Home

Well, it has finally happened, we have moved into our new home. Feels great to have some living space after living in the cramped apartment for a year. Now I can finish off my studio and get back to painting. Heck, I think I won't wait for the drywall to be finished, I will get right at it over the Xmas holidays! I have posted a photo of a place dear to my heart since I haven't had a chance to paint lately. There are some out there who will recognize the creek, Mistik that is. Best wishes to you over this wonderful season and good tidings for the New Year!

Special People

This letter is for Barb Bauche, her devoted husband Dean and their children. Barb is having issues with her throat (she is a throat cancer survivor) and is in need of prayers from all who wish to think of her in Lovingkindness. She absolutely loves her times down in Eastend, Sk. where they have the good fortune to stay for many weeks of the year. The Bauches have invited many of my friends and myself for an annual Artists Retreat and we all have grown to love it as much as she does. This painting was painted on the deck of the ranch house where we stay. The deck is my favourite place to paint, people are constantly tripping over my gear! Barb, get well please.

Inspired by the Land

I recently attended the closing reception to a wonderful Art show entitled "Inspired by the Land". The show was at the Chapel Gallery in North Battleford, Saskatchewan and the curator was my dear friend Dean Bauche. Dean gathered together a diverse group of painters, photographers, writers, crafters, scientists and musicians who all together sent a message that we are all part of this creation, that we are diverse but we have a common message. The land, and all that is in it, inspires us, in whatever medium we work in. The contributors, Richard Baschak, Courtney Milne, Allan Sapp, Jean Sonmor, Judy-Kisikaw a Bear, Wes Fine Day, Sharon Butala, Trevor Herriot, Charles Fox, Angela Edmunds, Glen Sutter, Ovid Mercredi, Electric Skychurch, Angela Merasty, Lyndon Tootoosis, Darwin Atcheynum, Noelle Lucas, Maria Chickness, Margerat Naytowhow, Annie Roberts and Audrey Fine Day put together extraordinary work that as a whole made a tremendous impact on the audiences. There is talk that the show may travel to far away places and well that is should as it sends an urgent message. We must all live in harmony with our environment and its inhabitants. I am extremely grateful that I was a witness to the positive energy and goodwill present at that time. Thank you!!

Thanksgiving

It occurred to me the other day that I have a lot to give thanks for. Where do you begin? Firstly to my Creator of course, my parents for having that thought that they should have a baby, my siblings, my friends, my work, my Art, the birds in the air, the leaves on the trees and the list goes on and on and on. When one puts themselves in this frame of mind it opens up so many avenues for the creative self. So thanks to everyone out there who has taken the time to visit my blog site and my website. I am appreciative of that! This oil painting represents the same place as the previous post, Mistik Creek in winter. I have included it on this post because we have had snow in these parts recently and one is reminded that winter is on its way, a bit to early for me.

Rocks and things

This oil painting was done in August. The place is Mistik Creek, Manitoba, and as some of you may know is one of my favorite places to paint. I suppose it is a power spot for me, the geography is a magnetic draw and I never tire of exploring and painting the place. My thanks to Karen Clark for purchasing it, I know it is going to a good home

Late Summer Storm

The other day we had a fast weather system go through, a very dramatic storm with lightning and thunder right overhead. I reminded me of a similar storm back in early August, which I was so impressed with that I decided to paint a landscape to remember it. I called the painting, "Wisdom, be Attentive", because I felt it was important to pay attention to events happening around us, every waking moment of our lives. The storm portrayed here was over Manitou Lake, SK. I keep telling my friends that this is the view from our guest bedroom when they come to visit us.

Late Summer

For a little over a week now we have been experiencing the summer that never happened when it normally does. In celebration of that I am posting a painting I created a few weeks ago. It is an attempt to portray fields of flax on a bright summer morning. Hope you enjoy it!

Shellmouth Artists Retreat

Well, another Shellmouth Artists Retreat has come and gone and I am, like all the other participants, suffering withdrawal. It happens every year, you spend a glorious 6 days painting and communing with the other artists and before you know it the fun is done. I completed a half a dozen paintings and worked out of doors quite a bit, something I enjoy very much. The painting above was the first one I completed. Hope you all enjoy it!

Home Sickness

I was browsing through some images of paintings I have done in the past and I came across this one, which is a view of Rocky Lake, MB. My family had a cottage for many years here and we spent many wonderful days here swimming, boating, fishing and all the other things people do at the lake. My family has all moved from northern Manitoba now, we just moved my Mother down to a little retirement village south of Winnipeg last weekend and she is the last to leave. Its a kind of funny feeling you get when you drive out of town, will I ever be back?

Painting from memory

Quite often I paint from memory. I find that painting in this manner is much more playful and spontaneous. The painting above is an example of that process, it is what I call a remembered landscape. Eastend, SK has many wonderful viewpoints and the pastel painting recalls one of those vistas. I plan on doing some larger canvases at our Shellmouth retreat, which is coming up very soon now. One of the canvases is 5 feet x 4 feet, one of largest I have personally worked on. Should be fun!

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.