Pines to palms and back again

My internet connection was very limited last spring and I never got a chance to post this blog.  This blog post and the previous one as well have been stuck in my Draft for quite some time but I can post it now.


If you have followed my blogs for any length of time then you know that we split our year between two homes, one in Saskatchewan and one in Texas.  We are back in Saskathewan now and the transition from one place to the other was a little tougher on me than I remember.
ln Saskatchewan we are building a new home.  While the house is being built we live in "the shack" and though very comfy it lacks a few comforts like a bathroom and stove. We make do and its usually not that hard but its been a very cold spring, we woke up to minus temperatures this morning and it's May 7th.  So running out to the biffy and cooking outside is just no fun when you need to dress up in winter coats and mittens.  We have lots of firewood so aren't cold but have no motivation to go out into the chilly weather.

  I've been stuck inside and could easily be really bored and lonely but instead it has been a great time to get some painting done.

I can warm up the shack with the wood stove, spread my pens and paints over the kitchen table, make a pot of coffee and just disappear for hours at a time in my colours.

When I need some inspiration I often go to my tablet, browse through pinterest, etsy or the blogs that I follow.  I will end up seeing something that sparks my interest, maybe make a quick sketch of it, maybe even try painting it and this process more often than not, leads me into creating something new.

This is exactly what happened this past week.  I saw this amazing picture on facebook.

Then I made this drawing.

 

Then I put all those away and sat and thought about the colours and how fun they were.  I wanted to make something with lots of sunshine and the feeling of a warm summer day while I was stuck inside.

And so far I have painted 8 of these sunny farms.