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 .

A pot of petunia back lit by late afternoon sunlight

A quick oil sketch of the two pots of flowers back lit by late afternoon sunlight.

Late blooming

The roses are blooming again when leaves are falling from trees.

Sign of autumn

 An accumulation of fallen leaves , a sign of autumn.

Downtown Brandon-- a view on the 10th Street

Came to this part of Downtown Brandon in the morning to paint. This block of street had been closed down to traffic for a while due to the collapsing of the roof of one of the building on the street. Now not only is it reopen to the traffic but also  there is a new traffic configuration which allow so much more free parking space on the street! I personally enjoy it since it allows me to paint on the street without worrying so much over feeding the parking meter with coins every now and then.

A wedding ceremony at the International Peace Garden

Today is our  27th anniversary. We decided to do something special by driving all the way to Peace Garden where we last visited in 2002. It just happened that as soon as I set up my easel right on the demarcation line dividing Canada and the United States of America, I realized that there was going to be a wedding ceremony of a young American couple from North Dakota right in front of me!   What can be more fitting to paint a new wedding ceremony to mark incidentally our own 27th anniversary. 27 years ago tonight , we got married ten- thousands of miles away  in a most remote and isolated northwestern part of China close to the then China and Soviet Russia border. We could have never dreamed that 27 years later we would be in a totally different part of the world on a most peaceful and  most beautiful border ! Hope I have captured the most essential part of the ceremony where the couple stands there sharing their wedding vow, with the priest officiating, a lone guitarist playing Pachebell's canon, and family and friends sitting behind sharing the joy of the moment.

From the new campus of Assiniboine Community College

Obtained a special permission to paint on this ground today. Tucking  myself in the shade  of big old oaks trees with the set up of my easel,  I was able to capture the moment when late afternoon sunlight was pouring over the facade of the old and new building complex of what is now Len Evan's Trade and Technology Building.

An Aspen wood steeped in early morning sunlight from the Loon Island of Lake Katherine

Standing alone at this beautiful location; looking at the aspen wood steeped in early morning sunlight , and listening to the hauntingly beautiful distant calls from loons on Lake Katherine, I just felt a surge of joy gushing through my heart.

Noon hour at the main beach of Clear Lake of Riding Mountain National Park

What a wonderful day in many senses it is today! I drove over to Clear Lake again from Brandon in the morning. I located the cottage I was commissioned to paint , and to my pleasant surprise, I realized that this happened to be the cottage where the world famous violinist James Ehnes was staying for the annual Clear lake Chamber Music Festival where he gives performance. I felt so honored to be able to paint this beautiful cottage right on the lake. Around noon hour I stopped by the main beach after a short visit at Wasagaming Community Arts Centre where my show the Light and Colour of Summer Clear lake was still on, I set up my easel there near the path and started to paint.  Before supper I got back to my dear friends Jan and Alicja's cottage to have supper with them. Sitting and chatting with them on their deck surround by soaring aspens on a beautiful day like this , I felt myself on the edge of paradise. After supper I went to the second concert of Clear Lake Music Festival with Jan and Allicja where they volunteer every year and where every year Jan donates his beautiufl digital art prints for fund raising for the event. This year I have the honor to donate a few of my paintings to the event as well. The second concert tonight again showcases the  world famous violinist James Ehnes as well as the pianist and B.U music professor Alexander Tselyakov and also his most talent young son Daniel Tselyakov. From Johann Sebastian Bach , Haydn to Shostakovich , the audience indulged themselves in the lavishing beauty of classical music and the rare moment when you can meet and chat in person with the most talented world famous performers.