Summer time assortment

We had some rain so skies are now blue again here unfortunately many other areas of the province are not so lucky.

I have a summertime picture assortment for you today, these pictures are from a recent trip to Saturna Island.

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” 
Henry James
 

I am starting with a few birds. It looks as if this sparrow has got something to say to me, actually it was grooming and I caught it just as it lifted its head. See how dry the underbrush is.

 

I was really happy with this raven photo.

 

 

An eagle with a fresh catch ...

 

 

 

 

... and in flight.

 

 

The eagle has landed, well almost.

 

 

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” 

John Steinbeck

 

A couple of pictures of a heron in flight.

 

 

 

Same heron with breakfast.

 

 

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."

James Dent

 

Here are a few artsy pictures of shore and forest.

 

 

 

 

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."

John Lubbock

 

 

A starfish trying to tuck in under the rocks for safety.

 

 

Salal in the morning light.

 

 

A couple from the outside the "coffee bus", a double decker bus that has been converted into a coffee bar; I apologize for not taking a bus picture.

 

 

This is a picture taken of the shadows on the umbrella that we sat under to enjoy our coffee.

 

 

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."

Sam Keen

 

A thistle.

 

 

I took this because of the great patterns on the side of the boat.

 

 

A close up

 

 

And finally a few critters.

 

 

 

 

"People take pictures of the Summer, just in case someone thought they had missed it, and to proved that it really existed."

Ray Davies

 

 

Happy dogs!

 

 That is all the photographs I have for you this week.

-------------------------------------------------------

Here is the finished version of "Reflections in Still Water":

The slight wrinkles are because it has not completely dried yet.

 

And finally ............



As promised here is the final food card painting. This one is titled "Berry Time":

 

It is ink and watercolour, or mixed media.

 

There are now 12 food cards, each includes a recipe card using the pictured ingredient.

 

 

SPECIAL OFFER - only through my website, and only until the end of July:

 

Set of 12 Food Cards - Series 2 with recipe cards inserts and envelopes for just $25 (plus postage and handling cost of $6.00)

 

follow this link:

 

http://www.pswhimsy.com/food-cards-series-22.html

 

you will find the set at the bottom of the page

 

----------------------------------

 

 Until next time...

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

happy Whimsy Wednesday,

 

Gillian

  

 

 



Catching Up

It is smoky here. Wild fires have blanketed the Metro Vancouver area (and many other areas of the province) in dense acrid smoke. The sky was yellowish on Sunday but the smoke is gradually dissipating here. It has been so dry this spring and summer and the risk of fire in the parks and forests is high and in many areas of the province it is extreme. Some fires are started by lightning but others are caused by people!

Here are some pictures I took before the "big smoke" when I visited Vancouver Island a couple of weeks ago. I was attending a painting course, and I have some pictures of that too.

Arbutus tree on Vancouver Island

Cormorant drying off after fishing

Flowers along the shoreline

 

Gull close-up

"True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island...to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing."

Baltasar Gracian

 

 

I loved the way this flower is growing up through the pilings:

 

 

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of a continent."

John Donne

  

 

There was a waterfront park near where I was staying and got pictures of the resident heron in the evening (looks like a watercolour painting to me) and in the bright early morning light.

 

 I went for a walk around Elk Lake to relax after the first days painting; there was a tree growing out of a small "island" in the lake. I stopped to photograph a raven who seemed as curious about me as I was about him. 

 

 

 The painting course was called "Reflections in Still Water". The painting is not finished yet but here are some pictures of my painting as it progressed.

First we painted in yellow and red washes in to the reflection and water area.

 

After the washes were completely dry we added a blue wash to the water, I added a second blue wash to darken the bottom of the painting.

 

Then we started painting the boats above and below the reflective line. That is how far I got by the end of the two day course.

 

When I got home I spent another 2 days working on the reflections and boat details, it is not finished yet, I estimate I have another days work to finish it. I hope to be able to show the finished painting by next week.

A belated Happy Canada Day, I took the day off, so no blog last week. Here are a couple of pictures I took on Canada Day:

 



 A very happy dog!

Flying the flag with pride.

 

 

To return to the "smoke" theme, below is a picture of the sun yesterday afternoon trying hard to penetrate the smoke. 

 

 

 

Not to diminish the seriousness of the situation but it did remind of a favorite song from a long time ago. Here is a link to Deep Purple and "Smoke on the Water".

 





I have finished this painting of basil named "Emerald Beauty":



 

It is ink and watercolour, or mixed media.

 

 It is the latest of my Food cards, which include a recipe card using the pictured ingredient. What are the recipes for these cards, take a look:

 

View at:http://www.pswhimsy.com/food-cards-series-22.html

 

or all the food cards at: http://www.pswhimsy.com/food.html

 

Next week I will show the last food painting in the series of twelve.

