Good Cheer

Hi Everyone,

Are you busy preparing for the holidays?

Over here, things are shaping up; lights, tinsel, and glass bubbles have enveloped the tree, compliments of my son, Jesse, and an Elf. Touches of greenery peek out from almost every corner. Plans for what goodies to bake are nearly solid. The Christmas cards are signed, sealed, and stamped and will soon be winging their way to, I hope, add a splash of good cheer to family and friends.

The sun breaks through the dark clouds at dawn.

 

                     My cobbled painting path, has become a bit uneven, but I tell myself there's nothing to worry about because taking a break also plays an important role in the creative process.  Well, that’s my story…

Watercolours

 

 

 

 

 

I added a white board next to my desk to post some watercolours on. (Motivation required.) I wanted to buy a cork board, but why not use what is at hand. I only had to purchase a few magnets. (Besides, should a magnet hit the floor and roll to parts unseen/unknown, until, that is, the inevitable happens, they are easier on the feet than push tacks.)

 

 Preparing for a colossal art re-entry ;^)  in the New Year, a small pastel order, plus some paper arrived. Two of the names to the right made me laugh, especially Burnt Reynolds. The pretty yellow pastel: Goldenrod. These pastels are from Great American Artworks. (Not sponsored, but I girl can hope.) They are very soft and creamy, so they will add a flourish near the finish. If used at the beginning of a painting, they could quickly fill the tooth of the paper, I reckon. (Experimentation required before firm results can be chiselled in granite.)

 

    

On the needles...

                                   Swallow Tail Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark. Also a free pattern.

 

                                                                  Nativity

Below, a very short story that I may have touched on before. 

If you have read it before, dear hearts, do forgive me because I am growing old and stories, containing certain words in just the right order sometimes forget that I may have written them down or told them before. 

Meant to Be

Long ago, in a far away land, high above the Arctic Circle, where winter plunges the land into darkness for more than forty-five days a year, where mysterious wailing winds whip the snow into eddies that either skirt the ground or whirl up a whiteout, where, in the frigid, dry air, footfalls can be heard from a mile away—there in the midst of this new to me land, with little money on hand, I put down my hard earned cash for what would be, although there were more figurines to acquire, the last two nativity figurines that I would ever purchase from Avon. (I am searching for the three wisemen.)

Yes, it had taken awhile to acquire enough figurines to make the scene. (I think, they were sold at the time without a base. But I might be mistaken because, although the news will shock you,  I confess that I have been mistaken, in my life time, at least once or twice before.)

So...I pondered and thought and pondered and thought; and I hoped and I wished. And then it came to me in a flash: Surely cotton batten would make a nice base? I sprinted upstairs to the cupboard. No way--it was just too lofty--not right.

Being quick on the uptake, as luck would have it, other appropriate materials slowly came to mind. But in such a remote place, at such a time, where one couldn’t distinguish daylight from dark, I couldn’t think of one store in Edmonton where I might purchase the necessary items. (Remember it was the dark ages and yellow pages for Edmonton were as rare as sunlight.) 

To place an order just wasn’t feasible. So I reluctantly banished the thought.

Time crept by; the winter winds continued to howl. Then on one rare, quiet, dark, auspicious indigo day a couple of weeks before Christmas, a parcel that I'd long sense given up on  arrived. When I opened the box, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Straw covered the contents. The very thing, besides an open stable, that I’d been hoping for! I can't remember what else was in that box. But don’t you agree that somethings are just meant to be? 

(To date, lovely readers, that was the only time in my life that I ever received a parcel packed in straw.)

 

It’s time for me to go,  but before I do I would like to say:  Many thanks to everyone who visited my blog this year. I thank you for kind support, readership, friendship, and lovely comments.

  ❤️

          Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

And if you do not celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you and to yours!

Cultivate Your Dreams!

Best Wishes,

Dixie

 Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

The parties cover most of the the globe; there’s much to see and admire, so do stop in for a visit.

  Thank you for hosting.

All that Glitters

Hi Everyone,

Yellow/gold often gets overlooked when reds, oranges, greens and mixtures thereof take center stage in the fall. But those leaves have already dropped off the trees. And we are left with the staggering beauty of yellow/gold.

I didn't have to go far to capture this cheerful lot, proving that even when matted and wet certain things still look great.

All that is gold does not glitter,
   Not all those who wander are lost;
      The old that is strong does not wither,
       Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

  From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
  A light from the shadows shall spring;
    Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Riddle of Strider, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

One of my favourite verses that speaks of caution, and hope among other things, including the old adage: "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  

 

Along with late leaves of gold, at this time of year, the sunsets flame with yellow as well.

