CHRISTMAS MANDARINS . . .watercolour

Mandarin Oranges are a traditional

West Coast Christmas treat.

CHRISTMAS BEDDING . . .Acrylic Paint on White Broadcloth

 Holly, Cedar, Pine, Spruce, Hemlock

 and Pine Cone Inspired

Cosy Merry Christmas Bedroom

BOUGHS AND BERRIES

SNOWY WHITE BANEBERRIES

HOLIDAY RED ROSE-HIPS

SPRUCE BOUGHS

EMBELLISH MY MANTEL FOR ADVENT

"O COME LET US ADORE HIM"

FALL PUMPKINS watercolour

I love the Pumpkin!

Its shape, smell, colour, 

texture,seeds, pumpkin pie,

 pumpkin pickles, pumpkin soup etc.

My Grandmother made the best ever

pumpkin pies for our large New England

Thanksgiving celebrations.

I cannot match her pies and use the 

pumpkin to decorate my table instead.

THE PUMPKIN

by John Greenleaf Whittier

1850

Oh, greenly and fair in the lands of the sun,

The vines of the gourd and the rich melon run,

And the rock and the tree and the cottage enfold,

With broad leaves all greenness and blossoms all gold,

Like that which o’er Nineveh’s prophet once grew,

While he waited to know that his warning was true,

And longed for the storm-cloud, and listened in vain

For the rush of the whirlwind and red fire-rain.

On the banks of the Xenil the dark Spanish maiden

Comes up with the fruit of the tangled vine laden;

And the Creole of Cuba laughs out to behold

Through orange-leaves shining the broad spheres of gold;

Yet with dearer delight from his home in the North,

On the fields of his harvest the Yankee looks forth,

Where crook-necks are coiling and yellow fruit shines,

And the sun of September melts down on his vines.

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,

From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;

When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board

The old broken links of affection restored;

When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,

And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before;

What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye,

What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?

Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! the old days recalling,

When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!

When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,

Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!

When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune,

Our chair a broad pumpkin, — our lantern the moon,

Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like steam

In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats for her team!

Then thanks for thy present! none sweeter or better

E’er smoked from an oven or circled a platter!

Fairer hands never wrought at a pastry more fine,

Brighter eyes never watched o’er its baking, than thine!

And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express,

Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less,

That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below,

And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow,

And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky

Golden-tinted and fair as thy own Pumpkin pie!

Fall Leaves Book-mark

I made these book marks for 

my grandchildren who live

on the other side of the country from me.

Several weeks ago I collected colourful

fall leaves and pressed them between

the pages of a book. Today I painted

on white card-stock, arranging my

now dry pressed leaves over the

painted area. I used a very small 

amount of white glue to hold the

leaves in place. Once dry I covered

the card with clear plastic adhesive followed

by a hole punch and raffia ribbon.

This is a good fall/Thanksgiving craft

that children can easily do with little

supervision. Placing the clear plastic adhesive

however does need an adult's hand.

THANKSGIVING TABLE PLACE CARDS

My grandsons helped me to make place

cards for our fall table. We pressed 

colourful fall leaves several weeks

ago. We splattered fall colours onto

card-stock and waited for it to dry.

A minimal amount of white glue is  

all that is needed to hold the now 

dry leaves where we had arranged them. 

The card and leaves are then 

covered by a protective clear

plastic adhesive.

The plates were given to me from my Mom 44 years ago

when I graduated from high school. She bought them

at a popular eclectic warehouse store called

Spags in Worcester Massachusetts. Only

two plates have survived all the 

years and many moves.

STAINED GLASS watercolour . . . . . . . . Mission Abbey

Imagine my delight when I opened my 

journal, to sketch the stained-glass windows

at the Mission Abbey, to find a complimentary

entry on the opposite page! Given that the

Abbey is part of a large working farm

 I wondered "did the artists get his inspiration

from the corn?"

The Abbey is about an hour from

my home. The sanctuary and most 

of the grounds are generously 

open to the public. This was my 7th trip 

in a year always accompanied by a friend.

The people I have shared the Abbey with

are noted on one of the arches with 

room for more to be added.

Westminster Abbey is located 

in Mission, British Columbia, Canada.

Saint Augustine

photo by M. Bragg

A beautiful birthday card from a good friend.

I wonder where this cathedral dwells? 

ART CAMP

Once again family and friends gathered

for the day to explore creativity. My good 

friend taught lessons in painting with acrylic.

Everyone was very pleased to receive her

instruction and encouragement enabling 

them to create these beautiful paintings.

Many thanks to my friend, Carine.

We also held a soap-making workshop.

. . . made gingerbread cookies.

This guy is trying to run away!

We had a lesson in bread-making.

