Houses across the street in the last light of the day

The glistening green colour of the grass in the sun and the bright light on the walls of the houses across the street pumped me into painting mood again towards the end of the day from our driveway looking across the street.

From Pacific Avenue of Brandon on a sunny afternoon

Drove to Pacific Ave at around 1 p.m and spent two hours painting  these landmarks of Brandon.

a window view of a sunny spring morning

Came back from work at 10 a.m. It was such a beautiful sunny morning that  I set up my easel and tuned in to CBC Radio 2. Suddenly there came Bach's Cello Suite No.1 i-Prelude, and I seemed to have spotted a glimpse of heaven.

A Brandon Landmark

The sun suddenly broke out of the clouds early in the afternoon while I was doing this oil sketch of the water tower at Rideau Park in Brandon.

Foggy morning

 A quick oil sketch from our doorway in the morning when Fengping was on her way to work at Cornwallis Crescent.

Waiting to be sowed

A quick oil sketch of our rock flowerbed in the evening.

Painting at the painting studio from my last winter class

A quick unfinished oil sketch  from my last winter class of the two students panting with full energy at their easels.

A quick oil sketch of Maureen's house

A quick oil sketch of Maureen's house against the setting sunlight.

Balmoral Bay on a cloudy and snowy morning

A quick oil sketch before the blanket of snow was  melting away on Balmoral Bay

Back to the winter again

It snowed none stop for the rest of the afternoon. This was what it looked like at 2 p.m today from our window.

The rain turning into snow

The drizzle of rain started to turn into snow fall while I was painting this view from our door step at noon.

A window view early in the morning

It rained overnight. There was a springlike freshness in the air. A quick oil sketch from the window at 8 a.m.

a glimpse from the window

The sun came out in the afternoon. Looking out of the window, I could hardly believe what happened right on the street  almost exactly 24 hours ago. A few ladies with dogs and baby carriage walking by with their leisurely steps , were far cry from the emergency scene  we witnesses this time yesterday.

A tragic moment

While I was in the thick of painting across the street around 1:30 p.m today, I noticed suddenly a plume of dust like smoke rising suddenly down the street. At first I thought it must be due to a gust of wind sweeping up the dirt on the street a few houses down on my right side. I was a bit concerned that the dust will fall onto my wet painting , then all of a sudden I heard siren in the distance, and in just a matter of few seconds to my astonishment, ambulances, fire engines  , police cruisers all came passing by right in front of me and came to stop right there a few houses down the street . I heard the sickening sound of the smashing of the door by force, and then , and only then did I realized that the house on my right side was on fire!  The rescue action  was unfolding right in front of me. I walked across the street and  did  this quick oil sketch to mark the moment of  emergency and tragedy in my neighbourhood.

A tranquil moment on Balmoral Bay

At about 1 p.m today I walked across the street to paint as usual. It was cloudy and cold.  The street was so quiet that the only other sound seemed to be the cheerful voices of the four little girls riding their bikes peddling energetically  around the neighbourhood. Everything  in front of me seemed to foretell another peaceful and uneventful day on Balmoral Bay. However, in just a matter of few minutes the serene and tranquil moment would  end abruptly , and I would stand there witness a rescue and emergency mission unfolding right in front of my eyes.

From the front of our driveway looking across the street

Turned sunny around 5 p.m. only briefly , and took my easel outside painting whatever I saw from the front of our driveway before Fengping drove this car away at 6 p.m.

A glimpse of Downtown Brandon

Battling the cold and wind from the top of Town Center parking lot this morning I did this quick oil sketch looking down onto Rosser Ave of Down-town Brandon with Mackenzie Seed building looming large against a cloudy and wintry sky.

On Assiniboine River at Dinsdale Park of Brandon

So windy and so cold ! when I set up my easel on the river bank  around 4 p.m. It was very quiet there in the Dinsdale Park. The only other sounds are from the wind and crashing ice floating on the river which are occasionally  interrupted by the honking voice of two lonely Canadian geese. For a few minutes the two geese stepped towards me  with inquisitive look in their eyes as if puzzled by the lone human presence.

