Tag: 365 painting challenge

365…170

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19 June 2019

I’m writing this with my new phone, a Google Pixel 3a xl. This is my first new phone. I usually buy second hand iPhones from people on Kijiji but this offer with Koodo was just too good to pass up.

The screen is so big which is extremely helpful at my age lol!

Today was a “work in the office, so don’t see the weather” day. It was quite humid when I left for the day. I had an appointment in Ottawa and took advantage of being in the city near River Road Park to get today’s photo.

I walked down to the water, my feet were inches from it. Lots of ducks and geese around me, not nervous but curious. One momma duck had five little ones…so cute!

I enjoy watching the geese and ducks interact. A male duck hopped onto a branch over the water and proceeded to peck at a female duck then nudged her off the branch. Her partner jumped up onto the branch, did the same to the bully, making him jump down. The female waddled over to join her hero on the branch. It was an interesting scene!

170/365 photo of the day, 19 June 2019 (c)WQuinn

I took a ten minute break this afternoon at work and painted a landscape.

170/365 painting of the day, 19 June 2019 (c)WQuinn

365…31

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The last day of January. Just like that, we’re already one full month into 2019. I’m thirty-one days into my creativity project. I have 31 paintings, 31 photographs and 31 pages of writing.

(Actually I have more than 31 photographs, but who’s counting?)

Photo of the Day

Today’s photo came to me while I was sitting at my desk at work. I work in a GC Workplace work space and, for some reason, I always choose the same spot, a corner with a window. My view is rue Wellington in Hull. I just happened to glance outside as a man was getting out of his parked car. I watched as he walked to the parking meter, then back to his car, lock and and turn to walk away. He stopped, turned back towards his car and just stood there for five or so seconds. I watched him glance towards the second parking meter. My eyes followed his and I was surprised to see a fire hydrant next to the parking meter. Like right next to it. Mind made up, he left his car to continue on his way.

I continued working but I just couldn’t get over the mixed message of a parking meter and a fire hydrant parked side by side. So… you guessed it. During my lunch break, I went for a walk, right by the meter and hydrant and stopped to get a picture before continuing on.

parking meter beside a fire hydrant
031/365 Photo of the day
Conflicting message…to park or not to park?
31 Jan 2019 ©WQuinn

Painting of the day

I pulled the watercolour card from the pad then sat staring at it for several minutes, wondering what to paint. Nothing was coming to me. I thought I’d start with a blue sky, but that just didn’t feel right. Then I looked up and the cover of the watercolour pad, where I had just taken a sheet, jumped out at me. It was an image of a meadow of cherry trees in blossom. So, I painted my interpretation of that image. It took me a little over an hour to complete…the longest painting so far.

watercolour painting of a purplish sky with white fluffy clouds, a meadow with six cherry trees in full blossom and a small path meandering through the meadow.
031/365 Painting of the day
Cherry blossoms in the meadow
31 Jan 2019 ©WQuinn

365…30

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Had a bit of a slip on the ice this morning…who am I kidding, I went down like a ton of bricks! Glad I didn’t hit my head, and except for a few sore spots, I’m right as rain.

Went for a walk at lunch. Decided to head up to the Culture Trail (Sentier Culturel) to see what it looks like in the winter. Much to my surprise, the iconic Chez Henri now houses a Boston Pizza!

photograph of Boston Pizza signage on the old Chez Henri building in Hull (now Gatineau) Quebec, Canada.
030/365 Photo of the day
Chez Henri/Boston Pizza
30 Jan 2019 ©WQuinn

I opened Instagram this morning and was surprised to see a photograph that looked very much like several paintings I have done over the years. Paintings, I’ve painted from ideas in my mind’s eye, of sky, sea and beach. The photo, taken in Florida by a local photographer I follow on Instagram, was so familiar I had to look at it a few times. It was sky, sea and beach!

So, for tonight’s painting, I decided to paint that same scene, at least my interpretation of it, using watercolour paints. I tagged the photographer to let them know their photo inspired me. I love it when things like that happen 😉

watercolour painting of sky, ocean, beach
030/365 Painting of the day
Sky, Sea, Beach
30 Jan 2019 ©WQuinn

365…29

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Wow, can you believe how quickly January has flown by? The sun sets after 5 pm now. That’s worthy of a happy dance! Spring is not too far away. Longer, hopefully warmer, days are on the horizon.

Today was another bitterly cold one, with a smattering of snow – not as much as I thought we’d get but enough to keep things looking pretty and white. I spent a good time outside this morning cleaning off and filling up the bird feeders. Then I got to sit back with my tea and watch them flutter all around. The cats enjoy watching them too.

So, not surprising, today’s photo of the day is of the birds. We’ve had one mourning dove who hangs around, long after sunset when everyone else has left for the night, he’s still here. Last night I found him sitting on the edge of the bird bath. It took me a few to realize why he was sitting there…it’s heated! He eventually left but, first thing this morning when I opened the blinds, I saw him sitting there again. Later this afternoon, a second dove joined him. They spent the day together. I enjoyed watching them together and managed to capture a few photos. This is just one of them:

mourning doves sitting on a branch in the falling snow
029/365 Photo of the day
Mourning Doves
29 Jan 2019 ©WQuinn

For my painting of the day, I wanted to paint a sunflower. I love sunflowers! My first painting on a large canvas (in 2007 – before that I tended to only tole paint or paint on small cards or wood) was my interpretation of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. (A little backstory: I had sketched the sunflowers as an in-class assignment in grade 7 (1991) art class and kept it all these years, as I love sunflowers. Shortly after my dad passed in 2007, I felt inspired to paint outdoors, and paint on the large canvas that came with my travel easel. That was the beginning of my adult painting journey.)

So, tonight, using the watercolour pencils, I drew a sunflower, then used a paintbrush and water to fill it in.

watercolour painting of a sunflower
029/365 Painting of the day
Sunflower delight
29 Jan 2019 ©WQuinn