25 Years in Canada - The Year 2017 Part II

 

Luscious Greens, acrylic, 12" x 9", CAN $300

Blog 22

 

I love that the second half of each year starts with a family vacation. In 2017, the weather was not what I had hoped for a summer week at the cottage, but colder and rainy days increased my painting time. We have a covered patio, and I painted on four days, finishing two paintings and almost a third. I also felted a poppy and some leaves of a white water lily. 

 

Sweet Candy, acrylic, 12" x 12", NFS

One lovely evening, I spent on the beach capturing the soft pastel hues with coloured pencil, a sketch that I still have to finish. Drawing with coloured pencils takes a long time. Next time, I will pack my small watercolour kit that is perfect for quick colour sketches.

I kept going with my Creativity & Me workshops. In July, we created mixed media tot bags. In August, we felted three-dimensional poppies and red water lilies.

I continued to teach half days until the middle of August. Then, I instructed the kids of one of the City of Ottawa arts camps at Emily Carr Middle School in Blackburn Hamlet. I had a small group of enthusiastic students, which surprisingly had twice as many boys as girls.

The Essence of Summer, acrylic, 10" x 8", CAN $250

Less teaching hours meant that I could paint more with my friends again. Helene and I went painting at the Humanics Institute Sculpture Park that offers a beautiful trail through a wooded area (see above).  Lots of sculptures of various religious and life themes invite you to relax and meditate. It is also perfect for sketching and painting. My friend Janis and I went to the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum to warm up for our yearly Kamouraska trip.

Starting at the beginning of September, I taught Canadian government students in the afternoon, which required adapting my schedule. As a result, I had to cancel my Drawing with a Twist art classes.

 

I hardly got to know my new students before our yearly Kamouraska trip in the second week of September. Beautiful summer had returned so that we experienced such sunny and mild days like never before in our eight years of painting in this beautiful area of Canada. We discovered many new painting spots. We spent more time painting together as a group and even created a sunset painting. To read all about our adventures, you can follow my travelogue, starting with the blog of Friday, September 22, 2017.

The Old Hut at Pointe-aux-Orignaux, oil, 8" x 10", CAN $250

After my return, one of the Cartooning and Comics courses at François Recreation Centre started with a waiting list. My supervisor and I decided to increase the number of participants while cancelling two other courses. In mid-October, the Acrylic Landscape Painting session started at Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex. I was not too disappointed about the cancelled courses because I usually had to drive directly from one job to the next due to the heavy rush hour traffic.

Since I started my part-time job as a German instructor, I struggled to find time to paint and also neglected to spend time with the important people in my life. For the rest of the fall, I made meeting with family and friends a priority. My parents came from Germany for 2 1/2 weeks, and I spent time with my friends and in-laws. Even though this has limited my creative time, it was necessary to lift my spirits. Painting and the administrative part of my business are usually very secluded activities. During the last painting trip and recent events in my circles of family and friends, I realized how precious and fragile personal relationships are. I love what I do, but I do not want to regret at some point that I missed out on fostering my personal relationships in favour of working.


In the fall, I started to have problems with dry eyes. When I woke up, I could hardly open my eyes anymore. It turned out I had an inflammation of the cornea. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a health problem that is still not resolved despite several trips to specialists. A day later, my son and daughter discovered that the sore spot on my back was a tick. As it was a Saturday afternoon, my son had to drive me to the hospital for the removal. Luckily, I could have only caught it while gardening the day before. Therefore, it was unlikely that I was infected. I still had to take a one-time dose of antibiotics.

As running an art business does not only include creating art and maybe teaching but also administrative tasks and marketing, I attended a full day at a marketing workshop with Lisa Larter and the annual Artpreneur conference. I learned a lot about the entrepreneurial side of my business.

Our painting buddies group did not manage to paint together but kept in touch and celebrated our friendships with our yearly Christmas lunch. Over the years, it seems that we all got busier, even though most of the group was retired.

Red Tulips, wool, SOLD

At the end of November, I did a felting demonstration at the Arteast booth during Baz’Art at the Shenkman Arts Centre that attracted a lot of attention. To finish my business activities for the year, I welcomed clients to my fourth Christmas Open House. I had a nice flow of visitors, and my felted artwork Red Tulips found a new home. Shortly after, I sold the felted painting Winter Glow.

