Just wanted to drop a note and say hello. It's hard to believe January is pretty much over, and so is my week of holidays. In my mind I had wanted to go somewhere for the week, like Mexico, and enjoy some sun. I decided to stay home and have a week at home. It's been pretty busy. I've added a few pages from my website to here since it shut down last week.
Also did a fair bit of video creation. I saw the Chiseled Ice Festival mid-week, before things started to warm up and melt the sculptures too much. As it was, some of the finer pieces of ice had already broken off. They were still lovely to look at.
Also went for a walk in the creek valley. I had been seeing what I thought were Ruffed Grouse during the week, and was hoping they would move into the creek valley and set up residence. However, I reviewed the footage I had taken of the group over at the gas plant, and realized those ones were likely Grey Partridge.
I still feel like some of the other birds I saw were Ruffed Grouse but I'm not really a partridge or a grouse expert. I went for a walk hoping to find some of their tracks in the snow, which are always cute to see as they look like little stars, or their pellets which look like All Bran (nothing against the cereal, it's delicious. That's just what they look like). But there was nothing out there. I was a little disappointed, but I had a good time anyway.
The creek is also starting to melt in spots, as you can see in the photo. I usually don't trust myself to walk on the ice but it really is amazing seeing all the trees and tall cliffs from the viewpoint of the creek.
For my last day off, hopefully we can go for a walk out at Elk Island. I will probably have to wrap my knee up in a brace to help it manage against the ice, and make sure I have my cleats with me as the melting snow wrecks havoc on my knee.
I've also been forewarned that I am heading back into a disaster zone. Two of my coworkers are off, one due to medical leave and the other to take care of their spouse who just had surgery. I feel like I'm going to need another holiday after a couple of weeks.
I was inspired by the fancy grass dancers that you can see at pow wows, and painted colourful streamers on the end of two of my Ojibwe eagles' wingtips. I always enjoy watching the dancers as they seem so free.
Acrylic on 9 x 12" stretched canvas, the image continues on all sides.
$250 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America. Sent me an email or note and I can email you an invoice via PayPal.
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Seven Eagles - 2018
This is the biggest painting I've created so far, and one of my most meaningful. It measures 4 by 6 feet and is on a piece of unstretched canvas as I wanted to give a feeling it was painted on hide.
Seven eagles soar into the sky, higher and higher towards the sun. Each one is in a stage of immaturity and the upper ones still have a hint of brown in their head feathers as it takes about four years for an eagle to reach adulthood. This represents the journey that each of us takes towards our own adulthood and working towards a goal, such as graduating from school or obtaining achievements at work. The number seven represents the seven grandfather teachings as well as having a personal significance since there were seven people in my family.
The top has a piece of wood that a beaver carved which was found at the creekside near my home, and the painting hangs from a piece of sisal cord to keep a natural look.
Acrylic on 4 x 6 foot canvas.
$5000 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Payment by bank transfer only. Email me for details.
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Soaring Eagle - 2009
An Ojibwe or Woodlands style bald eagle soars through the sky, surveying his territory of mountains. Overhead, a bright yellow sun radiates energy. This is a unique size of painting that could create some real impact on a skinny section of wall.
Acrylic on 6 x 36" stretched canvas.
All materials used are archival.
$300 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America. Email me and I can send you an invoice via PayPal.
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Four Eagles - 2006
Four eagles circle overhead around the sun.
Acrylic on 16 x 16" canvas paper, framed with reddish-brown wood frame.
All materials are archival.
$450 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
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Night Eagle - 2008
A brief return to my cubist roots, with a Woodlands twist. An eagle flies through the night, a shattered image of sunsets, sunrises, and nights, a reminder of the cycle of life we all face. Within his body is another night sky, complete with the northern lights and a glowing moon.
Acrylic on 9 x 12" canvaspanel.
Framed with all archival materials.
$400 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Hi everyone! Just wanted to post a bit about myself. Feel free to ask questions, too.
I am an Ojibwe or Ahnishnaabe artist living in Edmonton, Alberta. Having grown up in northern Manitoba, I gained an appreciation of nature and spent much of my free time drawing and experimenting with various media. In my early adulthood I began to explore painting, and eventually developed my own style of Woodlands artwork. I enjoy the freedom of the abstract style and creating images with sharply contrasting colors or smooth blends. I have also been inspired by Inuit soapstone sculpture and folklore. I'm actually inspired by a lot of stuff, but mostly nature.
