Looking across the front yards

The sun was barely visible at noon , but soon started to break out of the clouds. The two small elms were stretching out their graceful limbs into a wintry sky. A quick acrylic sketch at noon before heading for my shift at 2:00 p.m.

On Halloween Eve

A quick acrylic sketch on the dark and cloudy night when the warm street lights washed over the empty driveway and the hedges as if echoing the few bright lights from the windows across the street.

Winter prelude

Cold and wet, I could feel the winter in the air when I set up my easel painting this view of Balmoral Bay in the morning.

Prelude to winter

Upon opening the door this morning, I saw there was a thin accumulation of snow on the roofs and ground from over the night. A quick acrylic sketch before breakfast.

When the street light is on

Steeped in the warm sunlight

A backyard steeped in warm sunlight is such a delightful sight after two days of continuous rain and cold wind. A quick acrylic sketch before supper.

A glimpse of our backyard on another bleak day

O, another bleak day brooding over snow, at least it seems to be. A quick acrylic sketch for the day.

Prelude to the first snow fall of the year!

The first snow fall is on the way now and will reach us tonight. You can tell winter is just around the corner. A quick acrylic sketch for today at the doorway before supper.

Prelude to the first snow fall of the year!

Cold and windy and rainy all day long. Definitely snow fall was on the way! A quick acrylic sketch through the window.

A glimpse of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Brandon

Caught a glimpse of the Ukrainian Catholic church of Brandon from the pedestrian ramp of the old 8th Street in Downtown Brandon. Definitely would come back to the same spot to paint again.

My cup of tea

I call it my cup of tea. An acrylic sketch of the still life set up intending it for the upcoming art auction event The Mad Hatter's ARtea and Partea presented by the Art Gallery of southwestern Manitoba on Saturday November 13 from 2 PM to 4 PM. 

A glimpse of our backyard from behind the hedges

A quick acrylic sketch from the other side of the hedges in late afternoon.

A glimpse of our neighborhood through our window in the morning

Could not go back to sleep on Saturday morning. Pulled up the curtain revealing a beautiful quiet morning; start of another beautiful fall day with a  gentleman passing by with his dog. A quick acrylic sketch.

Full moon night

It will be another full moon night today. It is  an ethereal  beautiful sight when it starts to climb up to the dome of the night sky before the last rays of sunlight recedes. A quick acrylic sketch from the window.

A piece of Brandon History

This house standing on the corner of 13th Street and Lorne Avenue of Brandon certainly is a witness  to the growth of Brandon as city. Personally, it always reminds me of my early days in Brandon when I first moved over from China to Brandon almost 20 years ago. The current owner invested lots of time and money into the renovation of it trying to restore it to its original glory. Hope this landmark of Brandon will forever be part of Brandon urban landscape.

Upon opening the door in the morning

Really exciting to see the warm sunlight pouring in upon opening the front door in the morning. A quick acrylic sketch of what I saw.

A glimpse from our backyard in late afternoon

Flower bed in the receding sunlight

A quick acrylic sketch of the flowerbed in the receding sunlight in the backyard before supper.

A view over the hedges

A quick acrylic sketch of the wooded spot behind the hedges when most of the leaves are gone.

A window view before supper

A quick acrylic sketch before supper when light started to fade quickly.

Moon is rising

Upon opening the front door, the sight of the rising moon is simply so beautiful that I could not let it pass. Setting up my easel at the door and with the help of a flashlight again, I did a quick acrylic sketch of what I saw

Another view from the same spot

Just by  moving my easel a bit , I painted another oil sketch of the quiet street where bagged leaves and pumpkins on the front yard seemed to be waiting for the light and dancing steps of trick-o treat kids.

Balmoral Bay in the afternoon

Though painted this view countless times, standing at this spot I was still captivated by what I saw at the moment: a view of a quiet neighborhood in a quiet afternoon  with a lady walking her dog, and with fallen leaves piled up ready to be bagged .

A glimpse of Rideau Street of Brandon

After the first oil sketch done, I found myself standing on Rideau Street and Lorne Avenue, really captivated by the unique view of the street which goes so steeply down. I can imagine how many kids from this neighborhood must have so much fond memory of it in winter from their childhood years. The wind was getting really bad when I was in midst of painting, and when I was just about to finish , a strong gust of wind  tumbled my easel sending everything in big mess.

Brandon Rideau Park in the morning

Today is 29th  International Sketch Crawl Day when people all over the world will gather in small groups  to go out sketching in whatever medium and as much as they can.  A few of us from Brandon met at Rideau Park in the morning to start the day. Due to windy condition, only three of us showed up,Becky Chinn  Curt Shoultz , and me. It was cold and windy when I started this oil sketch , and I had to hold the easel with one hand to keep it from being blown away. Nevertheless, it was quite an enjoyable experience to stand there to feel the fresh and ambient late Autumn

 air. 

