Glory of the Snow

Even though I live in the suburbs it is pretty urban here as I am right on the border of the city of Chicago.  My little urban garden suffers the ills and blessings of being near the expressway.  The blessing is the garden itself; I have seen people stop and pause next to it, as it offers a respite so close to the expressway.  The other wonderful blessing is that it is visited by many birds including birds of prey attracted to the expressway possibly because it is very canyon-like.  The ills of an urban garden are obvious. Trash blows all too frequently into its small space adding clutter.  This particular drawing from my sketchbook reminds me of the blessings and curses of my urban garden.  There seems to be trash blowing about in this drawing, landing in odd positions but there is also beauty in color, shape and texture, just as these contrasting elements exist in the actual space of the garden.  Even though it is not spring yet, I enjoy the spring-like colors in this sketch and in some of the debris that has landed within it.  I do have flowers coming up in the garden—Glory of the Snow, for one, is in full bloom.  I love that little plant because it is a sure reminder that spring is right around the corner.