Northern Canada inspires much of my work. As a child, my family often went on fishing excursions, woodcutting, and explorations of Canada's pristine wilderness. I self-studied animals in great detail by reading every book I could find at the local library as a child, and have a great love for birds. In recent years and thanks to COVID, I've gotten into hiking and camping with my husband. We really enjoy checking out new places and being in nature instead of just skimming the surface as one often ends up doing when just driving or traveling. I still love traveling though, and seeing new places and learning about the history and culture of the people living there.
I have painted for over 20 years now, and sold artwork to locations across the globe and have participated in various art shows in Alberta and Manitoba. I prefer to sell my art individually so I can enjoy meet the people and hear about what they like about my art, but I enjoy the virtual modes as well.
I live with my husband, Lyndon, and my black cat, Maho, in Edmonton, Alberta.
A loon spirit against a mix of firey reds. Graceful lines cross the loon's back and are decorated with the white dots that are visible on the Common Loon.
Acrylic 12 x 12" stretched canvas. Unframed but is wired on the back for easy hanging.
$200 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a more official link in the near future.
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Gold Crane - 2006
A gold crane lifts off from the ground amidst a pine forest. I painted this based on a Sandhill Crane I saw when I was child out berry-picking. I got tired of picking blueberries under the relentless sun (maybe not the best decision considering there could have been black bears around) and wandered into the next clearing and startled a crane.
They flew up gracefully and effortlessly, calling out "Karoo, karoo" as he went.
The crane was long gone, but those berries were delicious with some milk and sugar, and I had a good memory.
Acrylic on 9 x 12" canvaspaper. Framed using archival materials.
$250 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a more official link in the near future.
***
Purple Martin - 2005
A purple martin feathers flash silver in warm sunlight. Silver dots his wings and tail feathers. Acrylic on 9 x 12" canvaspaper. Framed in a reddish-brown wood frame using archival materials. Frame and matting match Tree Swallow.
$250 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a more official link in the near future.
***
Tree Swallow - 2005
Tree Swallows nested in a nest box outside of our window. It's a fond memory watching those birds come and go during the early summer with insects to feed their young. Here, a swallow is captured in mid-flight. Silver dots his wings and tail feathers.
Acrylic on 9 x 12" canvaspaper. Framed in a reddish-brown wood frame to match Purple Martin. All materials used are archival.
$250 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a more official link in the near future.
***
Blue Swallow - 2008
Another style swallow similar to the first two, but this one has a more abstract background suggestive of the speed these amazing little birds fly with. I had some fun creating the background using a mix of metallic paint and wood stain.
Acrylic, metallic paint, and antique stain on 8 x 10" canvaspaper. Painting is framed using archival materials.
$250 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a more official link in the near future.
***
I also enjoy creating commissions for people who want something made specifically. I really love painting birds and will work with you to create a unique piece. The Woodlands or Ojibwe style is slightly abstract and I enjoy that freedom.
A bear gazes up towards the night sky as a bear spirit rises up into the starry sky overhead. On the horizon the last traces of the day dissolve into the cool night. Acrylic on 5 x 7" stretched canvas.
$70 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a link in the near future.
***
Only a Memory - 2020
The spirit of a polar bear appears within the Northern Lights which dance vividly. My wish and hope that the polar bears do not become just a memory in the wilderness. Acrylic on 9 x 12" paper and is unframed.
$125 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a link in the near future.
***
Bear and Moon Spirit - 2019
A bear reaches out towards the full moon to communicate. This is a re-make of a similar painting I made in 2011 or so. Acrylic on 6 x 8" stretched canvas.
$90 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a link in the near future.
***
Bear and Moon - 2004
A bear reaches up towards the full moon to receive blessings. One of my favorite paintings, I like the power emanating from the bear and that his pose is reminiscent of an Inukshuk. Acrylic on 9 x 12" canvaspaper. Framed using all archival materials.
$300 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a link in the near future.
***
A Million Lights in the Sky - 2012
A bear spirit gazes back from the watery depths at an aboriginal woman. Watercolour pencil crayons on 9 x 12" watercolour paper. Unframed.
$200 CDN includes shipping to locations within Continental North America.
Send me a message if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I can send an invoice by email, and hopefully update this page with a link in the near future.
***
I also offer commissions and work with my customers to create a piece that fits the imagination. Send me an email as I enjoy the freedom of the Woodlands style.
