Well, winter put a bit of a damper on my painting until today, that is. I signed up our Plein Air group to participate in the 34th World Wide Sketch Crawl. I’ve been wanting to get out and do some snow scenes. Finally the weather co-operated!  I was the only one of the Windsor & Essex County Plein Air Society to make it out to sketch today.  We were all to meet at the Tim Horton’s on Walker Road, by the Chrysler plant. But, it seems life threw the rest a curve ball.  No worries, I’m sure they will make it out to the next event.  If they don’t well I will definitely be sketching, even if I have to do it from the shelter of my van.

You would think living in Canada would guarantee snow. Well, trust me it doesn’t, especially when you live in the most southern point in the country.  But today it was cold as heck. However, I did have my van to keep me warm while I painted the coach house at Willestead Manor, in Windsor, On. Canada. The thermometer in the van read 17°F or -8.33333333°C (to infinity and beyond). I do so like Fahrenheit so much better then Celsius. 17°F sounds so much warmer then -8.3333 °C (to infinity and beyond) ever will. I digress…

Even the van could not totally keep the cold away from my toes forever. So, I warmed up with a Tim Horton’s black coffee, and also celebrated what would have been my Dad’s 100th birthday.  He was here in spirit. How do I know? He saved the last Oooey gooey good Boston Creme Doughnut for me, that’s why!  You see, Boston Cream was his favorite. Sorry, the doughnut didn’t make it into the photo.

Now for a wee bit of a clarification on the image above. No, the roof is not falling off the Northern addition to the coach house. I think by the time I got to that side of the painting my brain was frozen. Also, (lame excuse for bad drawing number two) sitting in a van is not conducive to backing away from your work to check your progress. I usually stand when I paint, so this really sucketh rotten eggs. But, I show my mistakes as well as my successes, because I’m masochistic that way. Now, now please don’t tell me how wonderful this is. I know, when it sucks, K! Why is it you never notice these goof ups until AFTER you take the photo? Blarg! Oh.. I still had fun, and I will go out and do better next time!

Artspeak Holiday Show & Sale 2011, a set on Flickr.

Our local arts council opened their doors to their annual member’s Christmas Show and Sale. Each artist was allowed to hang 5 pieces that had not been shown in previous members show. Seeing that I’ve been a very busy beaver this summer it was no problem at all to find 5 pieces. These works were all created at special events from the summer. The trip we made up north to Wilberforce, Ontario. Our group was invited to two events at the John R. Park Homestead, and two of these pieces are from that event.

Read more about this event here.

Back in the summer you may remember that four of us went up north to a small town named Wilberforce, Ontario to attend a Plein Air event called Brush with the Highlands. We stayed a quaint old motel called the Bostonian. It was perfect for our needs. The proprietor, Roberta, is loved by many, and we soon found out why. While we were there a family needed a place for an out of town relative who was there for a funeral. Roberta opened her arms and gave a room to these people gratis. She received this lovely bouquet of roses as a thank you. The story does not end there. Last year Roberta had a fire. The townspeople of Wilberforce got together and helped her rebuild her motel. So not only is Roberta a gem, but the towns folk are as well.

Margaret and I spent a few hours painting this beautiful vase of flowers en Plein Air. We set up the scene on the picnic table in front of the motel, and enjoyed the northern afternoon sun.

Last spring I visited a friends home. If I lived at their home I would never need to go on vacation. Their yard is a tropical paradise in the north. One plant in particular caught my eye. The common name for this large leafed plant is Elephant Ear for obvious reasons. She had just thrown out one of the beautiful leaves, and I begged her to save me the next one she had to prune. So this last Friday she called me. I was ecstatic! By Sunday I was in the studio preparing and inking up this lovely leaf for printing. It almost was too big for my Arches oversize BFK paper. Not to mention it hardly fit the press bed. I used the shop camera to document printing this beautiful plant. I can hardly believe that I was able to put the leaf through the press 12 times!

Please go here to see the slide show on Flickr. If you open the original photo’s you will see an explanation of what I am doing.

Waiting for Dry Dock, originally uploaded by photographerpainterprintmaker.

Fall Walk in Willestead Park, originally uploaded by photographerpainterprintmaker.

What an incredible summer, and fall looks like it’s going to be great as well. I’ve been painting every week, and I tell you it feels very good. Invitations to demonstrate Plein Air Painting have come to us all summer. We were invited to participate in Explore the Shore, The Lost Arts, and the Migration Festival. We were rained out for Canada Culture Days which was a disappointment. Hopefully next year the weather will co-operate. Next week our city is having an all day cultural think tank for the arts. I’m going to post a few of my works from the summer, so you can catch up with my whirlwind life.

An ominous red-brown cloud hovered over the area this day. Zug Island in Detroit, Michigan was spewing toxins into the air without care. The factories in that area send an incredible amount of pollution across the river into Windsor Ontario Canada. No-one seems to be able to stop this. I can find stats on almost all of the US and Canada on Cancer rates, but not Ontario. Why? On the maps that I did find, Michigan is among the worst for cancer rates. We are down wind of them, so if a conclusion can be drawn, I would think we would at least equal Detroit in environmentally induced cancers. We went to paint a lovely picture that day. I could not.

LaSalle, Zug Island Paint Out. DSC_7244, originally uploaded by photographerpainterprintmaker.

The civic holiday weekend saw four members of the “Windsor & Essex County Plein Air Society” making a 9 hour trek (7 1/2 if you’ve a lead foot, and don’t stop to pee) to Wilberforce, Ontario for the third anniversary of the “Brush with the Highlands Plein Air Festival.”

