Settled in the Maritimes of Canada, surrounded by the forest and Acadian Mountain Chain, I live a simple life of gratitude. This blog is a journal of my art, food, furkids, garden, home, my life and my thoughts. Thanks for reading!
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Miniature. Poor Wile E. Coyote thought for sure this time he'd be able to catch the Road Runner! But alas...he didn't read that miniature fine print on the tonic bottle! I hate that fine print!!!
🍁🍁🍁 Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!!!🍁🍁🍁
This week I'm sharing some photos instead of drawings. I took a little road trip to the Fundy Bay this week. I visited the Hopewell Rocks on Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick. It's just over an hour's drive away. The Rocks are also called the Flower Pot Rocks. I felt like a miniature pebble in a great expanse of rock and water, so I think I can squeeze by and say this fits the theme! 😁
The tides are claimed to be the highest in the world. Twice daily you can walk the "ocean floor" for about 4-5 hours, then twice more daily, the tides come in up to 42 feet and cover the entire beach area. You have to skedaddle to higher ground once the tide really gets close! I was there during low tide.
Here's a little video of the tide coming in. I stood on a stone about 10 feet from the waves and within 10 minutes, I had to move back!
The tides have carved out beautiful formations, cliffs and coves along this side of the Fundy Bay.
The enormous piles of seaweed are spectacular.
There are lots of faces carved into the cliffs and rocks! Here are some more photos:
I took the opportunity to collect some beautiful stones. They are all so smooth with such frequent contact with the tides.
The Fundy Bay is a magical place for me. I love being here, the last time I visited was 2010 and I'm so happy to be living so close now! I'll be back often now that the park has reopened!
The Hopewell Rocks is an annual nesting ground for the Peregrine Falcon. There is a sign before you enter the lookout, saying to tread lightly and keep your voice down so as not to disturb them. This is the first time (of maybe a dozen times) that I have seen one when I visit this lookout! Very lucky! These birds were on the endangered list in the 1970's, at the brink of extinction. With careful pesticide control and a relocation program, they were considered "not at risk" in the late 2010's!
Maybe my birding friends can help me out here. I'm guessing this is an adult female, because she has a beige neck/throat around her "sideburns"; and her feathering is "barred and spotted" (from my Field Guide To The Birds Of East Of The Rockies - Thanks again Phil!)
Walking Jack and Charlie at sunrise. The sound of distant coyotes yipping got their attention in the second photo! The entire family (human and fur) is doing fine as I type this!
Nothing miniature about this garlic scape harvest! I harvested 67 of them yesterday which means I will have 67 heads of garlic to harvest, cure and store in about a month's time! I'm going to save some of the heads to plant in the fall, so hopefully I will never have to buy garlic bulbs again for planting. Self-sufficiency! 😊
This week's highlighted artist is Tom from Tom The Backroads Traveller blog! Tom is a very talented photographer as you can see from his photo above!! He has a keen eye. He also has a good sense of humour! Please visit his blog!! 💗
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, or at least trying (!!), please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below for more "Miniature" creations! If you know of any fellow artists/creators...can you let them know about Thursday's Art Date friends?
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Jump! The Looney Tunes are taking advantage of this warm summer weather and jumping into the pool. Sylvester the Cat is a little apprehensive though!
Here's a little doodle inspired by Fred Astaire.
I was browsing the internet for ideas this week and I saw photos of these three actors who were all jumping: Bill Murray, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro. I decided to draw their portraits this week!
Bill Murray (Charcoals)
Sean Penn (Ink/Graphite)
Benicio Del Toro (Charcoals)
Birds at the feeder (Grackle, Mourning Doves and Red Winged Blackbird, Hummingbird, American Goldfinch) - Not great shots because I took them through my window!
This week's highlighted artist is Nicole from DVArtist blog! Nicole is a very gifted artist...she paints, she draws, she creates art with leather and beads, she sculpts, she sews, she gardens and she loves pizza - what's not to like? This was her contribution for last week's theme of Inventions. Please visit her blog!💗
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, or at least trying (!!), please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below for more "Jump!" creations! If you know of any fellow artists/creators...can you let them know about Thursday's Art Date friends?
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Inventions. I had so much trouble with this theme, sorry in advance if you did too! I didn't know what to draw. I kind of cheated...Bugs is channelling his inner Salvador Dali - who didn't invent Surrealism or Cubism...but certainly made it popular!
If you are an SCTV fan, you'll enjoy this quick skit with Joe Flaherty imitating Dali. (Pop!)
Drawing Bugs with Dali's trademark mustache got me thinking about mustaches. (Or is it spelled moustache???) I saw an article about mustache cups - they are meant to keep the mustache dry while you sip your tea. The mustache cup was invented in the 1860s by British potter Harvey Adams (Wikipedia).
Men, do you or have you ever sported a moustache? What was your style? Ladies, do you like a man with a mustache? Men, do you like a lady with a mustache? 😄
I just happened to be watching the movie Tombstone the other night and there are some fine moustaches in that movie! I wasn't going for realism here, just doodling cartoon-style! I drew these with ink and graphite. I really love that movie.
Here's the trailer, it's a great movie!
Grilled Cheese and Fries...Swiss Cheese Fondue
Here are some foodie photos. Now that Google Photos is charging if you go over 15mg of storage, I haven't been taking as many photos but I purchased a backup hard drive so I can now back them up on my own instead of paying! Expect more delicious photography in the future!
Look At My Garlic!! It's Insane How Tall It Is!!! And Wildflowers In My Back Woods!