2017 brought many changes. The outlook for 2018 suggested even more challenges, as we put our house on the market to move to a smaller one closer to downtown. Please join me next week to read if I managed to find space and time for my creative outlet.

25 Years in Canada - The Year 2017 Part I

Pink Tulips, 20" x 10", CAN $400

 

Blog 21

I started 2017 actively participating in many exhibitions. On January 4, I delivered my painting Winter in Quebec to the Shenkman Arts Centre as part of the Arteast Promenade exhibition called Winter Medley. On January 12, I was one of the four artists participating in the Arteast Winter Mix exhibition at the St. Laurent Complex. On February 1, our Navan Arts Group installed some of our artworks in the big glass showcase on the ground level of the Shenkman Arts Centre. I was excited when a new client bought Kamouraska Landscape and Green Waters from the St. Laurent Complex show. The last show of the first half of 2017 was the Navan Fine Arts Exhibition and Sale in April, where I sold my acrylic painting Powdery Sunset.


In 2016, I spent a lot of time creating new content for my classes and workshops. To devote more time to my art, I challenged myself to create art every day during January to get back into a routine after the holidays. However, this plan derailed quickly. In early January, I had written a post on Facebook to find other German learners for a German conversation. One of the responses came from an acquaintance from my early days in the Orleans Newcomers Club. She worked for a company that had signed a contract with the Canadian Government of Canada to teach their employees for posts abroad.


I applied shortly before midnight on a Tuesday. The next morning, I already received a phone call with an invitation for an interview the following day. A week later, I passed the teaching certification. After a day of introduction to the material and digital learning tools, I started to work three hours a day less than three weeks after my application. Even though I only worked from 9 am to 12 pm, I was away about double the time due to my commute. I had to leave the house by 7:15 am to make it to work on time. At least the way home was usually not a problem. I still taught two courses for children at François Dupuis Recreation Centre and my private student preparing for an art-focused high school. In early February, I also worked Sundays at Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex. Plus, in the spring, I also taught an acrylic landscape painting course for adults. 

Fall at Petrie Island, wool, 11" x 8 3/4", NFS

With even less time at my disposal for creative projects, I struggled to get into a new rhythm. At least, the creativity challenge encouraged me to pick up my felting needle or a pencil when I would have otherwise possibly worked in front of my computer. I was also excited to hear that I inspired others to start their own challenge. Nevertheless, as the weeks passed, I became very overwhelmed with all the work. I questioned whether I should give up my art business. The many tasks of marketing, bookkeeping, and teaching, prevented me from having time to paint.


I was also struggling to accept that the health of one of my friends was rapidly deteriorating. For months, it looked like her brain tumour was in remission. Then, it returned viciously in January. I kept visiting her at the hospital, but with every visit, she was less responsive. At the same time, our son had found our neighbour after a stroke. These two events made me realize how precious time is and how much I cherished my relationships with family and friends. As much as I missed painting, I made my relationships a priority. 

Fruit Bowl, pencil, 8.5" x 11", NFS

Even though I postponed many of my workshops, I still started my workshop Drawing with a Twist in mid-January to show participants the fun of drawing. We concentrated on the process of creating rather than on the finished project. I taught my students to pay attention to the world around them without blindly accepting what others have taught us.

Canada in Leaf, various Arteast artists

By mid-March, I developed laryngitis due to the many hours of teaching, which forced me to take some days off and slow down. It was good timing because I needed to work on my triangle for the Canada in Leaf artwork. In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, Arteast had invited some of the members to participate in the Canada 150th project. The participating artists had to create an aspect of Canada on the 30 wood triangles of the maple leaf mosaic. The sides of each triangle were a specific colour that needed the artists needed to include in the painting. My triangle had magenta sides. Therefore, I picked a Canadian winter sunset. In May, visitors could view the humongous artwork for the first time at the Promenade Gallery in the Shenkman Arts Centre. The maple leaf later found a permanent home at the entrance of the Nepean Public Library, 101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa. Next to the artwork is a plaque listing all the contributing artists.