So I had to make a tough decision this year. I will not be renewing my domain name (no point sharing it here if it isn't going to exist anymore, lol). It will expire on January 19 (2024 in case you're reading this years from now).
I think I will be posting the artwork that was previously on that page onto here, as time suits me. Then everyone can still enjoy seeing my artwork and those who want to have it hanging on their walls can make a purchase as well. It will take time as I'll have to find the Paypal buttons/links to add in there.
What else have I been up to? Not a lot. I pretty much took 2023 off as an artist, and focused on continuing to create videos on YouTube (Donna's Adventures if you are curious). There's a lot of nature and hiking themed videos. With the whole pandemic I've really enjoyed getting closer to nature and re-discovering/taking a closer look at my "backyard" so to speak.
Speaking of backyard, we are fighting a battle right now with a coyote that has discovered our deck has a gaping hole in the latticework, and realized it would be a great home. There's been prints all over the backyard and copious amounts of poop. Big poop. Not sure what it's been eating but it's been eating well. Not the thin pointed poop full of fur that I usually see the creek valley or natural areas. I tried taking my cat out there to make a presence but it was too cold for him. He stood in the tracks yowling while I quickly distributed some loose fur around along the trees then whisked him back indoors. Poor little guy.
I told him he was helpful even though he got cold. I think my cat likes being helpful, although he's usually more of a help in the kitchen with cleaning up food scraps, especially meat.
I went back outside and scooped up all the fresh poop the coyote had somehow produced overnight (how can one animal poop so much?) and even the urine that was frozen solid in the snow.
My cat was also very excited as my husband and I headed out there with a staple gun and coils of chicken wire to try to close up the hole. It should work, for now. He sniffed my gloves thoughtfully when I got back in, nudging the fingers.
If nothing else I will try to get out there to make a human presence known and hopefully the coyote will get the idea that he should find somewhere else to live.
That's all for now. Hope to be on here again soon.
Whoops, I missed making a blog post for April...and May.
And the months seem to have flown by without my noticing.
So what have I been up to? The usual, I guess. Work has gotten busier, and I've ended up doing a couple of extra shifts on my would-be days off. Can't complain about that, but it also means I won't be able to do my usual day-off stuff. Like go for a walk, or even contemplate painting.
My donation is finally set up and will head out the door tomorrow. Nice to see a painting heading off to a good cause. I don't have a photo easily at hand right now but it was one of my phoenix paintings. Hope it generates a good amount of funds for the organization. 😊
Also been hiking on my days off. We went to the birding area near Tofield but was too early to see Snow Geese. Also visited Islet Lake in Cooking Lake Provincial park, which was also too early to see much sprouting, but I made a video featuring the butterflies we spotted.
Kind of a fun video.
In my art-world, I've been frustrated as its been several months since I've even picked up a paintbrush. Just not feeling any motivation lately, and I don't want to just waste time. And paint. And materials. The current lack of sales doesn't help, either. I think the last thing I painted was of a loon. I think it looks ok, but maybe a bit lacking in the overall impact.
Anyhow, I guess until the creative urges come back I'll just keep doing what I'm doing - earning a living at my day-job and keeping my happiness by spending time in nature.
Been noticing that it's been a long time since I last painted or created any sort of artwork.
In spite of that, I had two recent sales, which made me feel better. And yet, I still don't feel like painting.
I feel like my energy recently has been put into making YouTube videos. I've been finding it fun and a good way of sharing my love of nature and meeting other YouTubers around the world and checking out their videos.
I also have a stack of picture frames sitting on my desk which I rescued from work. With the upcoming renovations we've been clearing out a lot of old paperwork and clutter.
And I spotted three never-used picture frames sitting around. Glad to have them, but they're a bit of a unbecoming color as they're this sort of grey-ish brown that I wouldn't want to hang up.
Maybe I'll paint them.
The photo does them justice. The color doesn't look that bad.
But there is a big scratch on the one without any protection, so maybe that one I will paint up.
Going to add in my second-most recent video. I was a little disappointed with the view count as I put a lot of work into making it, of course. But it's informational. Lots of pretty photos of bugs and mushrooms and stuff we saw. So maybe people in the Edmonton area will watch it when they consider hiking at Bunchberry Meadows.
I even did research for that one, looking up plant names and bug names, especially since I couldn't find some of them in my guidebooks.
Still, it was fun.
