Another view from across the street in the afternoon

Another view from across the street in the afternoon from my driveway.

Looking across the street in late afternoon

A quick oil sketch from Maureen's front yard looking across the street.

From our backyard in the late afternoon

The little ash tree from Dad's backyard turned vibrantly yellow in the late afternoon sun!

A quick sketch of our house on Balmoral Bay

A beautiful moment in the fall when the trees on the northern side of our house are in the full autumn color!

Fall colour from our backyard

Did one more oil sketch in late in the afternoon when the full sunlight was on the autumn foliage of the trees in the backyard.

A house draped with autumn foliage

This house tucked away quietly on the side of the street on the east end of the town seemed to be quite unassuming until you approached it when you start to see its hidden surprises.

A window view from our bedroom earl in the morning

What a beautiful autumn morning !when I pulled up the curtain and looked out of the window from our bedroom!

Ablaze with color on Elmdale

Came to the street of Elmdale to paint this beautiful house at the most beautiful time of the year. Noticed that all the streets in this part of Brandon have different species of trees in their names. Elmdale truly lives to its name especially at this time of year when all the elm trees lining up along the street are ablaze with golden colour.

Balmoral Bay on autumn morning

A quick oil sketch of Balmoral Bay in the morning when the full sunlight was on the two big trees turning golden yellow across the street.

Looking over the hedges

A glimpse over the hedges along our driveway.

Catching the last light

Another quick oil sketch of petunia and geranium catching the last light from our patio.

Turning colour for the season

A quick oil sketch of the Virginia creeper turning red in late afternoon sun.

Walking the dog

A quick oil sketch of the view across the street when a little girl with her dog strolled into my view.

A glimpse over the hedges on a cloudy fall afternoon

A quick oil sketch of the wooded spot over the hedges on a cloudy fall afternoon.

In the diffused afternoon light

The sun was barely visible in the dome of the sky when I did this quick oil sketch from our backyard.

Our car on the driveway in late afternoon sun

A quick oil sketch of our car on the driveway in front of our house steeped in late afternoon sunlight.

Back to paint the Park Theater Again

It was still cold and cloudy as we came to the park theater early in the afternoon. Of all the buildings in the park, this one is so much more associated with Clear lake summer experience in many people's memory.

Painting a cottage on the north shore of Clear lake of Riding Mountain National Park

What could be more intoxicating of an experience as we drove our car onto the beautiful seclusive aspen lined north shore road of Clear lake in the drizzle of autumn rain, Schubert's Fantasy for violin and piano in c major came to the air on CBC radio 2 Saturday morning !  I just felt choked up with tear as we drove our way to the cottage I was about to paint in the morning.

Red roses for Ping

It is Fengping's 49th birthday today. Of the four score and 9 years of her life, two score and seven years  of it she spend as my wife, not a east task ! Bought a bouquet of roses for her, and did a quick oil sketch of the roses in the evening.

The lone poplar tree in the back alley

Standing in the quiet and cozy spot , facing the late afternoon sunlight , and painting what I feel about what I see in front of me is always such a delicious experience for me.

Looking over the hedges late in the afternoon

A quick oil sketch of a glimpse of our next-door neighbor's backyard in late afternoon sunlight.

A Full moon on Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival night

The full moon on this special Mid-Autumn festival night back in China must have been admired with full poetic adulation by millions of Chinese as it has always been since time immemorial.  Looking out of the window , I can not help but filling myself with poetic sentiments as well on this special occasion: Of thousands of classical Chinese poems , the most well known and the most quoted has to be the one  by Song Dynasty poet Su Shi who thus wrote "明月几时有，把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。我欲乘风归去,又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒，起舞弄清影，何似在人间。转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。不应有恨，何事长向别时圆。人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。"

When will the moon be clear and bright?

With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.

I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.

I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.

Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.Dancing with my moon-lit shadow

It does not seem like the human world

The moon rounds the red mansion 

Stoops to silk-pad doors

Shines upon the sleepless 

Bearing no grudge

Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?

People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart

The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane

This has been going on since the beginning of time

May we all be blessed with longevity

Though far apart,

We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together."  

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A view from our backyard in the receding sunlight

Another quick oil sketch from our backyard in the receding sunlight .

In the fading sunlight from our front yard

A quick oil sketch from our front yard when the last light was fading away.

Standing on the bank of Assiniboine River in Brandon Dinsdale Park

This is my first time to paint on this location for this year as this particular location was flooded in spring and was not accessible for a quite a few months. It is so nice to be able to come to this spot to enjoy the  last beautiful summer like weather.

When the street was lit by the morning sunlight

A quick oil sketch from our front yard early in the morning when the street was lit by early morning sunlight.

Balmoral Bay in the last light

A quick oil sketch from Balmoral Bay when the last light of the day was fading away.

A corner of our backyard

A quick oil sketch against late afternoon sunlight from our backyard

A vista over Ominnk Marsh at Riding Mountain National Park

Standing at a look out , I set up my easel to paint this sweeping view of Ominnk Marsh at Riding Mountain National Park. Left this spot reluctantly knowing that summer was coming to an end , and had to go back to my old monotonous  daily routine again.

Aspens at Elkhorn Resort

O aspens !  No words could describe the joy at the sight of aspens especially at this time of the year when their leaves started to change color. Painted this view of a grove of aspens  when they were steeped in the warm hue of late afternoon sunlight.

Horses with saddles on Elkhorn Range

Came with my easel to paint the horses standing there waiting with saddles on their backs. A very exciting and also unpredictable painting experience !

A very impressive cottage on Grey Owl Estate

Painted this impressive cottage on Grey Owl in the afternoon. High above the ground level and nestled among the soaring aspens, the cottage blends so well with the natural surrounding and seems to float amid a sea of green foliage.

Horses on the range at Elkhorn Resort

The sun started to break out of the clouds when I reached this location where horses are grazing on the range of Elhorn Resort ,  a quite beautiful pastoral scene.

A grove of aspens on a rainy cloudy morning

Stepped right out in the drizzle of rain I painted this grove of aspens on Elkhorn resort where we stayed with David and Ann for a beautiful long weekend.

A cottage on Wasagaming Drive

A cottage on Wasagaming Drive tucked away in a wood  of pines stands there silently to face the late afternoon sunlight.

A morning view from the 9th hole of Clear Lake Golf Course

David and Ann invited us to spend the long weekend with them at Elkhorn Resort. I drove to Clear lake ahead of them on Friday morning, and painted from the top of Clear Lake Golf Course, a glimpse of the lake shimmering in the distance below through the gaps of a grove of aspens.

A house with so much memory

So much of my early memory in Brandon is linked to this heritage house on Lorne Avenue of Brandon. As I was standing there painting , it all came back to me.

A sunny window view in the morning

No doubt, the fall is here. Looking out of the window early in the morning , I set up my easel and painted this view .