Foggy morning

A 10 minute oil sketch before heading out to work in the morning.

Hedges and shadows

A quick oil sketch of the hedges casting their long shadows over the lawn in late afternoon sun.

Shimmering green

The grass already turns green in the afternoon sun. It is Sarah's birthday today. How time flies!

A glimpse of green

The small  ever green tree over the hedges looks exceptional green today on this rather cloudy afternoon.

Cloudy and rainy towards afternoon. I set up my easel at the southern side of our house painting this view when a gentleman walked into my view with two identical dogs one running in front and the other trailing behind.

Backyard in late afternoon sunshine

A quick oil sketch at 4 p.m from our patio

A window view into sunset

A quick oil sketch from our window towards evening .

A view of Downtown Brandon

An oil sketch of Downtown Brandon from  the corner of 9th Street and Rosser Avenue on this record breaking warm Sunday.

From our front yard on Saturday afternoon

With Fengping stepping out into the front yard , with the warm sunshine on my back, I did this oil sketch trying to capture the  warm springlike moment .

Ukrainian Catholic Church of Brandon

A two hour oil sketch of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Brandon

At dawn from McTavish Ave and 7th Street of Brandon

A quick sketch from a balcony of an apartment block on McTavish Ave of Brandon early in the morning.

Raking leaves in our backyard

A quick oil sketch of our backyard with Fengping raking the dead leaves from last fall.

Catching the last sunshine

Moved my easel to our backyard just in time to capture the sunset moment.

From Balmoral Bay

A gentleman with his dog walked into late afternoon sunshine after stopping to chat with me while I was painting this view. It was so warm as if we were already in real spring season.

The lone poplar tree

In the last light of the day

One more quick oil sketch before the last light dissipated into the dark shadow of the night.

Last patch of snow in late afternoon sun

Can not believe that all of a sudden the only sign of winter is the lone patch of residue of snow in late afternoon sunshine.

Sign of spring

A glimpse out of the window into the first sign of spring  !

A stroll in springlike sunshine

The street is clear of snow, and a couple from our neighbourhood takes advantage of the spring like warm weather to stroll down the street after a chat with me.

St. Matthew Anglican Church of Brandon

With the church building reflected onto the wet street , and with the warm springlike sunlight beating down my neck while painting this view on 13th Street today, I could sense the presence of spring in the very air I breathe.

Sign of spring?

A window view before the last light faded away into a warm spring like evening.

Looking east on Victoria Avenue and 12th Street

 Painting this view  on the corner of 12th Street and Victoria Ave , I could smell spring in the air.

Upon opening the door on Saturday morning

Sunny and warm. A quick oil sketch from our doorway on Saturday morning.

The back alley on Balmoral Bay

One more oil sketch in late afternoon from my cosy painting spot.

Our flower bed in the backyard

With snow started to melt , and spring seemed to be not far away now. I did this quick oil sketch of our snow covered flowerbed in our backyard hoping that with the longer daytime I would be able to do more outdoor paintings.

Surfing internet

A quick oil sketch of Fengping surfing internet on laptop  early in the morning

When the full moon was on the sky

It looks so beautiful when the full moon was on the sky   and the street light was on . There was such a sense of serenity in this  window view. I put another piece of canvas onto the easel and did one more oil sketch for today.

The last light before dark

Another window view when the last light of sun was on the trees across the street before the shadow of darkness swept over the view.

A sunny window view before the encroaching shadow

A quick oil sketch from our bedroom window at 4 p.m.

A glimpse of Down town Brandon in the evening

For my painting class today , I started another demonstration from the Gallery studio window with the same window view. The longer day time was very noticeable now when compared to the previous painting two weeks before.

Looking over the hedges into Maureen's backyard

It suddenly turned so cold today with the bright sunny sky giving the false impression of a warm afternoon. My hands got numb with biting cold and bone chill wind while I was painting from our patio looking over the hedges into Maureen's backyard.

An empty driveway on a dark night

A quick oil sketch of the empty driveway on a dark night.