Glad I have this weekend off. This is my day 8 of straight working. I am feeling a bit tired, but happy as one of those days I got to work at my old store in Wetaskiwin. It was nice seeing my former coworkers, and some customers that remembered me. Also had a nice walk in Wetaskiwin at their By-The-Lake Park. I should be able to make another video from the footage in that walk.
Not sure if you're a regular of this blog, or if you've binge-read a whole bunch of posts. But I've been looking through my old posts and fleshing out the stories within them, and adding updates, photos, and videos that I've created that fit along with the blog page themes.
So, if you have read the blog a long time ago, you might be interested to go re-visit some of the old pages. Think of it like a virtual Easter egg hunt. Except without chocolate.
A few years ago I traveled with my sister to Mexico for a week. We had a great time, and I bought a couple of pottery bowls. Unfortunately when I got home, one of the bowls had shattered into a number of pieces.
Upset, but not deterred, I decided to fix the bowl. I read online about kintsugi, the Japanese method of fixing broken pottery to make it useable again, and creating more of a one of a kind piece than before. The word translates to "golden joinery." I think they use nails to actually fix the pieces together and real gold, but I didn't want to try anything that detailed.
The neat thing about kintsugi is that it sometimes is considered a bit fashionable, and I read about some people/potters that would purposely break their pieces just to fix them and create a unique piece.
So, I bought some good glue, and gold paint. Not real gold paint, and it's probably not food safe, but I used it anyway. I decided I would not put the bowl in the dishwasher and it would be used more as a decoration.
I started by gluing the pieces together, and then adding the paint to finish sealing the pieces and fill in the gaps where the pottery had turned to dust.
Piece by piece, the bowl came back into shape. I was pleased with the final result, as it has a handmade look mixed with the handmade painting. A bit rough, but I wanted it like that.
It's now a cool decoration in the living room, and I use it for chips and other non-liquid foods. The other bowl is still intact, and is one of my favourite bowls for making my morning oatmeal with.
After finishing, I also ended up making another small fix on a small Japanese cup decorated with a cherry blossom that I had inherited from a friend a long time ago. The handle had broken off, and so I glued that back on. It turned out pretty good.
You never know what you can do until you try.
What do you think? Have you used kintsugi to fix a broken item? Would you try to do it, too?
Time really flies when you're not doing much outside of working and living a simple homelife.
Not that there's anything wrong with it. I still have a strong desire to go traveling somewhere. Lyndon and I have been watching a lot of documentaries and shows featuring places around the world. Like the Scottish comedian Susan Calman and her series where she travels around Scotland (Secret Scotland). She really cheers me up, and cracks me up with her endless enthusiasm. I started following her on Instagram and Twitter for that reason.
I've also been going for walks regularly as I can. Some news in my life - I've finally managed to hand-feed wild birds. Something that I've always wanted to do, but either never got around to it, or just don't have the patience to do. As a child I remember feeding seagulls in the front yard by chucking out pieces of torn up bread. Sometimes I wouldn't have the patience to wait, and left the bread pieces on the lawn unattended, only to be told later that the seagulls showed up and ate them all. Sheesh.
But it always seemed like something that I could do, but just had to plan for. Bring the seed, make sure you're ready, and have the time to wait for birds to show up. A few pointers for those who haven't done it, it took a few tries before the birds either got used to me or realized that I wasn't a danger to them. I also avoided looking right at them, but more of peripherally watched them at first just so they wouldn't freak out at having this bug-eyed human with those giant things on her face that make its eyes even bigger and scarier. Having the seed in hand and ready to go really helped too.
Anyway, I made a few videos of my experience.
That was my first attempt. The next couple of times things got easier, and the chickadees seem to recognize me now. Maybe it helps I'm wearing the same clothes? I'm not sure. Same walking poles for sure, so they can hear my poles squeaking in the snow.
I made this video as well, as a humorous observation of the squirrel, which was not really my target animal to feed, but obviously wanted some food, too. I found it interesting the chickadees really wanted him to go away, because as soon as he started to eat, they started to alarm call. I'm not sure if they were alarm calling for it, or the two people who were walking by the lookout point, or alarm calling for me. Either way, the squirrel eventually left, and the birds managed to finish eating.
