Monday 27 October 2014

taking a moment


There's enough time for:

taking a moment
 
On Friday evening I began another Prismacolor drawing, this time on a very light weight (73 lb.) acid free kraft paper with a soft tan cast to it.  It seemed to need some depth that these pencil crayons can't give without resorting to black (which was a personal no-no for me) so I added some paint pen dots to the background. Still struggling with my exposures and not nearly as happy with this image as my original. Oh well... for now.
 
A cool damp start to our week here after many days of rain.  Yes, dreary but as I said to Wally yesterday when we headed out in the car and he was feeling somewhat overwhelmed by it all,
 we could sing a song.  That made him smile. So I sang. He's the only one who likes my singing, bless him, and he smiled some more. That made me happy. 
 
spread a little love today and see what you reap
 
 

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Principessa and her ghosts


It's evening, of a rainy day.

I put the finishing touches on the drawing I started Thanksgiving Monday.
 
 
Principessa is done now and I am pleased with the results,
While my original's colours are richer, less garish, this is the best I can offer right now. 
I will insert a better copy in here on another day. 
 
 
An interesting side note is that I hadn't realized until well into Principessa
that I had worked on the page before Dan de Lion (a drawing I did in September) 
and ended up with this ghost image (on the left)- on the back of Principessa

here is the ghostly Principessa combined with Dan de Lion up close
 
Then, as I turned the page to see Please Accept
( another drawing from September ),
 
I found this ghost of Principessa on the back of Dan de Lion
weird eh? and timely too as we near the end of October.

Thank to those of you who follow me faithfully.
 Your interest translates to support, and I appreciate it so much.
 
 
 

Friday 17 October 2014

wip



 
It looks like this morning's blustery rain is subsiding. It is mild and promises to be a gorgeous weekend.
 
Yesterday's morning sky looked more ominous towards the southeast,
 but I can't say we got the hurricane that was promised.
 
A progress shot of Principessa
coloured pencils in my sketchbook
 
Whenever Life hands me a package bigger than I can handle, I find myself torn between fear, anger, sadness and paralysis, none of which help except for one thing:
they act as a catalyst for choice.
I choose love, personal responsibility, creativity
 
 and this week:
 
 
 
It's All a work in progress
Let's take care of ourselves and each other
 
 
 
 

Wednesday 15 October 2014

true colours


It was almost 4 in the afternoon when we arrived at our destination: the little park that lays at the foot of Blomidon Provincial Park.

We staked out a sheltered picnic table by these beautiful backlit birches with maple leaves in front.

The shadows, the Minas Basin beyond

This made a lovely setting for our late lunch and drawing
 
I was bundled up just right against the breeze
 
Snug and happily drawing
 
Eventually I ventured through the bushes to the edge of the cliff to see this beautiful sight
of the cliffs that reach out to the south of Blomidon, (the biggest cliff of all, see my precious post)
 
Here Wally waves back at me. Time to pack up.

The ride home was dreamy
 
My camera does not like the low light, especially from a moving car
but that didn't stop me.
 
Soon we came back to the pigs, Miss Friendly in the foreground
 
Here she approaches a male
 
Piggy kisses
 
She comes around him
 
for a portrait together
 
and gives me a farewell smile
 
while he goes on about his business 

later the Jersey and the Highland cows we saw in the spring
 
and further down the road, in another pasture, this beautiful rural scene,
 almost a repeat of the one above
 
a young white bull
 
a precious moment in time
 
I do love the roadside houses built when the traffic was slower and more spare
 
A landmark, this intricately shingled small house with a fall display of an anchor and pumpkins
 
 a marvellously proud maritime heritage
 
across the road, this glorious maple worth stopping for
with stairs that lead down
 
a private path to the sea
 
Snatching the fall colours where we can

along the way the wild roses still bloom, the sea beyond

This is a sad state of affairs that I cannot capture the accurate colour of the roses
 
nor this single aster that peeked from the weeds as I got back into the car, its yellow centre lost as I bumped up the violet petals.
 
I'm always seeing things in metaphor.  Certainly not capturing our complete palette of emotions, potential, opportunities, seems so limiting, a true loss of colour in a lifetime. We are here to self-actualize, but how to do that when our self-knowledge peeks at us like the top of an iceberg, the true mass of our being, real and much greater, laying beneath the surface of our consciousness. Just to grasp one more element of our palette, our true self, and become more of who we were born to be, to master the unravelling of that riddle, would that bring solace?
 
The drawing I started at the park, a work in progress
 
a detail of Principessa, work in progress
 
even here I've struggled with capturing the colour just so for reproduction here.
For instance, the paper is white is the original.
Ah well, next time,,,
 I will show you an update soon; Maybe then my colours will be truer.
 
 
Love, Forgiveness, and Responsibility For our Actions
It's a small but serious mix.
 
 
You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh, I realize
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness there inside you
Makes you feel so small
But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors
Are beautiful like a rainbow
Show me a smile then
Don't be unhappy
Can't remember when
I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
Just call me up
Because you know I'll be there
And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
Your true colors
Are beautiful like a rainbow
(Whisper)
Can't remember when I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
You've taken all you can bear
Just call me up
Because you know I'll be there
And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors
True colors are shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors
Are beautiful like a rainbow
 
 

Songwriters
STEINBERG, BILLY / KELLY, TOM
Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

 

Tuesday 14 October 2014

a country drive


Ah, sweet autumn. The colours almost passed.

our giant ash are already past their glory since I took this picture last week.

On Thanksgiving Monday we headed out for a stolen afternoon, stolen because there is so much work that really ought to be done on a good weather day off but, golly, we needed a day off.

First stop was at this roadside farm stand. Proceeds are going to the restoration
 
of this giant red barn
 
what a great idea.
 
It was hard to find the bright reds of maple and sumach that we so enjoy but I got this fading maple as we drove by, hence the blur.

And what's an outing without a visit with the friendly farm animals?
 
This dear girl was fast asleep
 
as I closed in for a better shot
 
Another cow as we turn a bend in the road, closer to our destination.
You can see the sea in the background.
 
 the rolling hills of a Minas Basin farm, again the sea in the background.
 
But now another stop

because when else will I have a chance to meet such a friendly pig?

Toes together she roots with her hard -tipped nose for tidbits.

Around another corner, Blomidon. Quite the address.
 
Tomorrow, more pictures of our afternoon out
with a peek at the piece I started in a most tranquil setting.
 
taking our cue from this pleasant autumn day,
 
peace on earth