Autumn’s Display

My hubby and I closed our lake place this weekend as it is getting colder.  Autumn brings cooler temperatures in the Pacific Northwest where we call home.  Soon the snow will be falling…

Autumn’s Display of wild rose hips always dazzle me in the fall.  Especially on a sunny, blue-sky day:

It is always sad to see the lake season end as we will miss our lake friends. We will also miss the lake and this stunning view:

Yet, I look forward to more time in my art studio in Autumn.

The crisp, cool air of October is Apple Harvest time too!

This week my art these will be focusing on APPLES… I hope you stop by for a bite or two…

On Monday, I will share my process for creating this art piece.  (I also discovered some ways to “fix” mistakes that may be of interest to you!)

Do you have 4 seasons where you live?  What is your favorite time of year?

Cheers! 🙂

Bush Birds

I start noticing these birds in the fall when the leaves begin to change color…

Sometimes it is difficult to tell the birds from the bushes but their long slender legs are what sets them apart.  Lol!

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday! 

Cheers! 🙂

Clear Skies

We have been dealing with smoke from wild fires in our area for several weeks.  Not only do we have poor vision but the air quality has been awful!  This photo was taken last weekend at the lake:

So we were thrilled to have a few drops of rain and wind to clear the skies this last weekend!

Yesterday, we were able to enjoy a short boat ride and breathe in fresh air in clear skies.  It was wonderful to see blue sky and mountains again.  Hoorah! 😃

We noticed the air and water temperatures were cooler and leaves starting to change to autumn’s glorious show:

It was so nice to enjoy the beauty around us again!  We hope that the firefighters are able to get control of fires around us so that the smoke stays away.  We still need rain badly.

Even the wild animals are hurting from the dry weather.  I found this wild bunny eating an apple from a neighbor’s tree.  The deer love the apples but I have never seen a bunny eat one!

Such bizarre weather this year, everywhere it seems…

Stay safe friends!

Cheers! 🙂

 

Back To The Drawing Board…

Last week, I had counted my chickens before they hatched… or put the cart before the horse!  (I had expected the results before they had actually occurred!)  Sigh…

So this week, it is back to the drawing board – time to try, “Plan B” to get someone hired to replace me at my husband’s office.  I was thinking we had the “one” but this was not the case.  😦

I would like more time to create art and maybe, just maybe SEE if I could make it a successful business.  But right now, apparently isn’t in the stars… Or leaves!

So I will just “leaf it” and keep creating art and hope you enjoy it, friends!

Cheers! 🙂

A Little “Extra” Lake Time

It is difficult to believe that summer is almost over!  September brings cooler evenings, shorter days and changing colors.

In the states, we are celebrating an extra long weekend called Labor Day (always the first Monday in September) which pays tribute to contributions and achievements of American workers.  It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and came a federal holiday in 1894.

I took a little extra time to paint outdoors at the lake today.  I gathered some flowers, a wild rose hip and a couple of beach rocks.

I’m not really liking the black online but I wanted to try something different.  I gave this little painting to a friend who kindly brought me dinner last week.  It was an extra nice treat for me! 🙂

How do like to spend a little extra time to relax?!  I hope you share it with me!

Cheers! 🙂

 

Feeling Fallish At The Lake

It started feeling a little like fall this last weekend at the lake.  Saturday was super hot with temperatures in the 90’s but Sunday, we finally got some rain!  Hoorah!!  We have been without rain for almost 45 days and it has been so hot and dry.  We need more precipitation but at least this helped clear away some smoke from wild fires our area.

There was a big drop in air temperature – almost 25 degrees.  We went swimming and I think the water was warmer than the 65 degree Fahrenheit air. 😉

When I think of fall, I think of golden yellow like this Common Tansy that seemed to be in bloom everywhere:

And the color, brown like some of these leaves on this apple tree.   The deer will be eating their fill on them soon.  This single daisy in this photo on the right, seemed to be waving goodbye to summer!

Pearly Everlasting flowers were in bloom – these make excellent dried bouquets!

And other leaves were starting to change to their golden yellow foliage:

I discovered a rare patch of wild raspberries – oh, so sweet!  The end of summer fruit.  I hope to paint them in my nature journal soon.  🙂

I don’t know the name of these white berries… possibly they are snowberries?  I know they aren’t edible:

Snowberries are members of the honeysuckle family and start appearing in late summer.

How do you notice the change of seasons in fall?  What is your favorite season?  I hope you share it with me!  🍂

Cheers! 🙂

Autumn’s Memory Fades

I was inspired by Jodi at The Creative Life In Between to create this haiku for today.

Bare branches reaching,

Outstretched arms towards the sun,

Autumn’s memory fades…

Days become shorter,

Frosty fingers leave their mark,

Freezing seed heads droop.

Colors change from gold,

Paper–like flowers pressed,

Winter’s icy breath.

Wishing you a Sunny Sunday, friends! 

Cheers!  🙂

Maple Trees

I have always loved maple trees – their sturdy branches, autumn display, not to mention their lovely leaf shape!

I planted a Maple tree a few years ago and was recently inspired by its leaves in my yard:

To create this collage last week in my art journal:

I used a copy of an old photo of someone I didn’t know, a song from a children’s songbook, my Gelli-printed deli paper, a Maple leaf rubber stamp and an actual Maple leaf to create a cut-out of a leaf with handmade marbled paper I purchased.

It looks to me like this little boy would love to be climbing a Maple tree or swinging from its branches on a swing!

Wishing you a happy day with sweet memories from your childhood!  🙂

Around The Bend

I have made progress to my doodle I started last week.  Here is where I left off:

I was having fun doodling all the twists and turns so I had to add a few more to my design:

It’s almost done!  Next I will add color…

Sometimes life is like this doodle, I can’t wait to see what is just around the bend!  I’m looking forward to taking a couple of new online art classes that I will share with you next week.

What are you looking forward to?  I’d love to hear from you!

Wishing you a Sunny Sunday, friends!!  🙂

Perhaps you will find a little time to enjoy nature’s beauty around the bend or backyard like these photos I recently took:

Cheers!!!

Don’t Be A Crabapple

As a child, my older sister would often tell me, “Don’t be a cry baby!”

For some strange reason this is what came to my mind as I was painting these Crabapples…

Maybe it was because I was having a tough day.  😁

You know those days when you get paint everywhere but where you WANT it to go… Your clothes, the carpet, your hair, the cat’s hair (OK, I’m exaggerating a little).  Hehe!

And we got a new computer with Windows 10.  I had the “old” system all figured out.  Hmmm, does this mean I’m getting old?  😳

Now I need to find a new photo editing software for Windows 10.  Any ideas?!  😉

I did enjoy painting these Crabapples in watercolor.  And I added a few color pencils at the end.  I had some beautiful fall photos of my two Crabapple trees in my yard BUT I will have to save this for another day when I have time to play with the computer.   Let’s just say, thank goodness for my iPad!  😀

Happy Creating!  🎨😊