the charming Coon Cat, Mr. Sugarbear

Anyone who owns a Coon cat knows what a wonderful family cat they are. Personality and charm                                                          with a  dash of tranquility.  Mr. Sugarbear

Painting this guy was a lot of fun. 

Sugarbear is my sister's cat, so i know him well. In this painting i wanted to capture the essence of Sugarbear.

To me he is a gentle giant, he always greets everyone who comes to visit.

He is a cat that everyone loves, a feel good personality.

So i made this painting to be bold and full of happiness. So when you saw it, you can't help but smile.

Blue Rhododendron

A simple abstract, of blue flowers of the Rhododendron plant. This beauty lives in my mother-in-law garden.
She is a delicate show stopper bloom.

I painted this flower on a rather large canvas. I found it to be a challenge since i never painted on such a large canvas.  It finally came together  and i was done in time for her birthday.

Even though i painted this picture to hang vertical, she loves it horizontal. That's the beauty of flowers you can flip it any way and it still looks good.

We hung the painting in her room. So she can feel like it is spring everyday.

The best part is she loves it.

Finding inspiration on the roadside.

I love the feeling of motion. Some of the best times i have had in life was in a car exploring my surroundings. The most wonderful gems are in my back yard. I like to always carry a camera with me. You never know when a photo op appears.  My friend Stefanie And I were driving around Merritt and she took a detour to check out dragon mt.

the landscape and the colors took my breath away. what a wonderful discovery.

You just never know what is around the corner, i guess life is just that way. I wonder if that is the secret to keeping young. Always being in a state of wonder and joy. Taking in every breath and letting out a weeeeeeeeeeeeee.

That is when i saw her, and fell in love. I actually think she is posing for me to take a picture.

Painting her was so much fun. 

I have nicknamed her spot.

Little Starfish Painting

I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish, oh little starfish.

Mother nature uses our world as her canvas. She is always creating something new to discover.

Her paintings are pure magic

I never know what i will discover

There is so much beauty and so little time to discover it all.

My hubby tells me that the only thing in life that matters is memories, make your time here count for something memorable.

Make the time to feel the beauty around you.

So in this painting I captured my magical friend the 

Starfish.

                                                  Back in the saddle, painting that is.

The warm season is almost gone, and here i am staring at a blank canvas. lost that excitement i had in May.

Staring at my horse painting , and wondering how much of that did i retain. i needed something to steer me into the right direction. maybe another horse painting. So i e-mail Diane if i could use one of her fab photos to recreate that happy workshop. The lady is very talented, not only in her paintings, but also a very sharpshooter with the  camera. Diane Williams if you want to check out her work.

I told her which one i like and she gracefully said yes.

yipee

I wasted no time in getting started. I had the charcoal stick in my hands and had it sketched out before the day was done. the canvas was covered with charcoal, and i looked like the chimney sweep apprentice.

it's all good.

in the name of art.

the fun began when i started to throw the paint on. What a roller coaster ride. i was mentally and emotionally challenged. I had to push threw the challenges the painting presented. But in the end, the birth of 

Eating Spaghetti on Horseback 

was born.

I learned so much about myself going through this process. The art of letting go. The art of allowing. Experiencing freedom. And most of all the art of play.

   

                                                                  Painting

After the road trip, i came home all excited, with all kinds of inspiration. Far too excited to start something. I was all mixed, what to paint? gotta be another horse pic, right.

this one looked too hard

how about an eye,na, not ready for this.

still looking for the right picture. Maybe i should go water my garden.

I'll paint after i come back from the beach. Ya, i will feel refreshed and inspired.

love going to the beach, got lots of pics but now i have to get ready for camping!

What a trip we had. got lots of pictures, lots of painting ideas.

And here i am, end of summer. Yikees!!

better get busy!

                                                  ROAD TRIP !!



   It was decided, my best friend and i were gonna go on a road trip to Alberta to do a workshop.
An art workshop of course. Two closet artist, off to find adventure and inspiration or ourselves.
Art has a way of making a person dig deep to pull out the gems that hide within us. 

A few stops along the way, lots of laughs, fast food, and many miles.

Finally, here we are at Diane's place.

Tucked away in a forest of trees, a gem of a house.

We did our workshop in her living room, great windows that let in lots of light.

The best part was we were surrounded by her beautiful artwork. 

Stef working on her picture while i was taking a picture of our paintings.

close up of my pic

The finished pic.

the road trip home, letting the pony out for some fresh air.

We even let them graze for awhile.

It was a great adventure, best friends, fast food, and Art.