24 Thursday Sep 2020
Posted in Art, Beach, Gift Ideas
Tags
beach, beach art, flower, flower art, flower garden, flower prints, flowers, flowers art, flowers paintings, sharon cummings, sunflower, sunflower art, sunflowers, wildflowers
Tapping into my wild side with some cool mandala flower art. Sunflower power!
06 Tuesday May 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, lavender, macro, macro photo, macro photography, natural, nature, painting, petal, petals, plant, plants, purple, sharon cummings, spring, summer, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers
I went outside today to see if there were any flowers left blooming. In Florida we have a short Winter and then a handful of nice Spring days with bursts of color everywhere. The azaleas…….the bromeliads……and then it all dies………….9 months of HEAT. Not much grows in Summer except the grass and weeds. All of my irises are brown and crispy looking. The lilies look like beef jerky. But this little group of tiny dancers was still celebrating, so I snapped them quickly before the sun was full in the sky.
I will be in my studio painting now for a good long while……..expect some new acrylic work very soon!
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04 Sunday May 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
beach sunflower, botanical prints, daisies, daisy, floral, floral prints, flower, garden, gardening, nature, nature photography, photography, photos, pretty flowers, sharon cummings, sun, sun flower, sunflower, weeds, wild flowers, wildflowers, yellow, yellow daisy, yellow flower
And I say…It’s alright! After 2 days of dark, wet and windy weather, I welcome the sun today with open arms. We are having unseasonably rainy and cooler temperatures here in Florida. May is usually hot. Just hot. But the rains have started early. I just hope this isn’t a premonition for Hurricane Season. Let me worship the sun while I can!
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03 Saturday May 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
art for sale, beauty, blowing in the wind, botanical art, botanical prints, buy art prints, close up, dandelion, dandelion blowing in the wind, dandelions, garden, gardens, macro, macro photography, macro photos, magical, make a wish, micro, micro photos, natural, nature, puff, puffballs, puffs, sharon cummings, spring, weed, weeds, wildflower, wildflowers, wish
That’s right. I really blew it. A dandelion that is. I mean a round puffball seemed kind of boring. So I just blew it exposing the interesting inside. Then I made a wish and blew them all into the wind…
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26 Saturday Apr 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, macro, macro photo, macro photography, natural, nature, orange, pale yellow, petal, petals, plant, plants, sharon cummings, soft, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow
I like to walk around with my camera just seeing what I can find. I love old buildings and garbage piles because often the most interesting photos are there. These beauties were growing proud all along an abandoned restaurant. They were not in neat little rows, but wild and rangy. They were large flowers, so I do not think they are weeds.
Do you know what type of flowers these are?
18 Friday Apr 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
bold, botanical, botanical art, botanical photos, botanical prints, clock vine, clock vine flowers, colorful, floral, floral photography, florida, florida botanical gardens, flower, flowers, garden, gardening, gardens, lavender, macro, macro photography, natural, nature, olive flower, periwinkle, photo, photograph, photography, pinellas county, plants, pretty, purple, sharon cummings, spring, spring flowers, spring time, springtime, vibrant, vine, vines, wild flowers, wildflowers
Yesterday me and the hubby went on a little field trip. We found our way to the Florida Botanical Gardens in Pinellas County. Somehow in all of these years in Tampa, this gem has been hidden from me. We frequently drive down to Sarasota to enjoy the Selby Gardend, but this place was also amazing! So many flowers all out in the open to see and smell. The winding paths lead to many beautiful surprises. Plus there is a little heritage village with old houses and buildings that were to be destroyed, but were saved and moved here. What a treat!
It is a macro lens photographer’s delight. 🙂
13 Sunday Apr 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
aloe, aloe vera, botanical, botanical photography, botanical photos, botanical prints, cottage, country, desert, desert art, desert photos, flower, flowers, garden, gardens, healing, herbs, holistic medicine, medicinal plants, medicine, plant, plants, sharon cummings. photograph, southwest, southwestern, southwestern decor, succulent, succulents, sunburn, vera, western, wildflowers
Another beautiful day in Florida and I was out early with my camera. We have the most beautiful aloe plants growing all around our property and the humming birds love them. I am not sophisticated enough as a photographer yet to start capturing those speedy little birds, but I did get some nice shots of the aloe flower spikes. They are so delicate. I use the aloe leaves for skin irritations and they are quite healing. I wonder if the flowers are useful? Here are some ways that the leaves benefit us humans:
Aloe Vera contains many vitamins including A, C, E, folic acid, choline, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B6. Aloe Vera is also one of the few plants that contains vitamin B12.
