it's SUMMERTIME!

i can't believe it's been over a month since i've posted.

And the strange thing is -

I feel like I don't have much to say.

But I at least wanted to post something

to let you all know i'm still alive. :)

I just finished working last Thursday,

and it still hasn't sunk in.

The past weeks (months?)

have been a whirlwind.

My older brother Paul visited here

over the past few weeks -

he just went back home to Western Canada 

a few days ago -

and my younger brother Rick (& family)

arrive today for a little vacation,

so we've been busy doing "summer stuff"!

I suspect once everyone's gone

and the house is quiet again -

my heart will flutter at the thought

of NOT having to wake up

at 6am to go to work

and at having so much more time

to play with my paints

in my beloved blue room.

Very little art these days...
There are music festivals all around us
and there are beaches
and tourists
and take-outs
and kayaking
and strawberry picking
and swimming in the ocean,
so i usually spend less time in my blue room
come summertime.

 ...but i must say,
i am almost looking forward
to a few rainy days.
We've had a heat wave here
over the past week or so
and unless you're in air conditioning
or in the water,
it's very uncomfortable & sticky.
We went to the outdoor market last Sunday
and there was a man sitting next to me
talking about how comfortable the temperature was.
We were dying of heat.
He was from Brazil.
His mother was wearing a sweater.
If it was legal to be naked,
i would have been naked,
that's how hot it was.
All about perspective, isn't it?

I did a few quick 'contour' drawings.
I love doing these.
I find a photo on-line (mugshots are always so intense)
and I place my pen on the paper where I want to start
and try NOT to look at my paper
while I'm drawing.
I just look at the photo while I'm drawing.
It's a guessing game 
and you never know what it's gonna look like in the end.
It's always a surprise.
I live for cheap thrills these days.
(giggle)...

I took this photo (below) while we were driving.

Yes, i was a passenger.

The sun was just setting on the tree tops

and with the huge field of green grass...

pretty.

A quick little sketch when i only had a few minutes...

Another quick little sketch on a post it note,
of my dad's dog, Fluffy.

And this...
an old photo of my brother Paul and I,
at my grandmother's house.
I was about 6 I think,
and he was 10.
He does NOT seem too impressed with the fish. :)
We looked at old photos while he was here
and this one cracked me up.

Well, that's it for now folks.
Thanks for being here
during this "slow summer season"...
and hopefully for understanding
that if I'm not posting as often as I used to,
it's because i'm soaking in the summer season
and taking it all in while I can. 
I'll be back with more consistent posts
soon enough.
In the meantime, ENJOY whatever you're doing,
wherever you are in the world
and don't let
another person's misery or hatred
become your own.
xx