At the Narrows Bridge, oil, 11" x 14", CAN $375

Once more, I was the trip organizer for the Plein Air Ensemble. At the end of March, we went to Orford, Quebec. I had a wonderful time with the group of painters at Orford Music, especially with my travel partner and friend Janis. I was sad to retire as coordinator of the group. Fortunately, the new team organized the bi-yearly trips until the pandemic. Hopefully, the trips will continue when it is safe to travel again. You can read my travelogue in my blogs of April 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2017.


At the beginning of May, I spent a week at the cottage with my son. My friend Janis came up for two days. Unfortunately, we could only paint under the covered porch due to the rain. I worked on the commission of the portrait of a beautiful ragdoll cat and a new piece for my painting parties while my son and one of his friends explored the area.


While we were at the cottage, my friend died peacefully, and only hours later, our neighbour, who had been an inspiring mentor to my son. It felt right that Dominic and I were alone that day. We took Alex for a walk and felt surrounded by the quietness of nature. While we enjoyed the tranquility of nature, the lives of many people in the Ottawa valley changed by the force of nature. The rising floodwaters damaged properties and endangered lives along the Ottawa River. 

Canada 150th Tulip Painting Party

 Back at home, I was delighted to offer a painting party as part of one of the Women's Business Connections Orleans special events and at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Orleans. During both events, we painted the Canada 150th Tulip. Each of the artworks turned out differently due to our unique temperament and mood reflected in each painting.

 

Lots of beautiful tulips

 

As I kept struggling with my schedule, I missed the Canadian Tulip Festival for the first time in years. However, I still painted tulips outside. I set up my easel in our backyard to paint some pinkish-red tulips guarded by our faithful Australian Shepherd, Alex, at my side (see at top).
 

In June, things started to slow down. My morning classes continued during the summer. However, my student was away for part of June, which allowed me to paint more regularly. I finished the commission painting, and the joy in my client’s face was such a treat for me. 

Jessie Blue, acrylic, 16" x 20", SOLD

If you want to know how I managed to recreate more balance in my life in the second half of 2017, please join me again next week.

25 Years in Canada - The Year 2016 Part I

Pink Peonies, acrylic on gallery canvas, CAN $420

 Blog 19

As already in 2015, I was very active in the local art scene and showed my paintings in many different venues during the winter months. On January 4, I was one of four artists who hung their paintings in the Arteast exhibition Winter's Beginning at François Dupuis Recreation Centre. Four days later, my friends Hélène Martin, Janis Fulton, and I hung our paintings for the Three Friends, Three Times The Passion exhibition at Tyros Restaurant. We have been painting together for years and have become great friends in the process. Viewers had a chance to see how differently we interpreted what we saw. On January 15, I put up some of my winter paintings for the Arteast Winter Mix exhibition at the St. Laurent Complex. My painting Winter Glow was part of the Arteast exhibition Winter Medley at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans.

 

Winter Mix, St. Laurent Complex

When my felted piece Under The Sea found a wonderful new home, I was so happy to witness the buyer's excitement. The pleasure of seeing when our art succeeds in creating emotions in the viewer is one of the special moments in every artist's career.

 

Under The Sea, wool, SOLD

The arrival of Syrian refugees in Canada made me think about my own move to Canada more than 20 years ago. My situation was very different as I came from a wealthy and peaceful country where I had a very comfortable life. However, other issues I faced were similar to those the new refugees were facing. I started blogging about my immigration to Canada. I wrote about my first impressions of Canada, then continued with the travelogue about the trip to Vancouver with my husband, then my fiancé, in May 1995. While I was not painting a lot during the trip, it was the beginning of my love of the Canadian landscape. Afterwards, I wrote about my impressions of the Toronto area, Muskoka, and Ottawa.

In February, the artists from Cumberland founded Creations Cumberland. The group opened a pop-up art gallery in the vacant Haddad S&S Foodliner in Cumberland Village to promote the creative talents of local artists. Many visitors were interested in my courses, and I sold the painting Summer Greens, Mer Bleue. Exciting news also reached me from the Sienna Gallery in Rockland, Ontario, which accepted some of my paintings for an exhibition at the beginning of March.

