Venice 22.5.20
Five years ago today I was also in a Venice frame of mind.
Studio 365: Day 142 22.5.15
Venice study I 22.5.15
Painting this watercolour and ink sketch in the studio this afternoon allowed me to re-visit our magical trip to Venice in July 1999, a visit documented in a precious journal that I kept throughout our Italian travels that year.
The tulips featured in Canada Remembers have taken on a renewed beauty in their final hour.
My post from five years ago today looks remarkably similar
Studio 365: Day 136 May 16, 2015
As these glorious deep purple petals fall away revealing the pistils, styles and stamens that have been enveloped so protectively and majestically in the flowers core, these tulips seem to have taken on a renewed beauty in their final hour.
Pacific Spirit Canopy 3.8.15
With our daily walks in the Pacific Spirit Park it seems like a good time to look back to some of the paintings that walking in the Park inspired five years ago.
Studio 365: Day 216
Pacific Spirit Park Variations I – IV 4.8.15
Since it continues to be National Park Week and in follow up to yesterday’s revisit to Bryce Canyon how could I not post the second day of our visit when we hiked into the Amphitheatre. What a day that was.
But first, today’s painting from the studio: Pacific Spirit III with continuing thoughts of those grieving in Nova Scotia; also today in Toronto on the second anniversary of the attack on Yonge Street; and of course all who are mourning loved ones lost to Covid-19.
The heartache continues as our brave healthcare workers and volunteers are there for us each and every day and we thank them all.
Studio 365: Day 113 April 23, 2015
The Navajo Loop Trail from Sunset point descending into the Bryce Canyon Amphitheatre.
The perfect finish to our visit to Bryce Canyon hiking the Navajo Trail into the Amphitheatre, connecting with the Queens Garden Trail and returning to the canyon rim at Sunrise Point. Look for Queen Victoria in the photo gallery.
One final view before leaving this precious jewel of a place and a thank you to the National Park Service for maintaining it so perfectly for us all to enjoy.
Written in chalk beneath a rainbow on the entrance to Tatlow Park here in Vancouver these words are perhaps the perfect way to recognize this 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. We are indeed all in this together.
Since this is also National Park Week, and following my look back to Antelope Canyon, I thought I would re-post our visit to magnificent Bryce Canyon five years ago today together with the painting that it inspired.
Studio 365: Day 112 April 22, 2015
From the wonder and awe of the magic of Antelope Canyon to the breathtaking majesty of the vistas of Bryce Canyon. It has been another unforgettable day and once again I will let the pictures do all the talking…
…the final shot at the end of a perfect day.
Five years ago today we visited Antelope Canyon in Arizona. My paintings and photographs from that never-to-be-forgotten visit have taken on new meaning today, as we continue to grieve for Nova Scotia.
Here is the original post from 5 years ago. Enjoy our visit to Owl Canyon
and learn about the feather on my studio wall.
A treasure in Owl Canyon
Who would have thought it could get any better, but today was another magical day with unforgettable visits to Owl, Rattlesnake and Upper Antelope Canyons. Here are a selection of more amazing images to share with you, and many thanks for all your comments and visits.
The feather from a great horned owl from our visit to Owl Canyon will indeed be the treasure of the trip. It will take pride of place in the studio back home and I can’t wait to use it for more pen and ink drawings. I did ask our Navajo guide Kim, from Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours, if I could keep the feather and she very graciously gave her permission. Thank you Kim for a day we will never forget.
On to Bryce Canyon tomorrow.
Nova Scotia Strong
Day 365 Celebration 31.12.15
I’m going to consider that tonight’s New Year’s Eve fireworks are really to celebrate the successful completion of my 365 days of daily blogging. When I started out on January 1st I didn’t think it would be possible but here we are on the final day of the year and with this post I’ve actually done it.
My thanks to WordPress who two days ago sent me my 2015 Annual Report full of all sorts of interesting statistics. It begins:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 20,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
They then provided me with the posts that received the most views this past year, thanks to you all.
What a lovely surprise to find that the post that received the most comments this year was on Day 178, the day our beautiful granddaughter was born.
The report informed that the busiest day of the year was November 29th with 304 views. The most popular post that day was Weekly Photo Challenge: Transition which showed how my painting of Cypress Alleyway at Castello di Reschio was created.
One final set of statistics that WordPress did not provide might be of interest to you. Over the year I posted 736 photos, 223 paintings, 25 pen and ink drawings and 54 different palettes. It seems only appropriate to end this last post of the year with some of those paintings in a concluding gallery with a painting from each month of the year.
Finally, a big thank you to all of you who have been with me all year long. Your support, interest, encouragement and wonderful comments throughout the year have made it all worthwhile. Knowing you were travelling along with me made me more determined than ever to reach my goal; I couldn’t have done it without you.
I’ll finish with the words of Winston Churchill: Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. The beginning of what you might ask? All I can say is when I know the answer I’ll let you know.
Happy New Year everyone
December: As you will have read yesterday we spent Christmas in Los Angeles. On Boxing Day morning we walked through Grand Hope Park in downtown LA where this poetic plaque welcomes you at its entrance…
…It was a beautiful, clear, warm, sunny morning and the trees, buildings, blossoms, shadows and architecture, all created a perfect reflection of the magic of the city. It was also an opportunity for me to experiment with my new iPhone 6S with which all the photos were taken…
…and Star Wars The Force Awakens in the afternoon did not disappoint
See you for New Year’s Eve and Day 365 tomorrow.
Spanish Banks and the Vancouver Skyline 29.12.15
Back from a wonderful Xmas with family in Los Angeles to enjoy Vancouver at its best today, and this first for me, a rider and his horse on Spanish Banks against the shimmering skyline of the city.
Only two more days to go and just two more months to look back on.
November: After attending the 91st Annual Remembrance Day Service in Victory Square, Vancouver on November 11th…
…two days later another day of horror and tragedy in Paris was added to an ever-growing list of days to remember, and Je suis Charlie became Je suis Paris
After our never-to-be-forgotten visit to La Belle France in October with dear friends studio-time painting the beautiful places we visited took on a new meaning during November and became a way of showing solidarity with the people of France who made our visit so memorable. This slideshow brings together those paintings, some of which will be familiar to you after yesterdays photos of all the places we visited. I have also included a couple from our visit to London where we began our journey.
One final painting from the end of the month for Day 330 and another favourite for obvious reasons, my father’s tools some of which I had been using to create my representations of the Cave of Lascaux.
October: The header today is of my table top in the studio, which I posted on October 11th, the day before we left for our two week visit to England and France, and the day the studio was tidied up for the first time in months as you will have seen from the photos that day.
The previous week we enjoyed Autumn in all its glory on our final walk along the Admiralty Trail before leaving on our trip, a walk I posted about on October 5th for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Boundaries.
The table top and the trees seem to complement each other just perfectly, which I have to add only became apparent as I composed today’s post; serendipity working its magic once again.
Those of you who joined us, albeit virtually, on our European adventure will know what an unforgettable time we had. The photos I posted each day said it all so as a little reminder here is a slideshow of some of my favourites, many of which became paintings on our return. If you are visiting thechangingpalette for the first time and would like to learn more about the places we visited in London and the beautiful Périgord region of south west France why not browse through Days 287 to 299.
October was not entirely without its paintings. These are from the beginning of the month before we left.
thechangingpalette 