                                                                  

                                                          Something yellow/gold.

Yellow has surprised me because the only piece of clothing I own is a pair of yellow finger less gloves you see above. (You can download my free knitting pattern here 

Further, a year ago, I would have empathically said, "I do not like yellow," but a look back tells a different tale. When I revamped my blog awhile a go, I added gold highlights. It seems while I wasn't looking, yellow/gold, has captured my heart.

The paintings above, others, and greeting cards are available here 

 

Until Next Time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by the blogs for a visit; there’s much to see and admire.

  Thank you for hosting.

YARN GIVEAWAY

Hello there,

I was asked by Kristen from Yarn Canada if I would promote this giveaway on my blog. Because the yarn offered in the giveaway is for charitable kitting, I definitely agreed.

Best of luck with your entries. 

And thank you too!

  Link for your entry 

or, or course, you can copy and paste:  https://www.yarncanada.ca/for-good

 

Cultivate Your Dreams

Celebrating Autumn

Hi Everyone,

 

In the wink of an eye, another month has flown by and autumn's beauty surrounds us. This year, with warmer temperatures, it took a while for the autumn colours to bloom, but bloom they have. Joyful and invigorating oranges, reds, golds and still bright greens are everywhere you look.

 

These trees over by the boat launch always put on a show. As you can see, they are especially celebratory this year.  In my books, they are as beautiful as fireworks. 

And what you see is what you get--no colour enhancement here, although a tone down of the sun drenched trees to the right might have proved useful.

                                                                 

                                                                       Light and shade.                                                                                    

 Beauty aloft too.

 

         
                                        

Winter will soon be hard on the heels of autumn, so these books are at hand to keep my head full of flowers. They are all great, but the top and bottom ones are especially good.

On the cup, Van Gogh's Wheat Field with Cypresses.  Wish I could paint a painting like that. Don't we all. 

 

                                                                                   * * *

                                                                From The Little Sketchbook

                                                                              

Gouache and Watercolour

 

                                                                          Watercolour

My second annual pumpkin painting.

 

  “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

 

     L.M. Montgomery,  Anne of Green Gables

To one and all: Have a safe and Happy Hallowe'en!           

 

Cultivate Your Dreams!

 

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by the blogs for a visit; there’s much to see and admire.

  Thank you, ladies, for hosting.

            

Unusual Clouds

 

Hi everyone,

I saw this beautiful and unusual cloud formation and had to take a picture. If anyone knows what these clouds are called, please let me know in the comments.

                                                                                                                            

Goldenrod and wild grape vines as a backdrop.

                                           

         Still blooming outside: Mum, Shamrock, and Hibiscus.

Since it seems to be a popular medium these days, I thought I'd try out Jelly gouache. I do have a few tubes of other brands but I haven't really tried them yet.

To me, gouache seems rather thick and, of course, unlike watercolours it's an opaque medium. I love these colours. 

The brown gouache covered well on black paper. As you can see, the orange gouache didn't cover well on black paper.

A package arrived in the mail for me not long ago.  Among other delightful beautifully wrapped items, I received this wonderful little sketchbook made by my lovely friend, Soma. 

. 

Soma is a multi-talented artist. Besides painting, Soma makes beautiful quilts and tote bags. She designs quilt blocks, carves, and makes these wonderful perfect, professional (and I mean professional) sketchbooks, complete with her own logo design on the back page.

 And, to top it off, she is also an accomplished photographer! 

Check out her beautiful blog and lovely artwork @  Ink Torrents .

I have named it My Little Flower Sketchbook; the first and last page I will book end with a sketch of  old houses from the town that I am from in Nova Scotia. I've been posting a few of the flower sketches over on Instagram and I will post some here at another time.

 In the Wilds ~ Pastel on Uart paper.

'Til Next Time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by for a visit; there’s much to see.

  Thank you, ladies, for hosting.

Summer Escapades Part 2

Since it's nearly the middle of September, I thought I'd better post the second part of my summer pictures this week so that I can catch up after two months away from blogland.

The blue mountains: the Adirondacks in upstate New York. 

 

                                                     

                                                         A bird's eye view. Well, almost.

Weeping Willows swaying in the wind.

     

                                                               Summer clouds.

I just received Remarkable Diaries to add to my collection. In my opinion, these are great books; they give you a fascinating view into many remarkable lives.  Armchair exploration at its finest.

