Friendship, Hope and Love ~ Durham Region Artist

I have been slow in the blogging department this year. I have devoted some time lately to develop my skills in painting with acrylics and oils. I have a long way to go but feel I am on the right track creatively speaking. It feels right, like a missing puzzle piece in my life has been found and placed in the right spot. I feel as though I have returned home after years of traveling abroad and am becoming familiar again with old friends, family and places. I am on a mission to keep this feeling alive and have since taken on another project and have been looking around me at life with "the creative eye". Don't be alarmed when I raise my camera phone to take a random picture of ordinary objects to work on later, much to my friends dismay this past weekend while eating lunch in Port Perry where we celebrated our birthday month together. The colour of her shirt made for an excellent backdrop of a cup of Joe which may become my next painting project.

Here is one of my works in progress from the past month. I am almost satisfied to call it complete but have some detail work to do. Inspired by my little sisters photo, thanks for letting me use it as reference Colleen :). I was loving this project on the coldest days in January and February afternoons. My luxury time to paint is on my lunch break an hour before the kids come home. A calm before the storm so to speak. Not that I don't love my kids but it puts me in a zen state to handle whatever moods come off the bus.

"Hope for Spring" ~ Acrylic on Canvas 16x20

The past couple of weeks I have been dabbling in oils. I haven't really touched oil paints since I lived in Montreal 15 years ago. I can't believe it has been that long!! I am attempting a picture of my girls when they were younger. Faces are really tricky. It will be very interesting to see how it turns out and if I want to admit that the painting came from me, lol. I am learning from the process though and will continue to develop the skills when I can. I may or may not post that one at a later date.