors with a special potting mix made especially for gardenias.
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The beautiful camillia flower blossoms on a broadleaved evergreen shrub that originated in the highlands of China and Japan. If I have been remiss in not painting these more often, it's simply because they don't grow here in New England. They need zone 7-9 and we are zone 5 and lower here. Too bad! The camillia grows abundantly in warmer climes brightening gardens and hillsides with gorgeous springtime color and fragrance.
This pink rose has lavendar tones in its shadows giving it a satiny look. Can you smell the sweet rose scent? 
I am never tired of painting this slender and regal bird! The weather took a turn for the warmer recently with rain alternating from gentle sprinkles to downpours. In the midst of this, I took an early morning walk at the nature preserve and was rewarded by the sight of a heron through the mist. As soon as it saw me, it rose up on its broad wings and circled away to hide in the reeds at the far end of the pond.
I love painting birds with flowers. But it's November and there are no flowers in sight here in New England. So let's go to Hawaii! My interest in Hawaii is enhanced by the fact that our president-elect hails from that island state.
These are pretty, many-petaled miniature yellow roses. To paint them, I used a wash of light yellow followed by shadows in cerulean blue and lilac shades. It gives a bit of transparency to the outer petals and adds contrasting color to the flower. Final effect: beautiful!
Lilacs have a sweet fresh scent and are my favorite spring flower.
This painting is #60 of the Zeh Bermuda Collection.
I love this scene. A distant mountain is framed by palms with a stony beach in the foreground, the beautiful blue waters of a bay in between with sunlit clouds behind. Wouldn't you love to be there right now? The water's warm and clear, the view magnificent!
Here are some lovely, lacy hydrangea blossoms touched by sunlight. 
My crabapple tree still has plenty of fruit even after many flocks of robins have come through on their way south. The tart crabapples may taste bitter, but birds gobble them down when they're hungry. In this painting, a Carolina wren perches on a limb and may take a peck or two at the crabapples. I expect that by spring there will still be fruit left on the tree. Even if it's shriveled and dry, the returning birds will find them and finish them off before the first leaves appear. 
I like painting the intricacies of a rose with all the many layers of overlapping petals. You can see how the petals swirl at the center in this painting where the rose bud is not yet fully opened. 
