Hmmm...

I was trying to do some bighorn sheep paintings but this just didn't turn out. The ram was itching his shoulder with his horn but it doesn't seem to come across in the painting. The twisty design element looks like a tapeworm and there is no corelation between the sheep and the background. I'm thinking paint-over.

You learn something every time you paint. Sometimes you learn that your'e not the hot stuff you think you are!

Clock of the Wind

This beautiful poem was published in the VictoriaTimes Colonist last Christmas season. I tried to track down the author but had no luck. It makes me feel such a sense of place. Although it appears to have been written about Vancouver Island, I feel the same way as I walk through the Columbia Valley winter landscape.

Clock of the Wind

I follow the path to the winter stream,
past the confetti of huckleberry leaves
to pick maple leaves caught in the sword ferns,
to keep the David Austin roses warm.

It's nearly Solstice.
I follow the water's sound,
the tree branch sound,
listen to the clock of the wind
winding through the hemlocks.

I'm bound to this place
like the small dark birds
I can't name
who have found their home
in the crowned branches of the salmonberries.
I listen for their heatbeats. Their wingbeats.

And these dark days,
when the sun stands still,
I want to hang broken mirrors, small clocks
and castanets from the apple trees.
Dance.
Bring back the light.

The Flip Side

This is my portrait as painted by Annelein Beukenkamp! Check out her blog at:

http://abwatercolors.blogspot.com/

And check out all the portraits at different strokes from different folks.

Different Strokes Portrait

Karin Jurick is sponsoring a terrific portrait exchange on Different Strokes from Different Folks.

http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/

This is my attempt. Please check out the others. And look for yours truly!

Cuddling Cougars

I took this shot at the Kamloops Wildlife Park in October. They look so sweet and innocent, not like predators that will stalk you and snap your neck.

The Red Dress

I literally cannot paint a straight line! But I kinda like the wonks. This is based on a series of photos that I took in Victoria using my daughter as a model. It is not a portrait.

Happy Winter Solstice 2008

A Solstice Prayer

Goddess, you create day and night,
Rolling away light before darkness,
Darkness before light,
Thank you for the darkness,
Without it we could not appreciate the light.
By the darkness we can measure blessing-
Health by sickness,
Laughter by tears,
Riches by poverty,
Freedom by oppression.

In memory of ancient light after darkness, let us light a candle.
A candle is small,
Nor far from where it brightly flames the darkness closes in.
But candles light other candles,
And light draws strength from light.
Each night of life let us add candles;
The candle of hope.
The candle of faith.
The candle of brave deeds.
The candle of freedom.
Thank you for the darkness.
Thank you for the light.


a thank you to the author of this prayer.

TAGGED!

This is one of my artist trading cards.



Faye Phillips tagged me!
http://faye-christian-phillips.blogspot.com/
(Bad Faye, bad artist).

I have been dithering ever since about what to put down, harassing people to help me think about what is unusual about me... So here goes:

Five unusual things about me:

I love the smell of crude oil, it’s so chunky, oily, rich that I want to eat it. I grew up in the oilfields, my Dad worked for Pure Oil company.

I was a mail-order bride (sort-of). I married a man I met through the “Mother Earth News”.

I do everything with my right hand except use scissors.

I have a Crazy Ravens hat that I have worn to art openings.

The area I grew up in is famous for its’ white squirrels.

I would recommend people to view the following blogs:

Jami

http://1976volkswagonadventures.blogspot.com/

Nancy Standlee

http://nancystandlee.blogspot.com/

Deb Schmit

http://debschmit.blogspot.com/

Kay Cox

http://gypsyssketchbook.blogspot.com/

Deb Trotter

http://cowboyssweetheart.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/09/index.html

I'm a scanner!

I've always been troubled by the fact that I have never found my great passion in life (although being an artist is filling it pretty well). I have now discovered there is a name for people like me...we are scanners. I am reading the book "Refuse to Choose" by Barbara Sher. Eureka! It is liberating and encouraging to think that there is nothing "wrong" with me..I am just wired differently. After looking at the book, Bruce has confirmed the diagnosis, so it must be true.

The Holly and the Ivy

The holly and the ivy
Now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

Holly and ivy both grow in abundance in Victoria. I wish I could have brought a bushel of beautiful holly home.

The dead horse's beautiful eyelashes

The hoar frost may even be longer today. I am a bone collector. The forest holds all kinds of remnants.

Hoar frost and whitetail

There is amazing hoar frost outside this morning. Everything is still and mild. Kirra and I went for a short walk to record the beauty before the cold front sweeps in. Predicted lows of -20C by the weekend.

Solo Pear

I'm back from Victoria and I have to get busy painting and signing up for art shows! Morgan has a great apartment right down town!

The Devil's Ride

I saw this car parked in a driveway in Banff. I thought it had a sinister smirk.

I am off to Victoria B.C. tomorrow to visit my eldest daughter. I hope to take lots of photographs for painting later. I also have several competitions, etc. to prepare for. January will start me off busily! I hope 2009 is a very good year.