Odds and Ends

I haven't been doing much art lately as I have been too busy with yard work and getting my flowers planted. Today was the first time in over 2 weeks that I picked up a brush and, of course, I painted another scene of the Creston Valley.

Cloudy Skies over the Valley - 7 x 10 watercolour

I haven't been completely without art in the last few weeks; I have done a few bits of quilling in my spare time. And, I gave a small Quilling Party on the weekend.

Mini hummer and flower with buds

an ATC with the mini quilling

more mini humming birds and a Canadian dollar coin (loony)

These mini quilling pieces were done with 1/16" paper strips and were VERY difficult to do! I started making them because my blogging friend Nelvia McGrath - Nelvia's Blog  - suggested swapping ATCs. I have a few ATCs made but thought the one I chose for the swap needed a bit extra to make it more interesting - thus the quilling. Then a friend asked me to make her one so I did a few more but I was more than happy to get back to normal sizes for the Quilling Party.

my quilled card

I always forget how long it takes beginners to get their fingers working when learning how to quill with 1/8" paper strips; maybe next time I will start them with the 1/4" paper. At any rate, we all managed to complete a card during the party and the ladies were so interested that they plan to come for regular lessons to learn more. Unfortunately, I was so busy I forgot to take photos of their cards - sigh, when will I learn to have the camera in the room with me!

I have a number of projects in mind for the next while and, hopefully, I will have the time and the energy to do them. Then I will share.

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment as  I would love to hear from you!

Painting for the Public

When I start a painting I don't usually think about if it will sell; I paint for the enjoyment. There are however a few scenes that I paint because they are popular with the tourists and with people who used to live in the area.

Clouds on the Mountains #2

Most of those scenes are similar to this one; a view of the Creston Valley looking west across the flats as viewed from Hwy 3A.

Birds over Erickson

I have done a few scenes of the east side of the valley but they don't seem to have the same impact as the west side paintings.

Kootenay Lake Sunset #2

Another popular scene is my version of sunset on Kootenay Lake. These are based on my daughter's photo of Garland Bay.

Over the years I have done 17 paintings of the west side of the valley, 14 paintings of sunset on the lake and 5 paintings of the east side of the valley. I am happy to say that most of them have sold.

I have used photos of a number of my original paintings to make cards which also sell very well, especially to the tourists during the summer. I have painted a number of other valley scenes but, judging by card sales, they don't have the same appeal.

I rarely paint the same thing twice because I like variety too much but when I paint the valley I always end up with pictures that are subtly different.

It is a joy to live in such a beautiful area and as long as scenes like this keep selling I will keep painting them because it is fun and profitable too - always a bonus!