BWK art

The Port Grocer, Port Medway, NS (watercolor on 100% cotton paper in sketchbook) On Sunday morning, during our 'staycation', hubby and I had a gorgeous brunch of the best eggs benny ever at The Port Grocer in Port Medway, Nova Scotia - one of our favourite spots. It offers amazing food made with local produce and the service is always warm and friendly. Here’s a short little video that shows the store/cafe (the cafe has since expanded since this video). I thought it would be nice to capture the colourful building in my etchr sketchbook. I took the reference photos from a couple of weeks back; it was a very hot sunny day, with stark contrast in values. Fun to paint! By the way, this is just a photo of the painting in my sketchbook, not a scan... so the colours and lighting are a tad off. I'll scan it in later.

As the years pass, I am noticing that there is an ebb and flow to my creativity. I've been trying to accept whatever phase I'm in, learning to accept change that I can't control... trying to enjoy natural shifts, not unlike the changing seasons. These past 5-months of our house renovation has forced me into a rather long 'ebb' with regard to my art, mainly due to stress, illness and exhaustion. Making art should be a joy and while it can be relaxing, it also costs mental energy... a commodity I have had little of lately, even just in dealing with everyday basics of life. It's been said that breaks from art are important, as they can help re-establish balance and joy in other areas and also refresh enthusiasm and creative juices. I have found that to be quite accurate! Since I've left social media, I feel a sense of renewal with regard to my art. Labour Day long-weekend offered a bit of time outside along with beautiful weather. Hubby and I headed to a

Perhaps you've followed the link from my soon-to-be-defunct Instagram or Facebook accounts to this blog. If so, a heartfelt thanks for your interest and welcome! This will be where I'll share my finished artwork as well as excerpts from my sketchbooks, random art topics, and even perhaps an art supply review here and there, when time and energy permit. Posts may not come frequently, so if you would like an email notification of new blog posts, please just click the 'subscribe' button above. I decided to leave Instagram and Facebook because I was spending more time scrolling through other people's artwork in my sparest of spare time instead of experiencing the joy of creating it myself. Ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil, I have loved drawing and painting over any other spare-time activity because it's my happy place; it soothes and relaxes me. I lost focus of that when I basically substituted the joy of making art with unconsciously trying to live