The other hilarious thing was that I ended up feeling bad for the squirrel being kind of left out, and then ousted on top of that by the chickadees. When I walked back to head home, I stopped by the feeding station again, and this time left two almonds that I carry around in case I get hungry on my walks. I figured the chickadees are too small, they wouldn't try to eat the almonds and the squirrel can have a decent snack. As I started to walk away, I glanced back and saw one chickadee land and pluck up one almond and fly off, and a second later a second chickadee landed and picked up the other. Ah well, it's just fate then.
Can't wait to see what happens on my future adventures feeding the birds.
I imagine most people are hopeful that 2021 will be a better year. I am too. Supposedly the vaccines are on their way, and people in high risk places are getting vaccinated. That's a good thing. I am looking forward to when my turn finally comes around.
Like most people, I haven't been traveling since all the travel restrictions and lock-downs have occurred. I am grateful that the majority of my life hasn't really been affected. We don't really go out that much, but I miss going out for a nice meal once in a while. And I can still get out and go for walks, which is a nice bonus. I also miss being able to travel. We talk about where we're going to go first when we can travel again. After visiting family back in Manitoba, of course. And it'll be a while before I feel comfortable flying on a plane.
Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I was in Tanzania with my sister. We went there to participate in a medical mission in a rural area. It was great. I made sure we got there with a few days extra to go on a safari of some of the popular parks. I also really wanted to visit Ngorongoro Crater, where you can see just about every African animal you would want to see.
I also made a few videos of our tour:
Ngorongoro Crater
My sister and really enjoyed watching a wildebeest giving birth. I couldn't get good footage of it, but it was pretty amazing. Our guide was patient enough to wait until the calf got up on its own feet, ready to face the world.
We also saw three rhinos, which was pretty amazing. And we got caught in a rainstorm. Some of the tracks were pretty muddy, and our driver used his vehicle to help push a stuck vehicle out. The drivers really impressed me with how skilled they are at driving in difficult terrain.
Lake Manyara
We never spotted any of the famous tree-climbing lions, but we saw lots of elephants, giraffe, and baboons.
Tarangire National Park
I remember getting eaten alive by the tsetse flies! Make sure you bring bug spray if you visit. As far as I know the ones here don't carry sleeping sickness. I really enjoyed spotting a Secretary bird striding through the tall grass, looking for snakes to eat. And part of my lunch was stolen by a sneaky monkey! My sister bashed it in the face with her lunch box!
If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend taking a few days to tour the parks. You're pretty much guaranteed to see something neat!
While we were on the medical mission, we also toured the nearby village of Terrat and surrounding areas. Like in much of rural Tanzania and Africa, it's common to see people herding their livestock down the roads. I managed to capture this close encounter with cattle and sheep and goats.
Hope you liked the videos! If you have any questions about what the medical mission was like I would be glad to share more info - leave a comment.
Hello again everyone. Hope you're doing well, wherever you might be.
Things are continuing to chug along. We're almost halfway into December, and the holiday season is nearly upon us. I am looking forward to having a few extra days off, and the chance to do some winter activities.
A few years ago my husband and I went to Zoominescence. I finally made a video with the footage, which you can watch here:
I love that carousel. I might request to go see Zoominescence for this holiday season just to see it again. 😊
I'm also working on another video, finally, one of my cat, Maho, and focusing on the tricks I taught him to do. It was several years ago that I actually trained him, but either because he was quite young or just persistence, he picked up the tricks quite quickly and has never forgotten them. When I have it done I'll post it in a page on my blog too. Hopefully sometime over the holidays.
So, life has been carrying on. It's been a few years regrettably since I last posted.
I've been doing well. Hope you have been also. I'm still painting, and still add things into my website occasionally. It's a lot of work, especially trying to get the images to line up and ensuring all the buttons work. My website. This year of course has been bad for my art sales, but good in the sense that I have more time to paint. I am grateful for my day job which keeps me going in life.
I've also been posting onto YouTube regularly. My page is here: My YouTube page. My husband and I have been going for walks in our local ravine, as well as touring the nearby countryside and finding nice nature places to hike. Check it out. I make clips of various things that I think are worthy of sharing, like this video I uploaded today of a coyote barking and howling.
Well, I think that's all I have to say. Please stay safe out there!
Update: I had another coyote encounter the next day which I also made a video of.
It was a very cool moment which I won't forget for a long time.
It's been a while since I last blogged, but I have some things I'd like to share with those people who may not be visiting my other internet presences.
I just updated my official website: www.ojibwe-art.ca and added a couple of paintings in the Bears section. I created some new paintings in 2012.
