Signs of Spring

 

 

Signs of Spring Pastel $175.00

As an artist and human life form I enjoy life and discovering new manifestations of it, particularly in the spring of the year.  It has been a long winter so when I start to see nature in the spring of the year I am amazed anew.  One thing that is visually exciting is observing the trees undergoing the wake up process.  One begins to notice how the tips of the branches begin to change colour, lovely pastel shades that gradually darken and change to the various shades of green we are familiar with.  Because it has been such a cold and drawn out spring this process is taking much longer.  I chose to do this plein air in pastel to celebrate the life and colour I witnessed yesterday afternoon from my backyard, it seemed appropriate.

Who's that Lady?

I had some fun with this watercolour, and you can see that the lady in the back seems to be quite mirthful as well.  Any guess's as to who she is, and maybe where she is having such a good time?  A hint:  It has something to do with my brother Richard wrecking a perfectly good chair at the last supper of a great Artist Retreat somewhere in south western Saskatchewan.

The Big Melt

The snow is melting like crazy now, what was once a chuckling stream is now a roaring river running through Wellington Park.  The water is taking out park benches and undermining some trees, last night it came close to overflowing the road.  The power of nature is mesmerizing to say the least.  This morning I sat on a large boulder and listened to the sound of the water and the booming of the ice as the sun began to warm it up, with the welcome sounds of the returning Canada Geese, Robins and other birds.  Yesterday afternoon I painted this plein air piece from the top of a hill looking down on a pond that is rapidly becoming a small lake.  In a perverse kind of way I am saddened to see the snow go! Go figure.

Spring Melt

A great day today, the snow is melting fast.  There are road building crews working feverishly to berm up the Little Manitou, hopefully to prevent serious flood damage.  It is almost a loosing battle from my vantage point.  I post this painting of the spring melt at a place called Clearwater Lake, I lived near there for many years and it holds a special place in my make up.  I just returned from North Battleford where I was helping my dear friends Dean and Barb Bauche renovate their bathroom.  They lured me up there with a promise that Dean and I could do some collaborative paintings but that didn't happen because of all the work that had to be done:(  They did treat me to a house concert performance by Valdy which was awesome to say the least!  Last time I saw him was at the Trappers Festival in The Pas, many years ago.  I also had the pleasure of staying with my buddy Ross Nikoforuk and going to a Bruce Cockburn concert in Saskatoon last Sunday.  He played my all time favourite song, "All the Diamonds."  Thanks Bruce, you made my day.