Snowy but sunny , a view from our door in late afternoon

Trying to rush against the fast fading light , I did this quick acrylic sketch standing at the door.

Our backyard transformed by the first fall of snow

It is a marvel that snow could  visually transfigure anything so mundane into something so ethereal!  To quote British  author J. B Prestley ,"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? " 

After the first snow when the sun started to come out of the clouds

Nothing visually is more exciting than the first snow lit up by the warm wash of slanting sun in the wintry sky. Standing on our front yard to paint this visual experience  is ecstasy at its most intense moment,  it is a pure surge of joy through the deep core of my heart, and it is almost  as good as a visual metaphysical encounter with the realm of god. The  world around me ironically seems to have vanished  leaving behind just my pounding heart at the first sight  of something as if I have never encountered in my life!

First snow in the morning

A wintry prelude

Fengping making supper

On a foggy morning

What a foggy morning, upon opening my door, I saw! I had only 20 minutes to spare before going to work in the morning. Quickly I set up my easel at the door, painting with my heart still in aw! 15 minutes of a quick acrylic sketch for the day.

In the last light

With the change of summer time into winter time, I am deprived an hour of day light opportunity to paint now after work. Had to do my best to waste no time to paint whatever came to my eyes. The last garbage bag of fallen leaves leaning against the leafless hedges in the last glow of the day was my subject for today. 

An Ukrainian authodox church in Brandon

was driving around with CBC Radio 2 on, trying to find some view to paint. CBC was playing one of Rachmaninoff piano concertos when I suddenly found myself in front of this church on the northern part of Brandon, and decided to do a quick oil sketch of it.

Towards evening in the last glow of slanting sunlight

O, I just could not stop painting trying to savor every moment of what could  be very likely the last warm weekend for this year! A quick oil sketch of the view from the northern side of our house with our shed and hedges and the big poplar tree lit up by the last glow of the day.

Looking across the front yard at noon

A warm finale of Autumn

What a beautiful morning. If this is the finale of an autumn, it must be a triumphantly jubilant one. I can feel the warm sunlight washing  over me while standing painting in our front yard this morning.

The back alley on Balmoral Bay with the old willow trees

A glimpse of the back alley on Balmoral Bay. Still quite warm. Can feel the warm afternoon sun beating down my neck while standing there painting this view in acrylic this afternoon.

Our empty patio

How quickly another year is reaching its finale! The empty table with empty flower pots standing on the empty patio in fading afternoon sunlight always makes one feel a little bit  melancholy somehow. A quick acrylic sketch for today.

In the fast fading light

In a blink of an eye, the light faded away, leaving darkness and shadow behind. A quick acrylic sketch from the bedroom window.

In the last glow of the day

Standing on the path leading from Balmoral Bay to Macleod Drive, I am captivated by the warm glow of the color of the hedges in the sun. A quick acrylic sketch for the day.

In the receding sunlight at a back alley on Balmoral Bay

It was such a joy to paint this view standing in the  warm sunlight even though it was already in November. A quick acrylic sketch before sunset.

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.