Rosehip painting

Almost finished a little "Rosehip" painting

Still tweaking with the background

Little detail shot of the Rosehip

{Acrylic on 6" x 6" gallery canvas}

And a picture just for fun...

I had to move my paints down to the basement again for winter. 

Although we had the re insulation work done in my studio, we don't have the heating system all done yet.

So one more year of moving things around and me taking over the guest bedroom and dining room table,

leaving me with the fact that the guest bedroom  has to be updated 

{it's like a bad 1980's time capsule down there and over a year later after we moved here,

 I think its time to make this ours, brighten things up and put some life in to it}

But while I moved my stuff down, I found my daughters huge glass diamond 

and I just had to look through it...  

read more

Two Days In Pictures

read more

301st post and Happy November sketching...

Went for a late fall walk down by the Ottawa Dominion Arboretum, absolutely lovely place to go for a stroll and discover different species of trees and shrubs {further up from the arboretum is the Experimental Farm that has also a great selection of flowers and other plants}.  

Such a relaxing place right in the middle of the city.

I bought my self a new sketch book and it has kind of brown paper look to it, and while walking and looking at all the leaves that have fallen down to the ground I started to sketch them as every single one of them have such a unique patterns and shapes to them, and even within the same species.

 Of course took a few pictures along the way

Rose Hip and Sunflower Seed Pods

Then last Sunday Mr B went to visit our daughter and I got a little time to my self

so I finished the painting for the auction I'm donating it too.  And after I got that done I started to work on two small once {below}.

I love flowers, but I hate to tell you seed pods and the stage plants and flowers get in too late fall is by far my favourite, I really enjoy the graphic look they take on as they dry up and change colours.

All that beautiful earthy tones, grays and browns.

They give me so many ideas for different fabric prints I {still} would like to get in too

and trying, I want to get in to putting my designs on fabric and then create something with that.

Time will come!

Any hoooo!!!  Cant believe how fast time has gone by, this is my 301 post and I have now been blogging for 4 years.  Where did the time go?  Sure have meet a ton of fantastic people that I would never otherwise have met, connected with absolute brilliant artists, crafters and others alike.

Found inspiration, support and ideas, shared fun thoughts and learned a lot.

A Huge thank you to all of you who have come by to see my crazy side of the planet, left comments and sent emails and letters, and please know I read everyone of them...  I'm just not good at writing back all the time.

But, Thank you, its been fun 4 years of blog land.

Happy November everyone!

read more

Paintings in My Studio...

I want to thank everyone who wrote to me after my last post.
My daughter is still in the hospital, but she really is getting a ton of great help and things are looking brighter and I cant wait to have our little girl back again.

One of the questions I got was about a painting that hangs on the wall behind the easel that holds my new painting that's being worked on right now.  It's an acrylic painting I did of the many lovely long sand beaches that we have gone too here in Ontario, and I tried to capture the look of the wet sand as the water drew back after each wave came through.  Needless to say the title of my painting ended with "Wet Sand" 

And then it comes to another painting (on the opposite side of the work space), I call it my gallery wall and the place I can store larger canvases, my inspiration board, I like to change things around all the time and this wall is perfect for that.

Any how, on that wall I have one smaller canvas, a landscape painting from a canoe trip we did in Algonquin Provincial Park.  I really hate being in stormy weather, and thunderstorms scare the living crap out of me.

A few years ago we were in one Mother of all storms and ever since then, you could say I have turned in to a big chicken...  But I still like to capture pictures of the heavy majestic clouds, paint them and look at them.

(Just don't ask me to sit through them when they go right over)

Okay, so here is my problem with this painting, I cant for the life of me remember if I did it in oils or acrylics.

Sure, I could always check and not sure why I haven't done it yet...  Maybe, just maybe I'm a bit worried to find out and then start fiddling about with it and screw it all up.  

I'm not sure how to fix the water, any ideas?

I leave you again with more pictures I took from my morning walk two days ago.

