My Garden

I certainly haven't done much art since my last blog almost a month ago as I have been too busy with my garden and my flowers.

 As well as taking care of the flowers in all the pots and in the garden, this year we decided to enlarge the shade bed in the front yard. We get mostly moss and weeds in this area because of the lack of sunlight and the fact that it is very close to the forest. I think it will look super once it is all finished.

We also added more gravel to this side at the back of the house and for the same reasons. I still need to get some perennials in both of these areas but that will probably wait until the fall.

A lot of people may wonder about all the gravel but I find that it really cuts down on weeding and it keeps water away from the walls of the house. And, it makes a nice backdrop for the flowers in the pots.

We still have a number of jobs to do outside so it will be a while before I get much art done but I am rather enjoying the 'holiday'.

I really like to hear from you so please leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Painting and Party

I have actually done a few paintings in the last few days. Saturday my friend Carolyn and I set up to paint as part of the 'entertainment' for the Garden tour.  Neither of us painted the garden - lol. There were really too many people walking around and we would have been in the way. I just did a quick painting of the valley view that I have done many times before. I was also jumping up all the time to show and explain some of the items I had on display for sale, so my painting was done in spurts.

#1106 - A Misty Day in the Valley - 5 x 7 watercolour

While I was painting in one garden, my husband and another friend were playing in a different one.

They played for almost 4 hours straight until Joanna lost her voice and Bob lost his lip - lol.  All in all it was a good day.

I did more painting today because I gave another friend a 'private' painting party.  It is so much easier doing a party one on one as I just paint the same scenes as the 'student'. It helps that she chose scenes I have done many times.

I also added some of my paintings to the new gallery space for Art in the Chamber at the Creston Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Centre. It is a nice venue but there is no one on staff most of the time to connect with visitors so sales will be very limited. Here are a few of the pictures I am displaying.

I keep waiting for life to settle down but there always seems to be something else that I have to do. I need to manage my time better or stop volunteering for things - sigh.

Thanks for stopping by - I would love to hear from you!

Visitors and Final Quote

I missed a day in the consecutive quote challenge but I am not sure that any one is getting notices of my posts so it probably isn't a big issue.

Before I get to the quote here are a few photos of recent visitors to my yard.

This photo was taken from inside the house with the zoom out to almost maximum as the deer was at the back of the yard at the edge of the forest.

This one was taken with less zoom so you can get some idea of the distance. The deer stayed for about an hour around lunchtime. When she left Bob notices that her udder was full so we weren't too surprised after dinner to see this:

Again, they were at the back of the yard, in shade and it was starting to get dark so the photo is not the best quality. These are welcome visitors - even when they eat my flowers - lol.

Now for today's quote!

                                     From your lips to God's ears.

I don't remember when I first heard this phrase but I have used it a lot since I started selling my art, doing Painting Parties and teaching. A friend would say 'That is great, it is sure to sell' or 'you should teach, you will get lots of students'. Statements like this make me think and say - 'from your lips to God's ears'

When I looked the saying up on Google, there was quite an involved supposed history but basically it came from Arabic or Hebrew then to Yiddish etc. It is also similar to Psalm 130:2. I have been surprised many times by the number of people who had never heard the saying before I used it in their presence. It is a good one and I hope God listens - not necessarily about my art but about the state of the world because I use it for those occasions too..

Flowers in my Garden

No art today, just some photos of some of the flowers in my garden. Most of the annuals haven't come into their own yet but the perennials are doing just fine.

I often wish that many perennials would bloom all season instead of just in the Spring. It would be lovely to have the colour and the scent of Peonies all summer long.

I bought a few Fuchsia at the garden centre this year. I liked the pictures on the info cards in the pots but was still surprised when the plants started to bloom.

It is hard to tell from photos but the blossoms in the first two pictures are huge - what a surprise that was! You can get an idea by comparing the buds but I just picked the different types because of the colour.

And, finally, a few pictures of the only rose I have left. When we moved here there were four or five roses in the gardens; I have managed to kill all but this one. I guess they just aren't my thing.

Now for today's quote!

                                         If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

They do not know who to attribute this saying to but think it might be from the Roosevelt or Truman eras. It is thought to be a southern US saying but the first 'recorded' use was during the Nixon administration. I know I heard it long before then and it is one of my 'go to' phrases to this day. I use it or think it often: when they change Facebook or the layout at the grocery store, when the product you have used and loved gets 'new and improved' and isn't. I know there are many instances that I think fit this phrase; what are some that fit for you?

Thank you Sheila Delgado for nominating me for the Three Quotes in Three Days challenge. This is day two.

The rules are simple:

    Thank the person who nominates you
    Post one quote per day for 3 consecutive days
    Nominate three new bloggers each day

As I wrote yesterday, I will not be nominating more bloggers as I just don't know enough that are not already doing the challenge.

It would be great to hear from you - Thanks for stopping by!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

I have a couple of chores this week that will require me to think and make decisions

First, a friend and I have been asked to paint in a garden during Saturday's Garden Tour and they have suggested that we have some items on display for sale. What to paint? What to take for display and sale? How bad will the mosquitoes be? Why did I say I would do this? - lol!

