8th Annual Port Stanley Art Tour

I will be participating in the Port Stanley Studio Tour this weekend, September 22 and 23 and, in spite of the usual pre-show jitters, I can't wait for it all to start! There are over 30 artists showing their work at different locations throughout Port Stanley making for a wonderful strolling-around kind of art weekend! The town is has a busy marina, several wonderful restaurants (two of my favs so far are Me & Suzies and the Pineapple Room in the Telegraph House), a theatre, vintage train station, fish monger, ice cream parlor, shops, spa - just about everything you need (okay, I wish there was a book store). I have lots of new work, the weather is going to be perfect ... life is good. Thanks to the Lake Erie Beacon for showing my work and making a fantastic brochure!

Faces

Faces

Daffodils

Trees at home and abroad

There was a time when it
seemed like all I sketched or photographed was trees; all shapes and sizes, all colours and species. I took hundreds of shots one summer in Prince Edward County, and have taken rolls during each visit to Scotland.



Of course, the landscapes in Scotland were as much about the water and mountains as the trees. The light seemed to be a different colour there too and the speed with which the light changed meant even the shadows were constantly changing, such is island life.

Irises

Land and Sky and Trees

My paintings at the cottage

Friends have always been my best sale people, passing my business cards around and dragging friends to my shows. Even buying my paintings for gifts. Bruce and Craig are particularly good at sales. Apart from the fact that they, like Brian, have almost more of my paintings in their home than we do, they have given many as gifts. They recently sent photos of my work in Craig's sisters fantastic cottage. Such good taste :)

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Flowers from Orchard Hill

We belong to a CSA farm called Orchard Hill, and along with our food shares, we also have access to their clipping garden which is carefully planted so there is always at least half a dozen different flowers blooming each week. Many of my recent floral works have been inspired by not only the flowers we pick, but by being in the garden surrounded by the smells, sounds of bees, butterflies ...
Evidence of brilliant planning and planting, as we see every week at the farm, is found in the way that each and every week there is a full garden of wonderful flowers. Spring, Summer and Autumn - no matter the time of year, there is something blooming (and did I mention buckets of Gladiolas and Sunflowers?)