I continued to enjoy teaching art. During the winter session, the high demand for the Animal Cartooning and Drawing course resulted in a second course. This trend continued in the spring when I had a waiting list and added Draw on This to my course offer. For adults, I offered Painting Like Famous Artists workshops. Discovering the Greens of Emily Carr Painting Vibrant Flowers Like Vincent van Gogh attracted many students.

Aside from my art courses for the City of Ottawa, I also created Creativity and Me workshops at my studio to help participants experiment with different mediums and techniques. My felting workshops were especially popular. There was always lots of laughter despite a couple of pricks with the needle.

I also supported my private student with her portfolio for the application to Canterbury High School. She continued to make fast progress due to her hard work.

Aside from my art activities, I was happy that my parents came for two visits: once in February and the next time in May. My parents, who live in a region of Germany that does not often see snow, always liked to spend some weeks in the winter with us. During the long weekend in February, however, we could not spend a lot of time outside. The temperatures were around – 40 degrees Celsius with the wind chill. Instead, we enjoyed the view of the beautiful sunny white landscape.

In between their visits, I spent two and a half weeks in March with my daughter in Germany, visiting my family and friends. The trip was dear to my heart as one of my godmothers had died only three weeks earlier, and my other godmother was fighting cancer. It is always hard to leave everyone behind, not knowing when and if you see them again.

The second quarter started with the next Plein Air Ensemble spring trip. Three days after my return from Germany, Hélène and I left for the Magog-Orford region (Eastern Townships). To read my travelogue, please turn to my blogs of April 8, 15, and 22, 2016. You can find the blogs when you search the labels for April 2016.

The Windsong, 16" x 20", SOLD

At the beginning of April, I also received a commission from a neighbour to paint her husband’s sailboat for his 80th birthday. At first, I was reluctant to accept the order as I only had about a week to create the artwork, but I am so glad I did. I attended the birthday party and could witness the joy my painting brought. Little did I know how important this painting would be for the recipient. Only days after his birthday, his wife died, and the last photo of her is the two of them with my painting. It was her final gift to him. What a special gift!

My painting parties became more popular. In the middle of April, I organized a bridal painting party. Shortly after, I hosted another successful painting party for the ladies night at Resurrection Lutheran Church, followed by another one for a couple of entrepreneurs.

Green Waters, wool, SOLD

On the last weekend of April, I participated in the Navan Fine Arts Exhibition and Sale at the Navan Curling Club. Thirteen local artists exhibited a variety of art and crafts. I was delighted about the sale of my felted piece Green Waters, one of my favourite pieces.

At the beginning of May, I spent a week at the cottage. First, it was so cold that I was glad to find a couple of gloves among the dog items. When my friends Janis and Hélène came for a painting day in the middle of the week, the weather was perfect for plein air painting in the Whitewater Region. 

 

Rocky Shore, oil, 10" x 8", CAN 250

On the Friday before the long Victoria Day weekend, my friend Janis and I went to the Tulip Festival. The flowers were at their peak! While painting, I met a couple of singers from a German choir on tour through Canada and the United States. Then, a CTV crew started interviewing visitors to the Tulip Festival next to where Janis and I were painting. They did not talk to us, but I ended up on their video.

Pink Roses, wool, 9” x 6 1/4”, CAN $400

At the end of May, I hung my solo exhibition at the Blackburn Hamlet Library called Beauty in Your Neighbourhood, showing paintings inspired by outings in Ontario and Quebec. I wanted to show that you do not have to travel far to see the beauty in nature. The neighbourhood was not necessarily a local spot but a metaphor for the beauty all around us.

At the beginning of June, I spent a wonderful day with members of Arteast in Montréal. We visited the Pompeii Exhibition at the Fine Arts Museum, followed by a visit to the Botanical Gardens, where I sketched with my friends Janis and Bob.

The first half-year ended with a big family celebration. My brother-in-law got married at a beautiful outdoor wedding in Muskoka with many relatives from Germany and my new sister-in-law’s family. It was also the first time that I met my cute four-month-old niece.

If you want to find out how the year continued for me, join me again next week. Every view back is also a revelation for me and a good reminder of all the things I accomplished over the years.

25 Year in Canada - The Year 2011 Part I

Presqu'ile Point, acrylic, 18" x 24"

Blog 9

 

At the beginning of 2011, I continued to teach German for the City of Ottawa and privately with former students who wanted to continue improving their skills. The problem with courses run by recreation facilities is the lack of flexibility due to the fixed costs. While this was not a problem for the beginner courses, most students were happy with the basic knowledge and did not register for further sessions. During all my years of teaching for the city, I only instructed one level 3 course. Offering small group and semi-private classes was the solution that worked well for myself and my students.

Starting in February, the gallery board organized life drawing classes at our Galerie de la Rive. The new building offered us the perfect setting to host the classes, which were very popular with our artist circle. I was excited to practice my observational and drawing skills regularly again after a break of almost two years.

Masquerade, acrylic, 20" x 16"

For the Arteast exhibition “A Night at the Theatre” at the Trinity Gallery in the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans, I created a self-portrait of myself hiding behind a mask.

After a visit to the cottage in mid-January and being in awe of the beautiful colours of the winter sunset, I painted in the bay of the Ottawa River from reference photos (see above).


Members of our church approached me to teach them how to paint. I guided them through my ten-week course in the different uses of watercolour, acrylic and oil paint. 

In early March, I developed a tennis elbow on my right arm, which handicapped me gravely for the next six weeks. I could not even open a door or hold a mug with my hand. 

Besides, my worries for our five-year-old Golden Retriever, Candy, increased. It became clear that the partial paw amputation was the only way to save her life. Even though the tumour was benign, the stretched skin over it ripped all the time, which endangered her life due to infections. Taking her for consultation was very difficult for me. I remembered my last trip with our first dog, Jessie, to the hospital. At the time, I had still hoped that her sudden lethargy was only a treatable autoimmune disease. However, a few hours later, we found out that she had mere days to live due to spleen cancer.

After the consultation, I was relieved that Candy would make a full recovery and could still lead a life without restrictions, but worried about how to afford the operation. I found a way, and she finally had her amputation in early May. It was hard to watch her in pain after the procedure. Candy was not very sensitive to pain, so I knew that she was suffering despite the medication when she winced in between doses. It was hard to witness. 

Despite my health scare the year before, life had fallen to the old routine. As much as I love living in the country, the lack of public transportation was a huge disadvantage. I was constantly on the road. 

Lemon and Peppers, oil, 11" x 14", CAN $375

I worked for the gallery, taught art and German, and drove my children around to their many activities. By mid-April, our lives became chaotic as it was the start of the competitive soccer season. Besides taking my son to the practices and games, I also became the co-manager of the team. This task meant that I had to organize the tournaments and be at the games, with the team roster and the players’ cards, to check the opposing team.

 

It was also the height of the dance season with rehearsals, competitions, and shows. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the mother-daughter time that my daughter and I spent together, especially during our trips to Kingston, where we spent the weekend at a hotel. 

In May, I held my first art course for children in the building of our gallery. The big room with long tables and a sink was the perfect space to teach. Even ten years later, I still remember the fun and enthusiasm of the children. After one of the classes, one father arrived to pick up his son, who declared that he was not ready to go. He still had to add more colour to his picture. 

I felt excited to share my passion and the joy art brought to my life with adults and children. With every course, I also learned something. Especially the children had refreshing views of the world around them and were not afraid to express themselves freely.

Standing Out From the Crowd, acrylic, 12" x 16", CAN $400

I am not sure how I found time to paint during this time, but I managed to produce enough paintings for the Galerie de la Rive exhibitions. I continued to paint with my friends en plein air during visits to the tulip festival and Petrie Island. 

Odenwald, acrylic, 20" x 24", CAN $450

 

In my studio, I painted Odenwald, a painting from reference photos taken during my previous trip to Germany. Over the years, many people felt attracted to the image. The landscape seems to remind them of areas in Canada.

Thank you for following my journey. I will post the blog about the second half of 2011 next week. If you know someone who might enjoy my story, please forward my blog.

Creativity Challenge - Week 20

Blog 20

When this blog is published our house will have just gone on the market. I am sure you can understand that I did not have any time to be creative. I only drew Star from the show “Star versus the Forces of Evil” for one of my drawing classes. The rest of the time, I spent decluttering and cleaning out the basement, including my studio.

It was probably good to be under pressure as I find it really hard to let go of things. As a creative person even little things can give me ideas for a future use in an artwork. Having to clean out my office to stage it for potential buyers forced me to make some tough decisions, especially because I will probably not have another studio that is as spacious in the house we will be moving into.

As much as going through the stuff was both physically and mentally exhausting, it feels good to look at my cleaned studio. As I did not clean it out as much as in the rest of the house, this is the only room in our house that I still like to be in and hopefully will still be able to create artworks and teach in the next couple of months. The rest of the house is now staged for upcoming visits, and all the personal items are removed to give the house a more neutral look. As I did not follow the advice to have our house painted in the fashionable grey tones, at least I don’t feel like I am in a dead house, although it feels static. I don’t feel like spending time in any of the rooms anymore, because I am afraid to unsettle things.

At this point, I am hoping to sell the house fast, even though it will not be easy to leave. Our house is a custom house, that I designed and for which I picked out every floor, cupboard, blind, and wall colour (except for my children’s rooms). It feels like one of my artworks, only that I had people to help me with the realization. My father is an architect and he put my vision into the plans of our house. We had to make some sacrifices during the building of the house due to financial considerations but it still looks mostly like my vision.

When I designed the house, it never occured to me that I would move before being in my old age, but now that my children are out of school and both my husband and I have long rides to work every day, we had to review our priorities.

When I started to sell my artwork, I also had a hard time of letting go. Now, I decide before I start a painting whether it will be for sale or for myself. The only exception is the one painting I pick at the end of every painting trip as a reminder of the wonderful memories.

I hope that when it is time to leave our house, I will be able to remember the wonderful memories and feel good knowing that a new family will be able to enjoy and make the house their own, the same way I hope that my artworks will bring continuous joy to their new owners.

Queen of the Night, acrylic,
8" x 7 3/4"

I wish all of you a wonderful Victoria Day weekend! Will you visit the Ottawa Tulip Festival or any local park or forest to see nature’s beauty? Or will you be glued to the television to watch the royal wedding with all of the beautifully dressed people? If this long weekend is your start for the cottage or camping season, I hope that you will create wonderful memories.

Creativity Challenge - Week 19

my lotus flower from the retreat

Blog 19

It is time for my new blog. I had a very busy week, but still was able to carve out many moments of creativity.

It all started with my “Painting with a Palette Knife” workshop on Friday. The two participants had a great time and were quite successful in using the knife to create texture.

all three images are unfinished, mine is the one on the left

In the evening, I went to the Ottawa Little Theatre, where I saw “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily”. As most of the times I am at the theatre, I enjoy sketching while watching the performance. Since I started sketching at the theatre, it helps me to remember the plays we have seen. It is almost like creating cue cards.

On Saturday, I went to a fabulous Mayan Bola Workshop at Hikano Yoga Studio in Cumberland. Not only did I learn a lot about angels, but we also made our own spiritual necklace with a pendant that produces a soft calming sound to remind us of our angels.

The “Yoga & Art Retreat” that Jackie Leduc and I hosted at Hikano Yoga Studio was a big success. After Jackie created a calming mood during a morning of yoga and meditation, the participants went for a short walk, enjoyed Jackie’s delicious and healthy lunch, and were very excited to create their lotus painting. The lotus is a flower full of symbolism; it is associated with eternity, purity and peace, self-awareness, love and compassion, the overcoming of suffering and spiritual development. It also symbolizes beauty, fertility, prosperity, and eternity, and it is perfect subject for a spring retreat when nature awakens in an explosive way that surprises me every year. After a long-lasting dormancy suddenly everything is full of colour: a painter’s dream. I hope I will have time to paint outside soon.

At the beginning of the week, I created the three drawings for my three “Cartooning and Comics” classes. While Tomato Head from the video came Fortnite was fun, and Darth Vader interesting to draw, I had a hard time with Wither from Minecraft. I was dreading the drawing as I do not like the square shapes and difficult perspective of the character. This was definitely out of my comfort zone. Needless to say that I had a lot of trouble with the drawing. It is so much easier to draw something that you enjoy, but on the other hand it was a good challenge.

