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Work in Progress, taken over a year to get this far. Work in Progress, taken over a year to get this far. Julie Drew - poured painting background for an ink transfer.
04 Nov
2024

ElkIsland Hayburgertrail watercolor 7x9in

Fall is such a rich time of year. For nature it is a time of change, of letting go, loss, and even death as we move toward winter. Yet the changing colors of the leaves shows us each year that there is beauty and wonder even in these parts of life.

Did you take some time to enjoy the fall colors and the dancing leaves? In September and October, I enjoyed getting out to catch the marvelous colors in the river valley with my students. 

;North Saskatchewan River in Light Rain, ink sketchSketching the North Saskatchewan River with beaver passing throughSketching flowers at Yorath House in the rain

And, I kept thinking that this time next year I will be experiencing another flavor of fall. I will be in Italy teaching sketching and painting of the Italian countryside around Montelparo, Le Marche.

This is Montelparo, Le Marche, Italy: 

Montelparo4H min hotel leone lemarche italy Hotel Leone, Montelparo, Le Marche, Italy. 

More images of Hotel Leone and Montelparo can be seen here

Some artist friends of mine from Edmonton have taught at Hotel Leone during their own retreats, and their pictures are amazing! (karenbartist, zheliskoart, daveshko)  I can’t wait to experience it with my own students!

Join me  Sept 26- Oct 3, 2025 (click for more information on the art retreat  in 2025). 

...

My family experienced an additional season this fall, renovations. We just finished six weeks of chaos in our home, while the contractors tore apart rooms and put them back together. It all started with a leaking pipe and water damage in our basement bathroom. Then, since we were doing one room, we decided to include a few more that were long overdue. We added our kitchen and upstairs floor. And, for once, we didn’t do the work ourselves, for which I am thankful. demolition of kitchen and the new cupboards being built

 

The noise, the dust, the displacement of moving out our things, plus creating a temporary kitchen in the living room, and the never ending decisions we had to make all contributed to weeks of extra stress and chaos. I really appreciated the comment I received when I shared this on Facebook, "It is worth it."

 20241102 091841Now we have a beautiful new kitchen, floor and basement bathroom. Standing in my new kitchen I can attest that it was indeed worth it. I love the colors, the smooth, granite counter, and the additional counter we put in to replace a cabinet. We even have four working burners on our new stove. And I can get back in my studio to work now. It was one of the many places that we temporarily stored things. The next stage is to sort through things as we put them back where they belong.

poured acrylics experiment fallcolorsPainting can be like the renovation process. The stages of painting are sometimes messy and feel like chaos and uncertainty. I like to call it experimentation and play, and I try to give myself grace when learning something new and to take it one step at a time. (Notice the acrylic pouring painting at the top of the page, which I call an experiment.)

It takes patience to practice the techniques, to learn to mix colors and to learn to see. It takes time to build the layers of a painting. The painting doesn’t go as you hoped, so you rework a part, then you step back and look at what needs to be done next. And then when the final details get into place -- the last shadow, edging or contrast-- you step back and see it has all come together. You persevered through the chaos and the result is beautiful!

I love helping my students work through this process and create wonderful paintings. Celebrate their beautiful work with me! 

20241024 205050paintingbotanicals week2poinsettias and northernlightspoinsettias and northernlights

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