Once in a blue moon

It is rare to have two full moons in a month. It appears tonight on New Year's Eve. While Ping and Sarah played scrabble I was sitting there watching the full moon rising up in the sky and did this quick oil sketch, ,my last painting for the year , my 4008th painting for the year 2009!

Sunlight receding on the last day of the year

Again it is time to say goodbye to the year. Always get a bit sentimental at this time of the year. After all, it is such a wonderful year for all of us , the memory of which will linger in our heart forever fresh and vivid. Standing in front of our window in the late afternoon  on New Year's Eve watching the last sunlight receding swiftly into dusk of the day, I felt myselft swept away by the accumulation of the memory from the past , from that distant moments  when I was also standing somewhere reluctatly watching the torrent of time carrying away relentlessly a part of my life. I remember I was standing by the window of an  eastbound passenger train gliding to a stop on the platform of Nanjing Raiilway Station when it struck Midnight on New Year's Eve of 1982, leaving a part of my life  forever behind  to the Western China .

Asleep on the couch

Did a quick oill sketch of Sarah falling asleep on the couch after supper before we went  for the movie Avatar in the evening.

Drive way with car

I still find it hard to explain why such an ordinary and plain view can be quite interesting to paint.

Snow-covered junipers in our backyard

Snow-covered junipers in the sunlight in our backyard is visually appealing but quite challenging to paint.

Waking up to a bright sunny morning

Looking out of our bedroom window on this beautiful  sunny morning  after waking up around 10 today.

Snow-covered front yard on a sunny afternoon

What can be more exciting than seeing sunlight comes back to the snow-covered landscape again after so many days without it.

Busy in the kitchen

A quick oil sketch of Ping cooking on Boxing Day for the dinner party while Sarah standing by sampling some of the food Ping has prepared 30 minutes before our quests arrive.

Snow-covered junipers in our backyard

A quick sketch of junipers covered with heavy snow on the snowy and cold Boxing day afternoon.

Quiet Christmas evening

It has been snowy and cloudy all day. It is so quiet outside that I can almost hear the falling of snowflakes on the ground outside towards evening.

Snowy Christmas Eve

It was snowing heavily towards evening on Christmas. Standing in front of the window watching snow falling thick and heavy I did a quick agoach sketch before our guests arrived for Christmas Eve dinner.

Snowy Christmas Eve

It has been snowing nonstop for two days. Never in my memory has there been a Christmas Eve with so much snow.

At the end of the day

The snow on the hedges has turned into a sheen of shining ribbon in the late afternoon sunlight. It is rather cold while painting outdoor at the end of the day.

Walking her dog

Hoarfrost has turned view outside into a winter wonderland today. Sketched this view from our living room window.

On a sunny but cold morning

It is absolutely beautiful outside when I get up this morning and step outside. Despite the biting coldness, I set up my easel outside trying to capture the fleeting moment. It is minus 28 Celsius , and half an hour later, my oil paint starts to freeze. However, I manage to finish this 16" by 20" before I am almost  frozen !

Shall I call it a night before Christmas?

A quick oil sketch after supper of a view outsider when the Christmas lights of our neighbors across the street were switched on.

A window view on a cloudy and snowy morning

It is so quiet in the morning when the flakes of snow are falling silently outside. The room is suddenly lit up when I draw across the curtain. Standing by the window looking outside, I can feel a sense of serenity and peace in me that is so palpable and tangible.

When the street light is on

What seems to be such a mundane view outside is suddenly transfigured into something quick magic when the street light is on. Pulling up the bedroom curtain in the evening, and with the help of a flash light , I set up my easel in the bedroom and paint what I see on  a silent winter night .

Snow-covered hedges along our driveway

Well, it is dark outside and cloudy as well. An empty driveway with two garbage bins flanked by the snow-covered hedges is my subject of a quick oil sketch after supper.

Snow-covered hedges on a dark and cloudy afternoon

It is dark and cloudy when I start this quick oil sketch standing in our backyard before supper.

A glimpse out of the door at noon

It is  finally not that cold today. Come home for lunch from school, and after a quick lunch, I  spend half an hour doing this quick oil sketch standing at the door. It is brightly sunny, and dazzling outside. Sarah is coming home this afternoon by train!

Snow-covered junipers in our backyard

Again way too cold to paint outdoor. It was dark and cloudy in the afternoon. Did this quick oil sketch of the snow-covered junipers in our backyard looking out of Sarah's bedroom window before supper. It took me 20 minutes to finish this 9"x12" canvas in time to watch my favorite show Jeopardy.

