Strange and Unsettling

It has been a very strange and unsettling summer so far.

I never get a lot of visitors to my home gallery as we are 1km off the highway but this year has been the worst since I opened. However, for the first time I  had some locals stop in for a mini lesson and the Watercolour Painting Party I blogged about last week.

The Saturday Afternoon Summer Art Market that I have organized has also been a bit strange. Every Saturday we set up and wait, and wait, and wait for visitors. We have done a lot of promoting on social media, put out rack cards and posters as well as some big signs at the venue but our efforts have been mostly unsuccessful.  Visitor numbers and sales have been disappointing but we keep hoping things will improve.

The unsettling part has been due to the fire situation in BC and the high temperatures.

looking south across the flats

looking west across the flats

There have only been a few small fires in the valley and they were quickly handled by the local fire departments and wildfire crews. The closest major fire is about an hour away across the lake at the top of a mountain. It is not endangering people or homes but it is very hard to fight because of the terrain. The biggest fires are many hours away from us but the smoke from all these fires makes its way to our area and makes life difficult. That is what you see in the above photos - there are mountains behind all that smoke haze - and that is what we have been living with for weeks.

We finally had some rain yesterday and a bit today, as well as cooler temperatures although we need a whole lot more of both.

I haven't been doing very much art (too busy organizing things I guess) but I have managed to get a few things done.

#1048 - Rough Seas - unframed 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas board

#1044 - Still Life with Blue Vase - unframed 7 x 10 watercolour

#1049 - Dragonfly with Camellia  - 5 x7 matted to 8 x 10 quilling and watecolour

One last thing - we have a new resident in our yard. Some people regard little guys like this as pests but I am have a good time watching him scurry around the flower beds and pots.

    enjoying the seeds from the Amaranth Velvet Curtain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you will let me know how your summer is going.

Septmeber Challenge Day 8

Today's card was actually done a few days ago and I had to take about 8 photos before I got one that worked. They were fuzzy, blue, shadowed - you name it! And, many of them were impossible to adjust with GIMP considering my limited skills.

Little Chipmunk card

I have been doubling up my drawings as the next few days are going to be super busy. The Art Club I belong to is having its annual fall show and sale this weekend so I have to get my art ready. I am also treasurer of the club so I have that to organize as well. On top of that, I coordinate 2 local art displays: Art in the Library and Art in the Chamber and this is the week that the art gets changed - it never rains but it pours! Which by the way is a very silly statement as it often rains without pouring - lol.

Don't forget to check out Leslie's blog to see some of the wonderful art being shared by the other artists in the 30 Painting in 30 Days Challenge - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/2015/09/thirty-paintings-in-30-days-day-eight.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/PzFQn+%28Slices+of+Life%29