Over the hedges by the driveway

What a difference a day makes! Most of the leaves are gone now,silhouetting  bare branches of the trees  against the blue sky.

Colors of the season

A quick oil sketch of the two poplars soaring into the blue sky with their golden yellow foliage over the hedges. It was deep in the fall now , and it might just take  a day or two before all the leaves were gone.

In the full sunlight

A glimpse from our backyard where everything in sight was steeped in full sunlight.

Full fall color from our backyard

I could not conceal my excitement over the colors of the trees over the hedges at noon . How magnificent!

A glimpse from our bedroom window in the morning

Pulled up the curtain to have my eyes dazzled by the bright sunlit foliage of the elm trees in front of our house , and by the sunny surface of the lawn and the street of Balmoral Bay.

A window view

A quick oil sketch before the light faded away completely from the sky.

In the receding sunlight of late afternoon

The vibrant color of the trees in the late afternoon sunlight  makes my feeble attempt so pale and weak in comparison.

Sunshine Bright over a back lane

Numerous paintings have been painted at this favorite spot of mine over the past 7 years. Yet, it still dazzles me filling me with a sense of inadequacy in the face of nature's brilliant pallet .

On a foggy morning

Early in the morning before sun came out it was very foggy making the window view very enticing to my brush. Could not go back to sleep. Setting up my easel right  away, I brushed away at my easel.

Clear Lake revisited

I was really tired by the time the 3rd painting was completed. It was already past 4 p.m. when the receding sunlight hit the lake front foliage of elm trees. I could not tear myself away from this fantastic view, tired as I was from standing painting nonstop for 7 hours.

Clear Lake revisited

A gentleman from Brandon came to talk to me while I was working on my second painting in front of the information centre. He asked  me for a painting of the tennis court off the beautiful path along the lake front. I came to the court to paint when it was already  late in the afternoon . It was so quiet there and,  a young couple were  playing with their cheerful voice echoing over the park. Certainly a beautiful and memorable moment !

Clear Lake revisited

It was already around 12 pm when I finished the first painting , and the sun was shing so brightly overhead . Turning around, I did a quick oil sketch of part of the information centre of the park.

Clear Lake revisited

Early Saturday morning we drove to Clear Lake. What a beautiful drive at this time of the year! It was so quite all along the high way , and there was not much of a traffic , and we had the pleasure of feeling as if the view all around us with its fantastic fall colors were all there for us alone to enjoy! We met Dave and Ann at Elkhorn Range who stayed there for the week , and together we drove to the lake.  I painted right away the first view that caught my eyes , excited by the vibrant Gorden yellow color of the foliage of the birch tree.

In the bright sunlight

Came back to the same spot where I started the first painting in the morning. However, the view changed completely by now with the full sunlight on the foliage, and the sun starting to move close  over the horizon .

Sunny afternoon in Dinsdale Park

The view from the park changed dramatically when the sun was shining in the  deep blue sky.

Another view from the same location

The thick fog had dissipated by the time I started the second painting , and the sunlight started to break out of the clouds.

Assiniboine River on a foggy morning

On Cultures Day Canada today , I came early this morning to Dinsdale Park to give whoever comes here a free workshop on how to do plein air painting as part of the whole Canada wide activities. As I set up my easel,the thick fog started  to dissipate but I stayed with the  initial impression of the view.

From our driveway

Wet and cold, I stood on our driveway to paint the view from the northern side of our house.

In the rain

With the help of an umbrella, I did this oil sketch in the drizzle of rain.

Cold , rainy and cloudy

The vibrant color of the tree  stood out against an otherwise rather gloomy sky. Sitting on our patio, and using the back of a chair as an easel , I did this quick oil sketch before supper. I will start my first painting class tonight at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba. It is always a joy to share the joy of painting with people who have the same passion and desire.

Ablaze with colors

Always find it amazing that few groves of the trees tucked behind the hedges in the back alley could have such mesmerizing power at this time of the year. It was a bit cloudy today when I started this oil sketch, however, half way through it, the sun came out briefly and the view was just amazing!

Suddenly the sun came out only briefly

After supper, Fengping drove out for an evening meeting. All of a sudden, the rain stopped , and the sun came out of the clouds lighting up everything in its path. A quick oil sketch  before the sun disappeared behind the thick clouds.

From our living room window again

It was again raining heavily today. Could not go outside painting. Could not tear myself away from  the window view . A quick oil sketch for today before supper.

Another impressive house on 22nd Street and Louise Avenue

Becky Sketching at Green Spots Garden Centre

A quick oil sketch of Becky sketching in water color at Green Spots Garden Centre on the occasion of Art Works Show and Sale. Becky is passionate plein air water colorist as well as a  professional violinist . I had to say sorry to her for not being able to do justice to her due to limited time I had doing this oil sketch of her painting the other artist whose works were also displayed there, and who was taking a picture of me painting Becky at  exactely the same moment!

A house to remember

The colors of the season

What a treat to paint at this time of the year ! Nothing could beat the nature's palette ablaze with its inexhaustible resource of  rich colors. A quick oil sketch before heading out for dinner again.

Reading

Fengping started to knit a sweater for me today on her birthday by reading a "how to"book with variety of patterns and designs ,which she brought to Canada with her 15 years ago. A quick oil sketch of her reading in the dim light on the couch.

From our living room window

Listening to the drizzle of the rain in the fall is a very mesmerizing experience. I also somehow so enjoy looking at the surface of our driveway simmering in the rain. It was raining heavily today. Could not go outside painting.   A quick oil sketch for today before heading our for dinner with Fengping to mark her birthday.

From around the corner of our house

There is somehow a sense of expectancy when you look at the corner of a house, expecting any moment the arrival of an unexpected visitor. It was cold and cloudy when I painted this view before supper.

A corner of our patio

The dangering Virginia creepers have changed color , dazzling in the warm afternoon sun. I enjoy looking at the shadow pattern on the wall savoring the special moment of the season.

Backyard Again

There is always a sense of reluctance lingering in the air by this time of the year. Reluctant to see summer gone ? or reluctant to prepare oneself for going back to the old daily routine? or reluctant to see the fading away of even your own summer garden?

From our front yard

The street in front  glared in the sun with trees starting to change colors. I could sense the sudden passage of time sweeping over me . Could not believe that it was already in the thick of the fall when I still could feel the tangible hot and humid summer air in my face back in China. It was 9 years ago today when two passenger planes flew into New Yorker's World Trade Centers.  A defining moment in the history of the world ; life from that moment on would never be the same again.

From our backyard

So many days have passed before I pick up my brush again! I have not had such a long break yet from painting on a daily basis. Came back from China early September after almost three month stay there over the summer. Each trip back to Canada from China will somehow dilute  my sense of having my home here a bit. It is always hard to say goodbye to your aged parents, leaving them behind and, not knowing if you could see them again. They are the only reason we just can not  sever our emotional ties yet to that distant land with so much of our memory which , though dimmed with time but constantly refreshed by  our visits back.Today I found myself standing in the backyard in the warm autumn sun as if trying to regain my sense of home. Backyard is a kind of metaphor for our sense of being at home , for being at ease with your own self, for accessing a retreat to a comfort zone. We all need a backyard to go back to in our life. The color started to turn with the approaching of the fall season. I felt myself enveloped by peace and serenity , and all of a sudden the din of the boisterous way of daily life of China started to fade away.