Lovely frost had settled above everything, all was covered in a sweet sugar dusting, dew drops frozen in to beads.  I just love this time of the year where even the smallest detail is dreamy.

read more

Still here!!...

I know it has been a while since I posted last, over a month now. But I'm here!!!!  I'm around and about and today has been my first time to start painting again in a long while.  And to tell you the truth it hasn't been easy going, some of you might know that my daughter has severe autism and since February 2012 she developed head aches and it has been going on ever since and it has only become worse.

Journal page I did one night after one very frustrating day

So it has been a huge struggle for us and mostly for her as she can only say few words, but cant articulate where or how it hurts.  We know her and we all know that she's in pain and not doing well, but how do you explain that to Dr's and others who don't know her.  So during this whole time we have been fighting with the medical system, hospitals and specialists and all we got was not much at all, and due to this nothing was done and she only got worse.  Because of her autism and not being able to communicate verbally, her behaviours got worse and worse...   Everything around here has been put on hold, I haven't been able to work or paint, life just took a place on top of the highest shelf possible and everything has been to care for her and trying to find help for her.  Then finally two weeks ago, we finally found that one person who would hear us out and agree something has to be done.  Finally my little girl is getting the help she needs.  Now she's under medical care, some tests have been done and now we're waiting to hear.  We're no longer beating our heads against walls, our pleads for help have been heard and now the path looks like its going in the direction for the light.

So between visiting our girl in the hospital, meetings with Dr's and others, medical tests, never ending phone calls and emails, we have finally been able to catch up to much needed sleep, recovered energy and even been able to get a few things done around here.  One of the things was my workroom and studio space, the insulation work got done so Mr B bought me furniture and few things for my space {thank you baby} and although it has taken me over a month to get everything back in, I at last moved in again and even started to paint again.  So here it is, my new space {mind you, its still messy and will take time to get all that stuff I pushed under things to get sorted through} so I snapped a few pictures...

Canvas on the easel is getting ready for a painting I'm doing for an auction I'm donating it too 

{More details coming soon}

So today I added more to my canvas {details} and I cant tell you how fantastic it felt to 

be right in here, paint, feel the brush and just for a while my mind was only about the moment.

I feel hope and I really think we're now doing what should get done.

I cant believe it has been over a month since I posted here, and fall came and its almost over

or at least the beautiful colours have almost all fallen and faded away.

I have been able to get out for a few walks and of course my camera had to come along too.  

Board walk down by the bog

fall harvest

Sweet Cotton Grass

Here's to hope, to my little girl

And to everyone with no voices to be able to be heard!

read more

Two days...

Two different days in pictures

First 6 pictures are from Prince Edward County wine tour Mr B and I did with dear friends

All beautiful water, skies and fields {my dream place}

And wineries & brewing companies

Tasting, savoring and enjoying

There's nothing like sitting outside enjoying great weather, company of good friends

Good wine and food and feasting your eyes on the beautiful and relaxing surroundings 

 Of course we cant forget all the brilliant old barns, farm lands and chickens

So wish I had my sketch book along on this trip

But I got to see art, amazing glass art and more at the

Huff Estate Winery

Below is from a lovely evening I spent with my son

He loves photography as much as me and we went out for a walk down by the river

to watch the sun set

"Happiness is not a

Destination

It is a way of Life"

read more

Its coming along...

FINALLY!!!!  The floor has been re-insulated and same goes for the attic.

It was pretty funny when the contractors took up the floor, not only have I had a whole zoo living under there

but squirrels have also kept the space as a chestnut bank and they had made a ton of deposits.

So now, frosty, squirrels, mice and chestnuts alike have been booted out and now hopefully 

it should make it much easier for me to stay in there and paint while the winter months rolls by.

Been doing very little sketching during this time.

I cant believe we are already in mid September and fall is here for sure, leaves have started to change

and almost all flowers have turned in to beautiful and interesting seed pods.

A few things are still in bloom.

I found this drawing among my many paper stacks

Now wanting to do something with it so I can finish it, just trying to figure out how.

read more