Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - We had a nasty snowstorm in Eastern Ontario that covered the world with a wet slushy cover of the white stuff. People were miserable as they walked along, huddled in their winter coats and boots.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - The sun was shining, it was +8 degrees (Celsius), the snow rapidly melting. Someone had parked this bright green bicycle against a tree. Love the wicker basket - it says that spring has really arrived!
We had a big snowstorm last week and it remained cold for several days afterward. When I went to my home in the country, I found a lot of deep snow - especially in my back yard. But this past weekend, the temperatures started to rise and everything began to melt. So I made this happy little Spring snowman to wave goodbye to the slowly retreating winter. Let's hope he is the last snowman of the season!
For the past couple of months, I have been attending bi-monthly sessions painting from the model at the studio of a friend of mine. One day, I took a photograph of the model as she was quietly sipping a cup of tea during a break. So for day #3 of my drawing-a-day challenge, I made this very fast little sketch from this photograph.
The snow is piling up outside. Good time to pull out my coloured pencils and draw. This was based on a black-and-white photograph from my own childhood - a photo of me and my sister reading. I really enjoyed being very loose with the colour.
Several times in the past, I have challenged myself to try doing one drawing a day for a set period of time. My efforts usually last a couple of days, and then I get too lazy, or I get distracted and break the chain, or I find some excuse not to. I have decided to revive this challenge for myself, see if I can do one drawing a day for the next week or so. Here is my first little drawing, from a beautiful photograph of an abandoned farmhouse. It was lots of fun!
I took a picture of this beautiful sunset recently, on one of the (relatively) warm early days of Spring. I never get tired of beautiful sunsets, or beautiful sunrises. Nature pulls out her paintbox and obviously has a good time splashing colour around!
The magic of very early Spring begins. We have had some relatively warm days and the time of bitter cold, ice and snow seems to be almost over. One sunny day last week, I was walking down a quiet side street and was enchanted by the beautiful clear puddles formed by the melting snow.
It was fun to view the upside-down world parallel to the ordinary world of trees and buildings and people.
I liked the way these trees seemed to be sprouting upside-down from the chunks of icy snow scored with tire tracks.
For several days now, I have been watching these workmen as they assemble scaffolding around the exterior of the National Art Gallery in Ottawa. I walk past the National every day on my way to work and can make note of their progress - more scaffolding has gone up as the week progressed. They will be repairing and replacing the windows for the next six months or so. What a lot of work!
These guys are working up very high. From a distance, they look like flourescent yellow specks against the glass and concrete. Definitely not a job for someone with a fear of heights!
Last Saturday, I went to a fundraiser for the New Democratic Party in Hawkesbury, Ontario. We had a spagetti lunch and my friend David Kelleher played music and there was a silent auction, with lots of fun items that people donated. My friends Mac and Brenda were there and Mac even brought his fabulous carrot cake for dessert. This is a photo of Mac wearing a Home Hardware hat that was donated to the silent auction table. My bid on this hat was the final one so I won it - then I gave it to Mac (who really wanted it) as a belated birthday present. Doesn't he look happy?
These bobble-headed Jack Layton dolls were fabulous - I just had to have one. Jack Layton, who was leader of the NDP until he died in 2011, is one of my heros.
I also got a cloth bag, t-shirt and fridge magnet with these wonderful words from Jack Layton's last letter to Canadians, written just before he died. I think that even people who do not agree with his political views would find this statement very compelling. I will wear this shirt with pride.