Snow-covered hedges in late afternoon sunlight viewed from a bedroom window

Simply impossible to paint outdoor today with temperature plummeted 40 below with wind chill. Did this quick oil sketch looking out of Sarah's bedroom window. The year is coming to an end. She is coming home soon for the holidays

A window view on a typical Manitoban front yard of an appartment building

Nothing exciting but quite typical of a view through a window of an apartment building in the morning.

A window in the afternoon

Snow-covered hedges and flowerbed in our backyard is the third painting finished before supper today.

The moment when the sun coming out of the clouds

I must be insane to paint outdoor in 30 below! Yet, when the sun breaks out of the clouds early in the afternoon. Nothing can stop me! My oil paint has frozen solid before I could finish.

A window view in the morning

It was cloudy and snowy outside.Painted it through the window.

Before the sunset

It was really cold outside, yet the fading light of the day had such a warm rosy wash over the winter sky just so appealing to me.

A window view on a sunny but cold winter morning

It is indeed hard to ignore the light and color from a snow-covered landscape. Instead of a turquoise expanse of ocean, what unfolds in front of me will be a white expanse of snow now . I am always held in awe by how the light and shadow waltz together over the sunny snow field. Winter, despite of its cold bite, has its own visual spectacle.

Waking up to a wintry reality

Came back from Maui, Hawaii last night to face the cold Prairie winter again. However, the color and light of winter is hard to ignore. Bundled up I set up easel outside on our driveway and did a quick oil sketch.

Sunrise over Napili Bay

It is time to say goodbye to Maui, and in less than two days , we will have to say goodbye to our friends as well. I come to this spot early in the morning when the sun is rising over the bay. The light was dazzling making it so hard for me to open my eyes to see. I rush through my painting to make it home in time for breakfast.

Stretching out for the sun

  The tropical trees with big pink and white blossoms are  elegantly stretching their limbs in the sunlight from close to the doorway at our condos. While sitting there, waiting for the wedding party, I did a quick oil sketch  looking  at their beautiful profiles.

Moon in the sky from the Napili Bay in the early morning

What a sight to see! The moon is so visible high up in the sky early in the morning when the clouds are lit by the early morning sunlight,  when the Molicai Island in the distance is wearing a veil of morning blush, and when the emerald green sheen of ocean waves are crashing against the rocky shore of Napili Bay.

A canopy of trees

The sunlight was fading quickly when  I started to paint this view standing at the front of our condo. The few big trees forming an impressive canopy are the first to greet the vacationers who come to stay at the Outrigger Napili Shore resort.

Another view of the ocean front

After lunch at the Mirkovics I stayed to paint this view right in front of their condo. It was quite hot today and a few minutes into the painting I could feel the strain on my eyes with the glaring sunlight. Yet the visible Molicai island in the distance , the turquoise blue ocean, and the popular Gazebo restaurant, and the soaring palm trees all seemed to claim their voices in front of me.

Napili Bay at noon

Return to the beach before lunch. The Molicai island with its mountain is clearly visible in the distance under the  blue sky. Waves after waves of turquoise jade of water crashing against the rugged shore. The sound and the view are certainly so enticing that I can not possibly leave this spot without putting what I see onto my canvas.

Napili Bay in the morning

Early in the morning I come to the beach with my easel. It is so beautiful to see the morning sunlight shining through the coconut trees lighting up the beach and the ocean.

A view of Kapalua Bay with Merryman's restarant in the distance

Tatjana and Duncan's wedding is the reason that we all come to gather on this beautiful island. This morning after a few minutes walk we find ourselves at this beautiful location where their wedding ceremony will be hold on Friday. With Merryman's restaurant in the distance and with the beautiful Kapalua Bay unfolding in front of my eyes, I find myself a spot with my easel. It is quite hot standing in the sun with strong light glaring from the sky and ocean beach which makes painting  of this view a bit difficult. However,  the stunning view with the emerald green sweep of the ocean waves and cheerfulness of the human activities on the beach provides such a feast to my eyes that I do not feel tired at all. It is with such a reluctance that I have to pack up and leave the spot for our base at the Outrigger Napili Shore. This painting is specially painted obviously for Tatjana and Duncan as a memory I hope of where their life long journey officially starts on this beautiful island of Maui. May their life long journey together be filled with ever lasting joy and happiness.

A view from where we stay

This is the view that will unfold in front of us each day as we step out of our condo and start to walk down to the ocean front. With the coconut trees soaring into blue sky, and with a glimpse of the azure blue ocean and distant Molokai mountain  I paint this view this morning before Tatjana and Duncan will come to take us to their wedding location.