Half Moon in the sky

In the gathering darkness, I did this quick acrylic sketch on our patio with the help of a flashlight, realizing it is my nephew , Andrew's 12th birthday, the first cycle of his life completed !

Another look over the hedge

It is late in the afternoon when the last light is full on the walls of the shed and garage of our neighbors. A quick acrylic sketch.

A glimpse across the bay

Across the street,  the yard are cleaned off the fallen leaves which are bagged as Halloween decorations now.

A quick look over the hedge in gathering dusk

Still weak with flu, I did this quick acrylic sketch standing on the patio.

Something familiar and plain.

Such a plain and mundane view which will not fetch a second glance from a passerby. However, standing on the path that lead from Cornwallis Crescent to the Cornall Bay, I was somehow attracted by what I saw today, and stopped to paint a quick oil sketch of the view of a neighborhood I walk though on a daily basis. 

On the warm Thanksgiving Day morning from our patio

Well, though it seems to be a cliche  to express your thankfulness to   many things in your life, Thanksgiving day does provides  each one of us a moment in our busy daily life when we should pause to examine ourselves to see how much we have taken for granted so many blessings we have received from the above. I have come down with a flu, and feel quite weak , yet the moment I stepped outside into the sun drenched patio, and felt the warm autumn sun , there was a surge of joy and gratitude deep through my heart.  A quick acrylic sketch from a corner of our patio on the warm Thanksgiving Day morning.

A moment before sunset

Another quick acyclic sketch from our backyard before the sunset.

From the quiet corner of a back yard

Always enjoy painting at this particular spot not because of any possible impressive view but for the  cozy and serene feel it always provides me. A quick acrylic sketch from a back alley on Balmoral Bay around lunch time.

In the last glow

A quick acrylic sketch of the window view when the light receded  quickly before the rosy hues in the sky dispersed with the intruding darkness of the night.

Balmoral Bay

Though most of the trees have shed their leaves by now, and the season has quickened its pace for its inevitable wintry descend, I really enjoy painting at this particular time of the year when nature presents its somber and dignified visage. A quick oil sketch of Balmoral Bay  on  a warm Saturday morning.

A glimpse of our backyard in the receding sunlight

A quick oil sketch of our patio in late afternoon sunlight before supper. It was exceptionally warm for this time of the year, and yet, still  it was simply a short prelude to the winter.

Autumn Sonata

Walking across the street , I set up my easel against the setting sun, and started to get ready to paint this view of trees back lit by late afternoon sunlight. There is something very autumnal about this view so typical of this time of the year.  Soon I was joined by Brandon Sun photographer Colin who came to take pictures of me painting as part of  his photo-journalist assignment of documenting a typical day of an ordinary Canadian life. Apparently all newspaper photographers are doing this all across Canada today!  It was simply so delicious to paint at this time of the year when it was still so warm. While painting, English poet John Keats' " Ode to Autumn" kept on intruding into my vision. Here it is which I still can recall from my deep memory, especially the last stanza 

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Looking across the street in the afternoon on Balmoral Bay

With intense afternoon sunlight on the walls of the four houses across the street in the afternoon, I did  this quick oil sketch standing on our driveway. The two big trees have shed all their leaves now,  and , will winter be far away?

Sunset moment

A quick oil sketch from our front yard when the foliage of the elm trees was lit up brightly by the receding sunlight before it  was engulfed by  the shadow of darkness.

Steeped in the sun

Can not believe that I am no longer in my 40s from today on. Yes, it is my 50th birthday today, and this is how I mark my birthday by setting up my easel painting exposing all my senses to the elements of the beautiful season. There is a sort of mellow sweetness about this season. Hope that likewise that sort of sweet mellowness will also be an element  in my life starting my 50s today.

A glimpse from our backyard again

By the time I finished the first painting, it was about 11 a.m. The golden foliage of the trees from the backyard silhouetted against the intense blue sky. It was such a joy to paint what was there in your presence when you could feel the season through every sense of yours.

In the early morning --- a glimpse from our front yard

Painted this view early in the morning when the sun started to climb up the autumn sky.

Our house on Balmoral Bay

Painted this view of our house from across the street early in the afternoon. Quickly get it done before setting up the table for our evening quests.

A cottage like house on the corner of Lorn Avenue and 22nd Street

Driving by this unique house on 22nd Street around noon, I stopped to paint though, distracted by a barking dog from a nearby house.

Late afternoon at Balmoral Bay

A beautiful sunny autumn afternoon at Balmoral Bay!