A glimpse from our doorway into our front yard at 11 a.m.

Clear blue morning sky

What a clear blue morning sky! when the sunlight started to  reach the top of the trees and the walls of our neighbours' houses.

Winter morning sunrise

No matter how many times I have painted this view from the window, the moment when the sun rises always captivates me as if I had cast my sight on it for the first time in my life.

A glimpse out of the window at noon

Had to get the car plugged in after getting it back from the shop where it is repaired for a broken starter, a 450 dollar cost!

In the late afternoon sun

Not much of snow left on the hedges due to a few warm days last week. It looks deceptively warm outside when the warm sunlight lit up the late afternoon sky.

Snow-covered

A quick oil sketch of snow glaring in the afternoon sun in our backyard

A view form our front yard at 2 p.m.

The magic touch of sunlight in winter turns everything mundane into something so surreal in just a matter of a few seconds early in the afternoon while I am standing here with a pochade box in hand trying to capture that magic moment and yet feeling so feeble handed.

A view form our patio at 12 p.m.

A view from our bedroom window at 11 a.m.

Waking up to a beautiful sunny morning

It is sunny and beautiful this morning but there was a bit of snow fall over night apparently for out car is covered with snow.

A quick sketch of Fengping at the table wearing a kind of Chinese Muslim style skull cap

A quick oil sketch of Fengping wearing a kind of Chinese Muslim style skull cap which she brought back way back in 2001 from Western China where Muslim women used to wear this kind of cap while doing their household chores. She is down with cold today with a sore throat and is at the table  reading Chinese novel again on intent.

Snow, snow everywhere

Snowy and cloudy again but warm enough to allow me to paint outdoor. Painted this quick sketch to give you  a sense of how much snow have accumulated on our front yard.

Cleaning up in the kitchen

Standing on a chair and still in her pajamas, Fengping started to clean up the cabinets in the kitchen the first thing in the morning after we got up on Saturday.

Looking across the street in late afternoon

Another beautiful sunny and warm afternoon when I could go outside and paint to my heart's content.

A view on Balmoral Bay on a winter afternoon

Warm enough to allow me to paint outdoor today. Just so enjoy this time of the day when the warm sunlight cast every object in rosy hues. Two little girls delivering fliers  passed by and walked into distant sunny spot.

It is time to watch Jeopardy

Sitting on the couch with a pochade box in hand watching Jeopardy game on TV I did this quick oil sketch. It was windy and snowy outside.

Quiet at night when the street light is on

It was getting dark , cold and snowy late in the evening. The sense of thick  darkness of the winter night is suddenly relieved when the street light was on.

Sunny winter afternoon

On a winter night

A glimpse into the corner of our backyard in late afternoon

Taking another look out of the window at 3 p.m

Looking out of the window , saw this gentleman with his big dog walking by again. It was cold despite the sunny appearance of the day.

When the sun rises early on a winter morning

A glimpse out of the living room window

An incomplete oil sketch of the window view of our car on the driveway early Saturday afternoon. Sunny but extremely cold.

Early morning reading on internet

A quick oil sketch of Fengping reading on Internet still in her pajama.

Just when a snow storm seemed to be inevitable, the sun came out bright and shining again. However just when you think it would be sunny and beautiful for the rest of the afternoon, then it turned dark and cloudy again. It was a beautiful and sunny azure sky when I started this painting  in our front yard, and just about half an hour into the painting, a strong gust of wind  with blowing snow changed everything in front of me into a bleak wintry view again.

A gust of wind came suddenly and instantly the weather started to change ; it became cloudy again and snow flakes started to fall. Very strange weather!

In the warm winter sunlight

Sunny morning

As I was painting this view at the doorway, the sun came out of the clouds. Finally a warm and sunny day. What a relief !

Another snowy day

Cloudy and snowy