Home made bread with my daughter's

home-made jam. . .sooo good.

Thanks Rebecca.

Last but not least some exercises in 

sketching.

INDIAN CORN . . . . . . watercolour

 The Last Corn Shock

by Glenn Ward Dresbach   1889-1968

I remember how we stood 

In the field, while far away 

Blue hazes drifted on from hill to hill 

And curled like smoke from many a sunset wood, 

And the loaded wagon creaked while standing still . . . 

I heard my father say, 

" The last corn shock can stay. " 

We had seen a pheasant there 

In the sun; he went inside 

As if he claimed the shock, as if he meant 

To show us, with the field so nearly bare, 

We had no right to take his rustic tent. 

And so we circled wide 

For home, and let him hide. 

The first wild ducks flashed by 

Where the pasture brook could hold 

The sunset at the curve, and drifting floss 

Escaped the wind and clung. The shocks were dry 

And rustled on the wagon. Far across 

The field, against the cold, 

The last shock turned to gold.

AUTUMN HUES watercolour . . . . . . . "Gathering Leaves" by Robert Frost

October is my birth month. A time of

year that fills me up with colours, sounds, 

aromas and harvest. Mid-month my loved ones

join with me in a birthday celebration, giving

thanks for  having been blessed

 with another joy-filled year.

Gathering Leaves

Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

And bags full of leaves

Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise

Of rustling all day

Like rabbit and deer

Running away.

But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,

Flowing over my arms

And into my face.

I may load and unload

Again and again

Till I fill the whole shed,

And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.

But a crop is a crop,

And who's to say where

The harvest shall stop?

by

Robert Frost

TRADITIONAL FALL CANDY watercolour

Candy Corn has been popular

since the 1880's!

I love its creamy, waxy consistency

and fun fall colours.

YELLOWSTONE SKETCHES

My husband and I had a wonderful

lazy afternoon sitting on the upper 

outdoor deck of the Old Faithful Inn.

We enjoyed a dish of delicious ice cream

as we sketched, people watched

 and soaked in the late

summer sun.

We were treated with a close up view of 

this beautiful silver tipped grizzly.

It is the second time I've been blessed 

in seeing a grizzly at Yellowstone after

having visited 7 times.

 I was thrilled that my grandsons were

treated to this guy on their very 1st

trip to the park

Our little cabin at the North end of the lake

in the heart of Yellowstone's grizzly country!

We enjoyed numerous Bison or Buffalo. 

Herds often crossed in front of the

 van or walked along side. Beautiful

enormous beasts. 

CHICKENS 'N' ROOSTERS . . . . . . . . . watercolour/poetry

ROOSTERS

                                                                    The crown of red

                                                               set on your little head

                                                    is charged with all your fighting blood.

                                                            Elizabeth Bishop   1911–1979

From "The Blue Hen's chickens and

other poems" 

by

Thomas Irons 1915

THE MORNING COMETH 

THE light rims on the eastern way. 

The cheerful harbinger of day; 

The cocks are early crowing. 

The stars are fading, one by one, 

The dark and lonesome night is done; 

The early daylight's showing. 

Awake! awake! 'tis early morn, 

Another happy day is bom, 

The feathered warblers wooing. 

The day is coming — darkness gone. 

We have another glorious dawn; 

Our love of life renewing. 

All nature gladdens with the morn, 

A deeper gladness in us born; 

The world with light's o'erflowing. 

The lambs, in gladness, skip and play, 

The birds sing out a roundelay, 

The flowers faster growing. 

The horse neighs out his glad surprise. 

The watch dog hears the distant cries 

From fields with light aglowing. 

The happy, winged creatures pass, . . . 

EMERGING ARTISTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ladies 1 Day Art Camp

I invited 7 ladies to my home for a

one day "intro to Art" camp.

The only requirement was that all

had to be new to drawing and painting.

Most had never put pencil to paper or

brush to paint before.

I shared what I had learned from an 

on line course taught by:

Kkoosje Koene called JUST DRAW IT

http://koosjekoene.blogspot.ca/

I learned a lot. The class was affordable,

 suitable and appropriate for all ages.

I would highly recommend it.

Check out her blog for the"draw tip tuesday"

feature where she gives free lessons 

via 3-4 minutevideos.

We started the day with doing  orange/yellow

and blue/violet backwashes with watercolour.

Once dry we drew oranges and whales.

While waiting for the backwashes to

dry everyone drew "teachers pet" using

a technique (drawing upside down)

 designed to encourage and 

  prove to everyone that they have 

the  ability to take pencil in

hand and draw.

Please have a look at the final results 

for the day. Everyone one left highly

satisfied and surprised at what they were

able to create.

Apples using coloured pencil