Some of the 20 minerals found in Aloe Vera include: calcium, magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium, sodium, iron, potassium, copper, manganese.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. There are about 22 amino acids that are necessary for the human body and it is said that 8 of these are essential. Estimates of the amino acids found in aloe range from 18-20 amino acids, with all 8 essential amino acids.
Alove Vera also includes quite an impressive range of fatty acids. Aloe contains three plant sterols, which are important fatty acids- HCL cholesterol (which lowers fats in the blood), campesterol, and B-sitosterol. All are helpful in reducing symptoms of allergies and acid indigestion. Other fatty acids include linoleic, linolenic, myristic, caprylic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic.
Aloe Vera is a well-known adaptogen. An adaptogen is something that boosts the body’s natural ability to adapt to external changes and resist illness. It is thought that aloe’s power as an adaptogen balances the body’s system, stimulating the defense and adaptive mechanisms of the body. This allows you an increased ability to cope with stress (physical, emotional and environmental stress like pollution)
Poor digestion is related to many diseases. A properly functioning digestive tract is one of the keys and foundations of health. Aloe is known to soothe and cleanse the digestive tract and help improve digestion. The interesting thing about taking aloe internally is that, because it is an adaptogen, it helps with either constipation or diarrhea, helping to regulate your elimination cycles in whatever way you need. It’s been a great remedy for people with problems such as irritable bowel syndrome as well as acid reflux. Aloe also helps to decrease the amount of unfriendly bacteria and in our gut keeping your healthy intestinal flora in balance. Aloe is also a vermifuge, which means it helps to rid the body of intestinal worms.
Aloe Vera is a gelatinous plant food, just like seaweeds and chia. The main benefit to consuming gelatinous plant foods in your diet is that these gels move through the intestinal tract absorbing toxins along the way and get eliminated through the colon. This will help the proper elimination of waste from your body and help the detoxification of your body.
Disease cannot manifest in an alkaline environment. Most people are living and subsisting on mostly acidic foods. For great health, remember the 80/20 rule – 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acidic. Aloe vera is an alkaline forming food. It alkalizes the body, helping to balance overly acidic dietary habits
There hasn’t been a lot of studies conducted in this but there has been some research to show that Aloe Vera extract injected into the blood, greatly multiplies the oxygen transportation and diffusion capabilities of the red blood cells.
According to a study published in the 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal, beta sitosterol helps to lower cholesterol. By regulating blood pressure, improving circulation and oxidation of the blood, lowering cholesterol, and making blood less sticky, Aloe Vera juice may be able to help lower the risk of heart disease.
I think given the stresses of our daily lives, every one can use a boost to their immune systems. The polysaccharides in aloe vera juice stimulate macrophages, which are the white blood cells of your immune system that fight against viruses.
Aloe is also an immune enhancer because of its high level of anti-oxidants, which help combat the unstable compounds known as free-radicals, contributing to the aging process. (Free radicals are a bi-product of life itself, it is a naturally occurring process but we can overload ourselves with unnecessary free-radicals by living an unhealthy lifestyle) Aloe is also an antipyretic which means it used to reduce or prevent fever.
Because of aloe’s well-known healing properties for the skin, aloe is one of the primary compounds used in the cosmetic industry. It is a known vulnerary, (meaning it helps heal wounds) and is great for applying topically to burns, abrasions, psoriasis and even to bug bites. Aloe acts as an analgesic, acting to help relieve pain of wounds. It’s feels especially good to cut a stem of aloe, place it in the fridge and rub it on sun burnt skin – the immediate soothing effect feels like an absolute lifesaver. Aloe is also an antipruritic: A substance that relieves or prevents itching. Aloe Vera is an astringent: which causes the contraction of body tissues, typically used to reduce bleeding from minor abrasions.
Due to aloe’s high water content (over 99% water) it is a great way to hydrate, moisturize and rejuvenate the skin and fits within my general guideline: “Don’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t eat!” Aloe increases the elasticity of the skin making it more flexible through collagen and elastin repair. Aloe is an emollient, helping to soften and soothe the skin. It helps supply oxygen to the skin cells, increasing the strength and synthesis of skin tissue and induces improved blood flow to the skin through capillary dilation.
Wow, I think that covers all anti- bases. Okay, I admit, that was just a sneaky way to add in another 8 good reasons why you should keep Aloe Vera handy and incorporate it into your lifestyle. Aloe Vera’s active ingredients are sulphur, lupeol, salicylic acid, cinnamic acid, urea nitrogen and phenol which are substances that prevent the growth of disease-causing microorganisms and act as a team to provide antimicrobial activity thus eliminating many internal and external infections, also active against bacteria. It also helps to treat fungal and viral infections.