Delphinium Delight - 8 x 10 mixed media

Foxglove Fantasy - 8 x 210 mixed media

I decided to make a few of my quilled/watercolour pieces featuring flowers and garden friends. These are small enough that I can keep the prices down and, hopefully they will sell. I will also take some of my houseplant ornaments, the quilled ones and those made with wire, glue and nail polish. I am hoping for warm weather so my Cool Ties will attract attention and, of course I will have some cards on display too. As for what to paint - I will just play that by ear.

My next chore is to decide what paintings to take for the Art in the Chamber display. Thanks to the efforts of our local Arts Council executive we once again have gallery space in the Creston Chamber of Commerce building.   Each show is for about 5 weeks and I think this one has about 6 artists exhibiting.  I plan on taking about 20 paintings with me - but which ones?

Another job for the next few days was given to me by a blogging friend.

Sheila Delgado nominated me for the Three Quotes in Three Days challenge. This is day one!

The rules are simple:
    Thank the person who nominates you
    Post one quote per day for 3 consecutive days
    Nominate three new bloggers each day

So here goes!

Thank you so much Sheila. This is quite a challenge for me as I don't think of quotes, never pay attention to who says what and find that very few 'sayings' stick in my head. However, over the years there have been a few things that have grabbed my attention enough to be remembered.  Here is one of them:

   Every man who has a dog to worship him, should have a cat to ignore him!

I looked this saying up on Google and couldn't find a definite author although some attribute it to Mark Twain. I first heard this many years ago from my brother, David and I never really thought about what it actually means. During my Google search there was a listing for a sermon that used this phrase to highlight the need for balance in your life and I thought it was very appropriate.

I will be sharing two more quotes in the next few days but I can only nominate people for today (many of my blogger friends have already been nominated by others- sigh)

I nominate - Cathy Hubman

                   Win Dinn

                   Kelly Warren

Now for the fun part! No decisions are need for this as it was just plain fun and it is over - lol. This past Saturday I did a Watercolour Painting Party for a group of 5 ladies, three of whom were returning participants. I love it when people enjoy something so much they come back again!

painters at work

happy painters and their finished art!

All in all, it was a good weekend and it looks like it will be a good week too. Ain't life grand?

Gallery display and Drawings

I have been continuing to do some drawing while I am at Art Club; not every week but often and I thought I would share.

Sea Serpent - pen with watercolour

This is one I really enjoyed doing and so I decided to paint it. Painting was a bit of a challenge as the drawing is just on sketching paper. I am still using the Medieval Fantasy book but I think I will be trying some new subjects next time. Here are a few more from that era - lol.

quick sketches

I took a fair number of photos when my friend and I went to the Artrageous display in Kimberley. It is a juried show with cash awards given to the winners. I can't say I was impressed by the judges choices but I rarely am - they have very strange criteria.

this piece was a runner up and done by a Creston Potter

the second painting from the right won 1st place

On another note; Blogger is having trouble with their notification emails so I have to check my blog a few times a day to see if any of you have left a comment. They are apparently working on the problem so until then don't be surprised if you don't get a reply quickly. I am going to leave myself a comment and check the notification box (if there is one) - maybe that will work. - It didn't work - sigh.

Thanks for stopping by - I love to hear from you!

So Much Happening!

Life just seems to be full of chores, events, activities, opportunities and surprises.

The chores, of course, are house and yard work which never seem to end when you have a home in the country. Here are some pictures taken from inside the house.

front yard

back yard

I have all my flowers planted and am just waiting for some heat to make them pop. We are surrounded by forest here so we have lots of quiet and privacy with occasional visits from various wildlife.

Deer - April 2018

Turkeys - June 2018

There are a few new ventures in my area that are designed to promote tourism and art sales so I am hoping that this summer will be better for my home gallery. I hope you will have a look at this web site and let me know what you think. And, if you share the link with your friends that would be even better.
Creston Valley Kootenay Lake route

The local Arts Council has worked with the Chamber of Commerce and we once again have a public gallery space in the Chamber building. There is also a small Gift Shop although it is only open a few days a week and is manned by volunteers (like me).

Every week they get more art brought in and from what I have heard they are running out of space; we have so many artists here it doesn't take long to fill up a small space!

I have a Watercolour Painting Party planned for this coming Saturday and the following week I will be painting in a garden during the local Garden Tour. For the garden tour I have made up a few of my Cool Ties some with new designs using stamps from Art Foamies

art foamies

for the man in your life

for everyone!

I will also display some cards, my quilling and some small paintings - I might get lucky and actually sell something!

This summer I will have a few pieces of art in two different shows at Centre 64 in Kimberley BC. This entails a four hour round trip drive to deliver the art, another trip to see the display and then a third trip to retrieve the art - this for each show. I will be going up tomorrow with a friend to see the current display which is called Artrageous and I hope to take lots of photos to share.

And, finally, the surprise! We bought a new car! Bob saw a review for this vehicle and wanted to check it out and we ended up the proud new owners of a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle). Talk about a surprise!

It looks like the summer will continue to be interesting and busy - I am just hoping for time for art!

Thanks for stopping by!