          

  One of my container plants. Begonia still hanging in there. The nights are cool but the days are still lovely. After all, the very last day of summer isn't until September 22nd. And I am sticking to it!

Brown Eyed Susan's, Purple Coneflower, and an early turning Maple. The Maple photo was taken in August.

* * * 

Pastel on Uart 400 Sanded paper. As you can see the paper likes to curl up, but it holds colour and layers well.

                                 

Have a lovely week...

Cultivate Your dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by for a visit; there’s much to see.

  Thank you, ladies, for hosting.

Summer Escapades ~ Part 1

                                                             

                                                         Loosestrife in the Marshlands
 Hi there,

Since my last post, I've made another trip around the sun. Travel onboard terra firma; it's a marvelous world!

 I do hope everyone enjoyed a lovely summer, or winter. Thankfully, summer’s not quite over.

I did visit my usual haunts, but I certainly would have enjoyed a few more outings. But somehow when out walking, I twisted my foot and developed Plantar Fasciitis. I have no idea how athletes keep on the move with it. Obviously, they have superb medical expertise at hand. I hope to be on the move soon though; I do have lost time to make up for.

                                                                             A selfie.

   I love being outside for what I call my restorative nature therapy. I always feel renewed and refreshed     after a day, or even an hour, out in the heart of the beauty that surrounds us. 

The Loosestrife looks like Fireweed. If you really stretch your imagination, you can imagine lavender fields in Provence, France. According to Wikipedia, Bulgaria produces the most lavender. Who knew?

                                                   Peaches and Cream corn fields

Someone told me about this sunflower field, so I went on a little excursion to another town. Standing near the sunflowers, I found myself thinking about Van Gogh. I wonder what he would think about his sunflower painting selling for 39 million in 1987.

I hoped the farmer was the benevolent type, although my imagination conjured up an angry farmer with a shotgun in hand yelling at me to get off his land. Undaunted and with wonky footing, I stealthy crept into the field. I mean who could resist. 

                                                                          Busy Bee

    

Bees are a favourite creatures of mine. I've been out to the hives with a beekeeper a few times. 

Sometime ago I took a bee keeping course and would love to tend hives. These days I would need an assistant. A full super of honey can weigh up to 90 lbs.

A bit about bees. Bees navigate using landmarks and/or the sun. In the early spring, the scout bees fly out on a mission to find a supply of flowers. If they find them, they fly back to the hive and do a dance. The dance gives the worker bees the exact coordinates of that supply of nectar and pollen. In the summer, they air condition their hives to a precise temps required to raise the brood by fanning their wings that have drops of cool water that they have gathered on them. Easier done if they have afternoon shade, but, unfortunately, the proper placement of hives doesn't always happen. The queen bee, besides laying eggs non stop, controls the hive's activities with her pheromones. There’s much more to tell, but it’s time to move on.

Like many people, I am concerned about the bees; I wish they were treated better. They are such amazing creatures.

Here's a link for info and for a list of the many crops bees pollinate. 

The sky here looks so white. I've toned down the picture so you can look at it without wearing sunglasses. Actually, that's smoke from the many forest fires (over 100) that were burning in Northern Ontario at the time. Like many parts of the world, Canada has had a summer of extremes. In British Columbia, at one point, the temperatures were hotter than they were in Death Valley. On the B.C coast mussels fried on the rocks. Temperatures reached 49.6C or 121.28 F. It boggles the mind.

A late blooming wild rose. I wish you could smell it. Glorious!

                                                                         * * *

     Off the drawing board...

While clearing out my desk, I happened upon this wee birdie that I drew long ago; she was destined for the bin. I did manage to salvage it by pumping up the colour and adding the wee fly to cover a splotch of paint. (Sometimes the brush has a mind of its own; amazingly it can flip out of your hand and twirl about in the air and hit the paper with an unceremonious splat.)

While not much is happening on Etsy, a friend of mine knows someone who owns a shop, so some of my cards and prints will be available there next week. That makes me happy.

In other news, the local art group will be starting their regular meetings next week. (Social distancing, both vaccines and masks apply.) 

Also, the group hopes to have an art show at the mall in November. I have a few pieces of art to frame for the show. I can buy a ready made mat and frame for one, but two more will require a professional touch. (Mat cutters and I do not see eye to eye.) I love how the shops finish the back too.

Using up my scraps of paper. The top painting: pastel and then two watercolours.

'Til next time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by for a visit; there’s much to see.

  Thank you, ladies, for hosting.