Source: Sacred Source Nutrition
08 Tuesday Apr 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
bold, botanical, botanical art, botanical photos, botanical prints, colorful, floral, floral photography, flower, flowers, fuchsia, garden, gardening, gardens, ground cover, groundcover, hot pink, ice, ice flower, ice plant, macro, macro photography, natural, nature, photo, photograph, photography, pink, pink flower, pink flowers, pink petals, plants, pretty, sharon cummings, spring, spring flowers, vibrant, wild flowers, wildflowers
This past weekend was filled with fun and diversion from my normal routine. I spent a lovely day with a friend in Tarpon Springs eating Greek food, playing pool and hitting the vintage shops. I also got in some photography on Saturday. My husband and I headed out to Sand Key, FL and surrounding beaches to soak up a little sunshine and explore beach condos. While we were trekking about, these hot pink flowers really caught my eye. They were ground hugging beauties. He immediately identified them as “ice plants” which I had never seen in the South before. He said they grow like wild up in California where he is from. In 45 years this is my first ice plant spotting. Wow! The color is fantastic (unaltered…straight from my Nikon D7000). I find I actually “see” more when I carry my macro lens with me. There really is so much beauty in our world. 🙂
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24 Monday Mar 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, lavender, macro, macro photo, macro photography, mother nature, natural, nature, orange, pale yellow, petal, petals, plant, plants, purple, sharon cummings, soft, stamen, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow
Wildflowers that is.
It’s Spring here in Florida and all of the beautiful flowers are in full bloom. We went out on a photo shoot this weekend and there were so many to choose from. Hibiscus and bougainvillea were plentiful. And the stargazer lilies were absolutely stunning! But as I was snapping away, I realized with a macro lens I can find beauty far beyond the typical floral fare. So I got on my hands and knees and started looking at the plants and flowers along the raggedy fences. The little “weeds” and scrubs had my full attention for the day. I was absolutely amazed at the beauty I found in these things we normally mow down and look over. It’s another world of magnificence!
The lavender specimen above revealed to me the most delicate purple hairs with dancing bursts of yellow rimmed in black. Seriously WILD! The yellow soft surprise below opened it’s inner world to me with a show of orange and delicate veins.
Nature: I bow to you in even your seeming insignificance. I no longer see “weeds” in my garden. 🙂
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14 Monday Oct 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
air, alone, art, barren, barren tree, blue, blue sky, brances, branches, breeze, bridge, bright sky, cabin, calm, calming, camping, canvas, cloud, clouds, earth, elegant, fall sky, florida, foliage, forest, galaxy, green, hiding place, hiking, journey, landscape, landscapes, leafless, lonely, lonesome, meditation, minimal, minimalism, minimalist, mountain, natural, nature, note 3, paintings, path, peace, peaceful, photo, photograph, photography, photos, prints, relax, relaxing, samsung, samsung galaxy, samsung galaxy note 3, samsung galaxy note 3 camera, scenery, scenic, secret place, sharon cummings, sightseeing, silence, silent, simple, single, skies, sky, skyscape, skyscapes, solitude, soothing, spring sky, stroll, strolling, sumemr sky, tree, tree branch, tree branches, trees, walk, walking, wall art, white cloud, wilderness, wildflower, wildflowers, wind, winter sky, wood, wooden bridge, woods, woodsy
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/solitude-blue-sky-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html
Yesterday was one of those amazing Florida days where I wished everyone I knew could be enjoying the fresh air, the sunshine and all of the beauty that was embracing me. We took our new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phones out into the wilderness to see what the cameras could do. I bought the phone for my business and that is what it is used for 90% of the time, but since we had heard so much about the photographic capacity of these new gadgets we gave them a whirl. There was no shortage of subject. The cameras took some really nice pictures, but no where near that of our DSLR’s. My favorite is the piece above titled “Solitude” as it expresses how I feel most of the time. Working from a home studio without coworkers and/or employees leaves me with a lot of alone time.
But I had the most fun playing with the panorama setting. This piece below turned out really cool and shows a true slice of Florida wilderness where man has intruded by building a bridge between the city world and the great outdoors:
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/around-the-bend-sharon-cummings.html
Lastly, there were so many wildflowers blooming it was unreal. Some of these beauties were taller than I was with large golden and yellow fronds reaching into the sky. Really it was perfect and it turned out to be a lot less about the camera and a lot more about capturing the beauty…..