What an incredible journey! This tiny town opened its arms wide to 47 wonderful Plein Air Artists. Tracey Lee Green, a young woman with vision, masterminded this brilliant festival.

Tracey worked tirelessly finding sponsors for prizes that totaled $1,500. She offered the grounds of her beautiful rolling wooded estate to campers. She also provided a list of accommodations for those who were not campers.

Margaret, Mary and I stayed at the Bostonian Motel. This quaint motel was a bit older, but the units had full kitchens, which suited our needs perfectly. We especially liked the fact that the price fit into our budget, and it was very close to town. The owner, Roberta, was a lovely lady, who’s kindness and generosity won our hearts. We’ve already booked this motel for our return next year.

On Thursday they had workshops for children and adults. We arrived just in time to register and hand in our paintings for the Dry competition.

I’m told by Patrick, the fourth member of our team, that we missed a great evening. The campers brought their guitars, and voices together for a fun time. We plan on arriving at least day earlier next year. In fact we may just come a week early, or stay an extra week so we can take advantage of more painting days.

Friday night, we had a great time getting acquainted with our fellow artists, at Tracey’s home. One of her friends provided her P.A. system, and extensive Karaoke collection. It’s been a long time since I sang, but I braved it and took up the mic. Luckily no one had any rotten tomatoes to toss my way!

Saturday night was the grand finale. Tracey’s friends cooked us the best bar-b-q ever, and they even had Portobello mushrooms, and a whole salmon for the vegetarians among us.

The evening finished up with the best bonfire ever! The judge and his wife were also very talented folk singers. Their jaunty ditties had our feet a tapping. I almost ran my battery out taking photo’s of the bonfire.

Sunday morning we had to be up early to hand in our wet paintings, to be judged. After we dropped them off we went to “The Algonquin Cookhouse” for breakfast. Many people we met highly recommended the place so we had to check it out. What a pleasant surprise. They offered high quality food, and drink at very reasonable prices. We dined here twice during our stay.

All in all, we had a wonderful time. The painting that accompanies this article was my first painting of the weekend, and I think it is one of my best ever. I will be posting more photo’s of the event soon, so keep an eye on this site for updates.

Via Flickr:
Marsh on the Barnes Farm, Wiberforce, On. First painting I did during the festival, Brush With The Highlands.

HighlandsDSC_3638, originally uploaded by photographerpainterprintmaker.

HighlandsDSC_3636, originally uploaded by photographerpainterprintmaker.

I could have spent the whole summer on this incredible old farm. Here are a few photo’s I was able to take here. There are so many more, I could blog about them for an entire year. I hope to add more soon. Keep watching as I think this site is about to get very busy.

2011 Locavore, originally uploaded by photographerpainterprintmaker.

Windsor & Essex County Plein Air Society will be painting at the John R. Park Homestead during this event. We will also be there for the Blueberry & Lost Arts Festival which takes place following this brunch, and the Saturday before.

Lakeside Locavore Brunch

Date: Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011
Location: John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area

This event highlights Locavore opportunities in Essex County. You can learn more about this movement as you savour a morning by the Lake enjoying live music, tasting locally grown foods, a fine array of local fruit juices and more. Also local farmers, food producers and vendors will be on hand to share their specific knowledge about their products, the delicious bounty that our region offers, and the benefits of buying local.

The 2011 menu for the Homestead will include: bacon, sausage, crepes with local maple syrup, fresh blueberries, peaches and other fruits, assorted salads, fresh breads, bocconcini cheese, mushroom sautee, gazpacho, lavender lemonade, apple cider, and more!

Be sure to attend this unique event to ‘green your eats’. Advance ticket sales only. Last year’s event was sold out!

To purchase tickets for the brunch (11am – 12:30pm): or for more information: (519) 738-2029 email: jrph@erca.org

The Homestead is located at 915 County Road 50, east of Colchester on the Lake.

Blueberry Social & Lost Arts Festival

Saturday Aug 6 and Sunday Aug 7 Noon – 4: P.M.

Celebrate the blueberry season with crafts, blueberry pie and ice cream sundaes, live music, and games for children. Pick your own berries at the Klassen’s Farm just east of the Homestead.

This year’s event features the ‘Lost Arts’ theme – see reenactors demonstrating trades and arts from the 19th century and participate in the fun. Demonstrations will include: basket weaving, blacksmithing, wood carving, painting, quilting, and more!

What a busy busy time! This weekend our Plein Air group painted at the John R. Park Homestead for the Explore the Shore annual event. This was our first year, but not the first year that the event was held. The John R. Park Homestead is a historical site managed by the Essex Regional Conservation Authority, or ERCA. They have always been very accommodating to our club. The grounds are a Plein Air Painters dream come true.

Even though it was incredibly hot this weekend we had a good breeze coming off the lake to keep us cool. Well, as cool as possible in the extreme heat and humidity that we’ve been experiencing this summer.

Saturday’s painting is ready for the paper making machine. I was not at all pleased with it. Although, I may try to salvage it as part of it turned out acceptable.

Sunday’s painting however turned out quite nice. We had a great spot under the chestnut trees in front of the blacksmith barn. I used my Arches Watercolour block that I bought in San Diego. I’m happy with the results.

Now… to sleep, perchance to dream… zzzz

John R Park Homestead, originally uploaded by photographerpainterprintmaker.

Painting of the House and pump.