Thursday, 12 December 2019
I’m writing this from th backseat of my mom’s car. We went to the Christmas in the Valley concert with my aunt. Such a great night with good cheer and beautiful music.
We bumped in to two dear family friends I haven’t seen in years. A warm rush of memories and love flooded over me.
And to top the night off, we drove down Confederation Boulevard to see the Christmas lights.
What a memorable night!
Wednesday, 12 December 2019
Wow, only twenty days left in 2019…which means only 20 paintings and photos left in this creative project.
Time has really flown by and thanks to this project I have consciously cherished and been present in each and every day. For the first time in a long time…actually it’s more like the first time ever that I’ve been present each and every day.
I can look at a painting and remember the day, my mood, how I was feeling, what I was doing.
I look back at the summer and remember it fondly, painting on the veranda, watching the sunset. I remember my first week of painting…set up downstairs in my makeshift studio that was too cold to keep up. So I moved upstairs and paint at the kitchen table every night.
It was an interesting day for weather, from snow squall and near whiteout conditions to sunshine and everything in between. I managed to capture a moment of sunshine peaking through the clouds, playing with settings on the fly and several shots later I managed to capture what I was seeing! .
Tonight, during my nightly Hallmark Christmas movie, I saw in my mind’s eye a big Christmas tree in the foreground of a painting, with smaller ones around it. That would be tonight’s painting. As I started the painting, the idea of faded trees in the background emerged.
Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Well wasn’t that a nice break from cold weather – 10°C at 7 am – even for the short while it was here.
There was a fleeting moment where I wondered what to do for today’s photo. I had taken a few blue jay shots this morning but nothing spectacular. I watched the sunset but was tied up with work. Hmmm, maybe borrow a photo from my trip? I’d prefer a shot from today.
It will come. Don’t worry.
Alrighty then. I left it and went about my business which was setting up my Christmas village. I stepped outside to put some things in the recycle bin when I noticed the moon rising. It was spectacular! Almost full, whispy clouds floating in front of it…wow!
I grabbed my coat, tripod and camera, asked goggle assistant for the best settings for full moon photos, set my camera then stepped outside to shoot. The settings were a good starting point but not ideal. With a little tweaking I managed a couple of not too bad shots.
The idea of painting a night scene with a church came out of nowhere. Kind of cute. Maybe tomorrow I’ll paint another one and add a horse and sleigh…
Only 21 days left in the #365creativityproject.
Monday, 10 December 2019
A cool rainy day but the temperature crawled up during the day.
While I worked on drawing images for an animated video I’m working on for work, Mom was busy washing windows and “spring” cleaning for Christmas. We had Christmas tunes playing, singing along, it was great. Another reason I love teleworking!
After work, I pushed myself to get outside and walk in nature to rebalance. Eight hours of continuous computer work, being creative, is mentally taxing. Nature, walking, help to balance, or recharge, my batteries.
I walked down to the river, in the rain, and captured this scene, during blue hour.
While searching for inspiration for my video, I came across an image on Pixabay that inspired tonight’s painting.
