Spirit of Manitou Studio Trails

A little while back our Art community here in Watrous and area hosted the Spirit of Manitou Studio trail tour. I have to say that it was a resounding success. We had a very good turn out with people coming from distant places to view the variety of art on display. One reason for this is the healing waters of Manitou, which attracts people from all over the world. I had visitors from Spain, California, Texas, Toronto and all over Canada. This is the second year for the tour and we are already planning for next years event. The painting above is another one I did at the Eastend retreat back on the July long weekend. It is a casien painting on paper and was painted on site. I am now gearing up for the Shellmouth Retreat.

Saskatchewan

This is a small pastel I painted on my last day at the Eastend retreat. I wanted to do something quick, while the sun was just right, and I also wanted to have a reminder of the wonderful sage that grows all about down there. I have been slowly collecting Unison pastels and building up a set of pastels that I can take with me to paint out of doors and I must say that I am very pleased with them. Now I have to figure out how to carry them with me on my excursions! As an aside, I had the good fortune today to see an exhibit of the Saskatchewan artist Dorothy Knowles shown at the Mendel Gallery in Saskatoon. What a painter she is, I was enthralled and could have spent hours just sitting there and soaking them in. You must go and visit them if you are in the area.

Plein Air Painting

After a bit of a break from posting on the Blog I am back with new material and thoughts. Firstly, my Dad has suffered a major health setback and the family is preparing for the worst possible outcome, that he may pass on. I believe that he is prepared for this as he has been talking a lot lately of seeing his mother again. Its just hard to let go, you know?
I had a wonderful time at our annual Art Retreat down at Eastend, SK on the July long weekend. My wife Crystal came as well as my brother Richards wife, Arlene. We had many interesting people down this year, Bruce Rice the poet, Dennis Evans the retired Fine Art professor from the university of Regina, Barb the lady who makes things from found objects and the regulars. We painted, cooked great meals and had readings in the evenings, as well as some great hikes. I spent the majority of my time painting out of doors and came back with some great little paintings, which I will post on this blog from time to time. This painting was done in the morning at Whites Ranch and what a lovely spot it was to paint. We were surrounded by Wolf Willow that was in flower and these flowers emitted that most amazing fragnance, it was like being in heavan.