As you may have noticed, I have caught up with everyone's art posts since the beginning of May - I've commented on all of your art date posts! And I've visited blogs this week plus answered every comment from the last post! I'm back baby! I feel a lot better! I think the depression has lifted and my bad luck seems to be a thing of the past! (Knock on wood???)
Flying Grackle - Eating Me Out Of House And Home
I took out my hummingbird feeder and have LOTS of customers! I've had new birds at the feeding station in the last month too, I'll post photos soon! Since I posted last week about being attacked by that swarm of aggressive bees, I noticed that the beekeeping boxes were removed from the blueberry fields along the walking trail. A few days ago, I faced my fear and went back to that trail. There were no lingering bees, I was safe 😰, though I was extremely terrified. I have my walking trail back! It's a commercial blueberry field and they harvest every 2 years. For a month sometime in May during the harvest year, they bring in the bees to pollinate and make blueberry honey, then they remove them (NOW I know). My neighbour informed me of all this when I bumped into him. The harvest is in August and I intend to seek out the owner to ask him to post warning signs the next time.
This week's highlighted artist is Andrea from From The Sol blog! Andrea is the sweetest lady, she has a great sense of humour and an eye for photography. This is just one of the contributions she made for last week's theme of "In The Water" - you can see her sense of humour here! Andrea has been such a great supporter of my art and I cherish knowing her. Please visit her blog! 💗
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, or at least trying (!!), please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below for more "Inventions" creations! If you know of any fellow artists/creators...can you let them know about Thursday's Art Date friends?
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is In The Water. Bugs and Tweety Bird insisted on recreating a scene from Disney's The Little Mermaid for this week's theme! Actually Bugs Bunny insisted more...I think he likes wearing wigs!
My art this week revolves around movies that take place in the water. I started a charcoal drawing of Robert Redford from the fantastic movie "All Is Lost". I really recommend this movie...there is zero dialogue and just a handful of spoken lines from Robert Redford. It's all about the struggle of a man lost at sea. It really is amazing.
Here is the trailer. I didn't finish the charcoal because I just couldn't draw him "old"...I kept seeing him as a young man in my mind and couldn't add any more wrinkles!!!
I'm a big "Jaws" fan and my favourite scene in the 1975 movie is when Roy Scheider sees the shark for the first time and freezes. I drew this with ink and graphite.
Here's that great scene from the movie.
In keeping with the theme, I took out my watercolours and painted a shark from my perspective if I were in the water. Eek!
Stock Photo
How am I doing...well, feeling a little better every day. The car is fixed ($$$), the pets are healthy, I managed to afford a toaster oven to replace my big oven. So far it's standing up to my recipes very well! I bought the biggest one I could afford because I didn't want to have to replace all of my pans and bake-ware, it's a Kitchen Aid and it had great reviews. I hope it lasts!
Some of the hundreds of beekeeping boxes along the Blueberry Trail - photographed with my zoom lens from at least 200 feet away
During one of my 6am dog walks last weekend, I was attacked by an aggressive swarm of bees. I'm not kidding. It's a long story...it was terrifying and we were all lucky that we didn't get stung. I was nowhere near the beekeeping boxes that were irresponsibly plunked down along the walking trail without so much as a sign of warning. There were bees in my hair and all over my t-shirt 😓 I managed to get home after a panicky half kilometer sprint in 40C (104F) weather. They were relentless and followed/attacked/swarmed during most of that sprint. I was very sick for a long while after that, I think I went into shock. I feel like a tragedy could have happened that day and I'm still trying to process those frightening emotions. Screaming for help when no one is around is a devastating feeling. I don't have much respect for bees and those particular beekeepers right now.
Needless to say, my best intentions were to visit everyone's blogs last weekend, but the bees had other plans for my life. I need a break. Can you say a prayer for me friends? I'm not the pity-party type, but I feel like there is a curse on me!
On the positive, summer is here and I'm very much enjoying the heat and I'm ENJOYING THE HUMIDITY!!! (sorry Joyce!) How is your summer going so far?
This week's highlighted artist is Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover blog! This is just one of Elizabeth's contributions from last week's theme "Hands" - my favourite!! Elizabeth is such a creative and original artist, a cat lover and a wonderful person, please check out her blog! 💗
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below for more "In The Water" creations!
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Hands. Who do you think will win in this match? I think Yosemite Sam has the fiery strength and passion to win...but I suspect Bugs Bunny has something up his sleeve!
Here's a little video of the pets. They are all doing well thankfully. My car is not doing well, nor is my oven...grrrrr!!! This too shall pass, this too shall pass....I'm trying to get back to blogging and drawing. I intend on visiting everyone's blogs this weekend to catch up, so we ask that you please bear with us. 🐻 Despite feeling low most days, I'm trying my best to see the positive in everything. Thanks again friends for your continued love and support and to those who have lent me a helping hand! 💙
These are my hands...kind of a mix of how I've been feeling lately! I have to admit, I'm not very good at drawing hands...but then, I've never actually taken the time to practice. For my art this week, I focused more on portraits where the person showed their hands.
"I refer to my hands, feet and body as the tools of the trade. The hands and feet must be sharpened and improved daily to be efficient." - Bruce Lee (drawn in charcoals)
"Just remember, you can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets." - Arnold Schwarzenegger (unfinished charcoal drawing)
“Film is fragmented and gets into lots of other people's hands. There are a lot of pleasures that theatre gives me. You get to perform uninterrupted.” - Willem Dafoe (drawn with ink and graphite)
This week's highlighted artist is Cathy from Curious As A Cathy blog! This is Cathy's contribution for last week's theme "Cupcakes" - isn't it cute??? Cathy is a sweet lady and her blog is a lot of fun, so why don't you check it out? 💗
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link widget below for more "Hands" creations!
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
