Newsletter

How are you occupying your time during this ongoing rainy weather? I began in the garden shed tidying, sorting and generally making things easier to access. I then moved the tidying and organizing indoors and did my desks, cupboards and various drawers and storage bins. Still on the list are my studio and the kitchen cupboards, but I must admit I am running out of steam and really hoping for some sunny days to work in the garden, sketch on location and….

This summer has been the summer of wee things in our garden. We have had baby cardinals, sparrows, finches, starlings, grackles, blue jays and chickadees. Our yard has become an avian nursery. Along with fledgling birds, we have had baby rabbits and chipmunks. It has been so much fun watching all the young wild things.

I am so happy to tell you that the Opening of my exhibition, Along The Way, at the Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre’s Joyner Gallery, was very well attended in spite of lots of rain. I met several delightful art lovers, some fellow artists and many of the volunteers who make this gallery a success. I was photographed and interviewed by local journalists and approached to conduct workshops. However, the best part of the day was meeting up with a dear friend. Marg. She and I met in kindergarten and have been friends ever since so having her join me there along with my sister, Cathy, and Brian, my husband, made a special day even better.

If you haven’t had the chance to see the exhibition I hope you can make a day of it and travel to Niagara -on--Lake. Afterward, go for lunch or dinner at one of the amazing restaurants, walk along the path by the river, visit the fort or go shopping. The Shaw Festival Theatre is not far from the gallery so perhaps you would like to plan a longer stay. In any case, Along The Way is continuing until the end of the month so you still have time to make plans.

Rain figured into the Westland Plein Air event too. I set up in the alcove (see the photo below) and worked in my sketchbook. Other artists found various places to shelter or used large umbrellas and carried on painting.

There are lots of exciting things on the horizon and I will tell you more about them in my next newsletter. In the meantime I will share that I will be teaching a workshop in the fall at Westland Gallery. All the details are below. Call the gallery if you would like to join us or drop in, see the current exhibit and sign up in person. Space is limited so call soon to be sure not to miss out.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. I enjoy hearing from you too, so tell me about what you have done this summer or will be doing soon or, alternatively, how you have spent the rainy days. Have any of you used the rainy days to catch up on your reading? If so, do you have any books you would like to recommend? 

Take care and enjoy our summer. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue