Vintage Art Appreciation: The Saucer of Milk by Helen Allingham

The Saucer of Milk, 19th century
by Helen Allingham (1864–1919)
Do your little bit of good where you are;
it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
― Desmond Tutu

The thought manifests the word;
The word manifests the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let them spring forth from love
Born out of compassion for all beings.
As the shadow follows the body, as we think, so we become.
― Dhammapada

Vintage art oiginally found on Wikimedia here. Don't you just love this gentle, idyllic cottage scene? You can download my digitally enhanced version of this utterly charming garden painting as an 8” x 10” @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Printable Vintage Art: The Brushwood Collector by Adolf Kaufmann

We all have forests in our minds. Forests unexplored, unending. Each one of us gets lost in the forest, every night, alone.
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wind's Twelve Quarters

Their life is mysterious, it is like a forest; from far off it seems a unity, it can be comprehended, described, but closer it begins to separate, to break into light and shadow, the density blinds one. Within there is no form, only prodigious detail that reaches everywhere: exotic sounds, spills of sunlight, foliage, fallen trees, small beasts that flee at the sound of a twig-snap, insects, silence, flowers. And all of this, dependent, closely woven, all of it is deceiving. There are really two kinds of life. There is, as Viri says, the one people believe you are living, and there is the other. It is this other which causes the trouble, this other we long to see.
― James Salter, Light Years

A vintage landscape painting by Adolf Kaufmann (1848–1916) entitled “The Brushwood Collector”; oiginally found on Wikimedia here. Digitally enhanced version can be downloaded as a 5” x 7” @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Printable Vintage Art: A Thistle by John Crome

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan “Press On!” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
― Calvin Coolidge

A botanical painting by John Crome (1768–1821). This one is simply titled “A Thistle” and was painted circa 1812. Oiginally found on Wikimedia here. You can download my digitally enhanced version here.

Did you know that there are more than 60 native and introduced species of thistles in Canada alone? While many of these varieties are considered noxious weeds due to their persistent and invasive properties, they are a fantastic source of food for pollinators. In my garden, I have a modestly-sized, but controlled, clump of Echinops (globe thistle) that I grow as companion plants to my Echinacea (coneflowers). Both have the same watering requirements, being very drought tolerant, and both attract pollinators by the hundreds, if not thousands, every season! The spent flowers also attract plenty of birds, particularly finches, to devour the seedheads that develop, which adds to the lively atmosphere in the back yard. Keep these spiky plants at the back of the border but within easy reach so you can dig out a handful or two should they become too unruly.

Globe thistles emerging in late spring to provide sculptural contrast in the garden
Photo © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.