I'm also at odds with perhaps adding to my website and adding an Asian/Other styles page, and maybe fostering on the lands-and-skies (my husband's domain). I worry it may distract from my Aboriginal pages.
Anyway, some new works for 2013 that I'm particularly pleased with: http://fav.me/d5xcgx1 on my DeviantArt page. It's a painting of Japanese yokai, or demons, in a nightparade (see the link for a larger image). In the middle is a little man with a giant squash shaped head who sneaks into your house and drinks your tea.
Various household objects gain spirits when they reach their 100th birthday, so a sake jar (who contains unending amounts of sake), grass sandal and tea pot dance about as a biwa and shamisen (cut off from the scan) play music.
A line of sparrows dance, whose hats I tried to model after Awa Odori dancers. Around the gathering, a two-tailed cat, mountain wolf, giant rooster who breathes foxfire, and foxes watch on.
The other day I had a new banner made for me by naiveglow on Etsy. I was really pleased with the results, she took images from a few of my items and mixed them together to make a banner.
Happy Family everyone in Alberta!
Spending a relaxing day at home on the computer. :P
Watched a very interesting Japanese movie last night, called "Departures". Its about a man whose dream it was to play in an orchestra finds himself out of work. He returns home to look for a job, to come across an ad for a job as an "encoffiner", which isn't a highly respected job by his fellow citizens, much less wife. Basically he prepares bodies for funerals.
As the movie progresses, he gains an appreciation for assisting people on their departure from life. It was a really lovely movie and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys watching foreign films.
In celebration of spring I decided to have a sale on Etsy. Until March 31 everything will be 15% off, using the coupon code SpringSale.
2021 update: Just added some images. They don't really have anything to do with the above story, but I wanted to share a sketch and some work-in-progress photos I took that I made of a bus stop on an early spring day. The people waiting for the bus were mostly students, but nicely line up. It was raining, and the road was shiny and reflective of the light sources from the street lamps and I could see the reflections of the people on the road.
What really struck me about the image was the pigeons that were perched on the overhead wires. With the people huddling in the cold and wet, it was a eerily beautiful but stark image of city life.
The last image is still a work-in-progress photo. I looked through my archives but couldn't find a photo of the final image with the pigeons added in.
Was a little frustrated that I poked a hole in one of my paintings while adding picture wire a couple of days ago. Can't believe I was so clumsy. Hopefully I can either fix it, or use the remaining painting in some sort of collage or something.
Update 2021: I'm not sure what a BNR is anymore so please don't ask. 😅 I think it might have been some sort of promotional group activity where we post items and then check it out. The whole idea was to generate sales.
As for the painting with the damage, I managed to repair it decently, and it's currently hanging in a community centre in northern Edmonton. I'll probably forget it there if we move.
It was another learning experience to fix it. I patched it with a small piece of scrap canvas, glued it in place I think with just white glue, and then matched the paint on the other side to hide the hole and make it look natural.
You can kind of see the little raised area in the wing. I was pleased with the final colour matching.
Been a while since I've last blogged. What have I been up to? Not much, been working, and enjoying the drive out to Wetaskiwin every day, even in spite of the winter road conditions & loads of snow that seems to fall every week. I am glad to see the sun slowly coming back.
So lately I've been delving into watercolour pencil crayons. After some experiments last summer that didn't really work out, I think I've finally figured out how to use these and get some nice results.
I plan to list more, & am thinking of turning them into small cards.
Update 2021: I still have these paintings. If you are interested, they are available. They also led to a few commissions of people's pet cats, so if you'd like to have me create a piece for you, send me a note.
Ah, the rainy skies have cleared for a little while. Went for a refreshing bike ride this morning, and rode around the neighbourhood, particularly the Blackmud Creek & ravine area in Edmonton. The wild roses are still blooming, which was nice to see.
So I recently took a couple of small paintings I had just made and attached magnets on the back. I think they look pretty neat. Both are listed on Etsy.
I wasn't too happy with the photos, as the weather lately hasn't been cooperative for taking good photos using natural light, so I made do with some fluorescent light in the kitchen.
Lately I've been enjoying the roses in the backyard. They're starting to bloom, as are the irises in the front yard. The pea plants are starting to grow well, too.
Update 2021: Both magnets have sold, but I still make small paintings as magnets. You can always send me a note and ask me to paint something for you, or I might have something in my collection.
