Painter's Potluck

Yesterday afternoon, I had the privilege of hosting a last class potluck which, because of the rain, ended up just being a potluck. Lots of pleasant paint talk and paintings to admire and critique together. We come together and paint for so many hours but we are all so focused that we never have much time for socializing. This time we combined good food with good company. Thank you Catharine Gibbon for another wonderfully inspiring season.

Studio Sign

I painted the other side of the crib footboard. I'm hoping to put it out front to advertise the studio. These things are fun to paint since they're big and detail seems not to be important.

Enviroment by Mal Austen: God's enviroment places dew, light, sun, food and life cycles necessary for each plant to grow . He not only meets our needs but shapes our lives in extra dimensions.

"Aging: Plants have a life cycle, just as we do. Each stage brings beautiful new shapes and rich powerful colours. God loves and values life in all its glorious stages." Quote from Mal Austen

Lilies from "de Zwaan"

I painted this piece on the back of an old crib the other night in order to make a" studio open" sign for outside, since I would like to have my studio open for the Christmas season.

These lilies were on the table for the whole week- starting as buds and coming into full glory by the end of the week and are from a foto taken on our barge and bike trip in the Netherlands and Belgium in September. They certainly perfumed the whole boat!

"Shape" by Mal Austen

"Every leaf and every petal is unique by design and is then changed by weather and time. But our changes are best coming from God's Spirit."

Troy End of Season Cornfield

The painting from yesterday before the snow fell.

I found this lovely little book at "Value Village" which I bought for the stunning floral fotos. It's called "A Season of Possibilities" by an Australian Mal Austin. On the first page of his book he makes comments about some Artistic principles which are profound enough to pass on to you.

"CLOSE UP: God is a God of details. Look closely and you will see beauty in every feature. Don't be afraid to draw close to God . Beauty increases in closeness."

Quarry Water

We painted today-believe it or not-outside. I had the back doors of the van open to give some protection from the wind. We were in Troy, on a little dead end laneway with a spectacular view. Mine was limited to what could be seen from and around the back doors. I will make a foto of the painting tomorrow. This was done in North Flamborough at the same time last year. The location was an old gravel quarry with crystal clear water. The enthusiasm gets to be a little dampened when frostbite sets in.

The Barn

We're off to an all girls weekend(Mother and Daughters) in Thornbury.