Starry Night Watercolour

 Watercolour based on Youtube tutorial by Sharon Cullen Art.

THE HEAVENS  DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD.  Psalm 19:1 NIV

Keep Calm

 This is a photo I snapped when we were in London UK several years ago. It seems relevant today as the cases of Covid 19 keep going up. I know we are going in to winter so it's not exactly the best time for ice cream, but you could substitute your favourite comfort food - chocolate cake, ginger cookies, etc.

Take care.

November Scenes

I thought I'd better get some November pictures before the snow comes.  The past several days have been lovely and warm, but cold weather is on the way.

Some of the weeds make puffy seeds.

Roots wrapped around rocks by the side of the road.

The weeds are almost shimmering in the low sun.

The white poplar tree stems contrast nicely with the cedars.

A mullein highlights a rough patch.

More puffy seeds.

A stand of skinny poplars.

Take care. Stay well.

Sunrise Watercolour Sketch

 I'm still watching various watercolour tutorials on Youtube. This little painting (4" x6") is based on an acrylic painting by Jay Lee who teaches on Youtube. He has watercolour tutorials as well as other media.

Other people I am following right now:

The Mind of Watercolour - mostly landscapes - likes to experiment

In the Studio of Michelle Weber - lots of techniques  Some videos on mistakes to avoid

Emily Olson Art - animals - super accomplished artist who can paint anything!  She has lots of suggestions for painting fur and feathers.

Louise de Masi -birds and animals. Lovely fresh style. Excellent at drawing.

In Canada, for reasonably priced art supplies visit www.paintspot.ca  This site is run by a group of artists, and they have a great selection of good quality paints and paper and accessories.

For a smile, watch mrandrewcotter on Youtube with his dogs Olive and Mabel. 

Also check out videos about Chaser, a super smart Border collie. There are a few videos with her - look for titles that include "1000 words" because she apparently knows 1,000 words.  So interesting to see the contrast between Olive and Mabel who are Labradors and Chaser who is a Border collie. Totally different personalities.

Keep well and keep looking up.

Rainbow Carrots

 We are having frosty weather so I decided to pull carrots from a pot outside. These are a variety called Rainbow Carrots which I bought from Halifax Seeds. I would imagine other companies carry this kind of assortment as well. The white carrot at the top is 8" long to the kink in the root so it is a good size, and the yellow one is a substantial size, too. I don't know why there is such variation in growth pattern as they were all in the same pot. In other locations, I found the red carrots grew better than even the orange carrots. Gardening- full of mysteries. I find the flavour of the red, orange and yellow carrots pretty similar, but the white carrots have a hint of parsnip taste. I like having the different colours as they brighten up any dish you add them to.

Late October Colours

I've been delaying doing a post as I am still uncomfortable working with the photos and getting them up on the blog with my new computer.  I have found a system for now but there may be a less round about way.  I'll keep watching Youtube videos for help. 

The leaves have all fallen off the trees and the days are dull. November, my least favourite month, is just around the corner.  With outings curtailed because of Covid, I knew I would need some projects to keep me going.

I signed up for a grammar course which is proving to be fun and helpful. You may see fewer grammar mistakes going forward.
 

I went through my left-over yarn and found three varieties that I thought would go well for an afghan. It will be off-white, old rose pink and cranberry. Maybe I'll post a photo when it's finished.

I also have been adding to the zazzle store I mentioned in the last post. Their interface is super easy to use and it's been fun to make latte mugs, and magnets, and coasters and spiral notebooks and wall pictures as well as a few other items. It gets to be a bit addictive because it is so easy to make a store. I see that every week they have some kind of sale. I'll keep putting up my store address in case anyone wants to look at it. It's not likely you would remember the name if it only appeared in one post. 

www.zazzle.ca/store/purpleasterdesigns .

I hope you are all finding ways to enjoy your time at home.

The pandemic won't last forever. Keep looking up.

New Ventures

 I have been in technological purgatory for the last few days and I am thrilled to pieces that I was able to upload this photo to Blogger. I am switching from my old, dying PC to a new Mac and there has been much hair pulling, a couple of calls to tech support, and LOTS of googling for solutions. Thank you, Youtubers.

This is a photo of Bella, my neighbours' dog.  She often accompanies me on my walks. She is very sweet but rarely wants any pats. She is a dog on a mission on our walks checking out all the driveways and making other dogs, who are responsibly penned up, go crazy when she pokes her nose at them through the fence.

Some maples are still colourful but we are passed the peak of the colour. 

I have started a new venture.  I have opened a store on zazzle.ca. I have been toying with the idea of an online shop for a while and finally settled on zazzle because they do all the backend stuff. I don't need to make any money from this which is a good thing as the profit margins are pretty slim, but it is something to help keep me busy over the darker months. I have some coffee mugs with garden and wildflower designs, some magnets with beach themes, and some blank cards with various photos. There are some other miscellaneous items as well. If you want to check out the shop, the address is www.zazzle.ca/store/purpleasterdesigns .    The name of the shop is PurpleAsterDesigns. The easiest way to get there is to go to the zazzle address. Zazzle has something on sale every week so sometimes coffee mugs or cards or whatever are 40% off. I'll post it if there is a relevant sale.

I hope you are all keeping well in every way. Take care.