For a nice relaxing finish, I will spend some time working on my temperature shawl. I had put it aside for the last couple of weeks, and I am excited to see how nature’s design will look.

If you are still looking for a Mother’s Day gift, some of my still life paintings that are on sale until Sunday are also some nice flower paintings that will provide joy for a long time.

I wish all of you who have two- or four-legged kids a Happy Mother’s Day! If the weather is nice, head out and enjoy nature. If you live in the Ottawa area, the Tulip Festival that starts today will surely thrill you and might inspire you to create art or update a flower bed in your garden.

Creativity Challenge - Week 17

4th Chute, Eganville, Ontario

Blog 17

I have been on vacation this week. It was a week of re-energizing and re-focusing. Usually I use our spring week at the cottage to spend time with some of my painting buddies to paint outside catching the first signs of spring. However, this year a friend of mine from Germany is here to spend some time with me. For this reason, my blog will be quite short. We enjoyed the sunny spring weather, went for long walks, and relaxed while reading, playing games, and watching some of my favourite DVDs.

Unfortunately, the landscape looked rather dull. In the wooded areas, the paths were still covered in snow, the lakes mostly frozen, and the fields had the colour of washed out green-yellow. If I had planned to paint, I would have found some scenic spots nonetheless, even though many areas would not have been accessible with my painting equipment. However, I had hoped to show a brighter countryside to my friend. In the spring this area usually looks amazing. We still made the best of our time. We enjoyed the sun and saw lots of wildlife: turkeys, a fox, a beaver, hundreds of Canada geese, chipmunks, a groundhog, and even some beautiful butterflies. Lots of inspiration for new animal paintings!

While on an outing to Lake Clear in Eganville, Ontario, I sketched the ice-covered lake with the mountain in the back.

On the rainy Wednesday, I also prepared the drawings for my three Cartooning & Comics classes: the Dark Voyager, Luke Skywalker, and the Pokémon characters Evee and Pikachu.

I also continued felting my table runner which has lots of new blooms. The spring weather is inspiring me to create all these beautiful flowers.

If you are in need of a mini-vacation, I would like to invite you to the Yoga & Art Retreat at Hikano Yoga Studio in Cumberland, Ontario, on Sunday May 6th from 9:30am to 4:30pm. For more information and to register please go to https://www.hikano.com/retreat/.

While Jackie Leduc will lead you through a mindful morning filled with yoga, meditation and breathe work, I will guide you in the afternoon, when we will be painting the beautiful lotus flower shown on the left.

Creativity Challenge - Week 16

Blog 16

I am looking forward to a week of vacation that I desperately need. The past week was an almost completely a write-off. In the race against time, I hardly found time to be creative. Thursday, the day of my friend’s arrival, was my deadline to clean up all the rooms on the main level of our house, to finish my bookkeeping, as well as to write my April newsletter. I managed everything in the very last minute. Unfortunately, all of this is also the reason why this week’s blog is quite short.

Here is what I managed to do:

I continued my temperature shawl that shows now nature’s temperature game of the last four months.

On Sunday, two lovely ladies braved the coming ice storm. Together, we created three beautiful peonies paintings. If you missed the Peonies Painting Party this time, I am offering another one on Friday, May 11, 2018, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at 1270 Kinsella Drive, Cumberland, ON, K4C 1A9. The price is $35 per person. The maximum number of participants is 10. To reserve a spot for this event, prepayment is required by April 11, 2018 by e-transfer to kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca.

For my three Cartooning and Comics courses, I created sketches of Yoda from Star Wars and the Pokemon Fire Cat “Litten”, which I truly enjoyed. With the third class, I drew “Toothless” from the movie “How to Train a Dragon”, a cute dragon that I had already used in a recent course.

Now, I am looking forward to spending a week at the cottage with my friend and my dog Alex. I am sure I will find some time to felt and maybe even sketch.

Have a great week! Thank you for your continuous support. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help you to start or finish a project. It will be my pleasure to guide you in improving your skills and having fun in the process.