----------------------------------

 

 Until next time...

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

happy Whimsy Wednesday

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Delight

I have always loved perennials and English style gardens, and for me the Delphinium is the king of the perennials. This week I saw some spectacular ones and photographed them to share with you..

 

The blue ones are my favorite. Delphinium, also called Larkspur, can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

 

"The flower offered of itself

And eloquently spoke

Of Gods

In languages of rainbows

Perfumes

And secret silence..."

~Phillip Pulfrey

 

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers."

 

Claude Monet

 

Did you know that they are poisonous?

 

 In fact all members of the Delphinium genus are poisonous to both humans and livestock. I don't know the active ingredient, but I am sure that there is a mystery somewhere with death by Delphinium. 

 

"You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion or challenge the ideology of a violet."

 

Hal Borland

 

"The name "delphinium" derives from the Latin for "dolphin", referring to the shape of the nectary." (Wikipedia)

 

I love the delicate colours of this one:

 

Well that's my tribute to the Delphinium, I hope you have enjoyed it. What's your favorite flower?

 

--------------------------------------

 

I have finished two paintings this week. The first one is called "An Apple a Day":

 

 

The second is called "Rainbow of Beets".

 

Both are ink and watercolour, or mixed media works.

 

 They are the latest of my Food cards, which include a recipe card using the pictured ingredient. What are the recipes for these cards, take a look:

 

View at:http://www.pswhimsy.com/food-cards-series-22.html

 

or all the food cards at: http://www.pswhimsy.com/food.html

 

----------------------------------

 

 Until next time...

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

happy Whimsy Wednesday

 

 



 

Magna Carta- signed? or sealed?

This week marks the 800 th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta. King John could read but not write so did not sign the Magna Carta, instead he used his seal. Writing was a skill left largely to scribes in the 13th Century.

“No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.”
These words, written in the ‎MagnaCarta‬ in 1215, are a cornerstone of the British constitution. Although most of the clauses of Magna Carta dealt with specific grievances such as property rights and taxation, the 39th clause guaranteeing all free men the right to justice and a fair trial are echoed in many constitutional documents around the world." (British Library)

This video from the British Library explains how the 13th battle between King John and his barons led to the world's first bill of rights.:

 

 

 

 

"The political myth of Magna Carta and its protection of ancient personal liberties persisted after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 until well into the 19th century. It influenced the early American colonists in the Thirteen Colonies and the formation of the American Constitution in 1789, which became the supreme law of the land in the new republic of the United States. Research by Victorian historians showed that the original 1215 charter had concerned the medieval relationship between the monarch and the barons, rather than the rights of ordinary people, but the charter remained a powerful, iconic document, even after almost all of its content was repealed from the statute books in the 19th and 20th centuries. Magna Carta still forms an important symbol of liberty today, often cited by politicians and campaigners, and is held in great respect by the British and American legal communities, Lord Denning describing it as "the greatest constitutional document of all times – the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot".^[1]

 

 

Celebrations took place all over the world on Monday, June 15, 2015: 

 

In England:

Britain's Queen Elizabeth led celebrations to mark 800 years since the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede England in 1215.

 

 

 

In Vancouver:

I attended "1215 and all that - A MAGNA CARTA NIGHT CELEBRATION" with my husband  ( a member of the organizing committee).

 

The program cover for the event (below) is the work of BC artist Anne-Marie Harvey:

 

 

The evening included an Octocentenary Dinner, with foods selected that would likely have been available in 1215. Potatoes, squash, carrots and many other foods were not available in Britain in the 13th C.

 

The meal was "washed down" with wines from the Okanagan Region of British Columbia with special celebratory labels (also Anne-Marie Harvey's work).

 

 

 

There were honored guests from England, including the guest speaker, Anthony Arlidge, QC; a Queen's Counsel for more than  30 years, who was called upon in 1990 during a case to argue the meaning of clause 40 of Magna Carta.

 

 

 

He co-authored "The Magna Carta Uncovered": 

 

 

"2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the grant at Runnymede of liberties to the freemen in Magna Carta. The story of how Magna Carta came into being, and has been interpreted since, has more twists and turns than the best soap opera. This book tells the history of Magna Carta in a concise and readable fashion and will be of interest to the lawyer and layman alike." (https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Magna_Carta_Uncovered.html?id=7N59oAEACAAJ)

A historic week and a most interesting event.

-------------------------------------

I don't feel worthy to be on the same page as the Magna Carta so will delay art updates until next time.

Until next time...

 

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

happy Whimsy Wednesday