Barn IV

Today I was in not in the mood to paint but I still wanted to do something, so I went through one of my files of sketches and pulled out this one that I did a couple of years ago (see post on 25 September 2013).

I remember it well, the run in shed had a tree growing out through its roof and a small barn beside it looked as though it would fall over in a strong wind. I need to go back and see if the building is still standing and how big the tree has grown.

Beginning with the leaning barn, I used the higher roof line, ran the lifted pieces of tin on the roof keeping them bent and twisted, changed the windows to a barn door, added a door to the hay loft, and removed a number of barn boards from the building.














I proceeded to do some work on the run in shed, starting with the tree growing through the roof, then I twisted the tin around it and bent the edges. I set the side door partially off its hinges showed the old dirt inside the shed and indicated the barn board on the building.

The big barn didn't need a lot of work, I fixed the roof line, added another lightning rod, put in the barn boards, some stonework at the base of the building added a vent hole at the top of the front of the barn.

Lastly I added a fence behind the big barn and another in front of the trees at the back of the pasture. I put some grasses and growies along the path from the barn.

This is an original 6-1/2" x 9” graphite pencil drawing available when matted and shrink wrapped for $50.00.

Seahorse 3

Today, as I was coming down from the loft of the main barn after throwing out hay for my horses; I saw my first swallows. A pair of barn swallows and a single tree swallow.

Hopefully, the warm weather we are currently enjoying will continue and that they will stay and nest in the barn or one of the nearby trees.

After breakfast, I thought I would like to do a drawing of a seahorse among some seaweed.

First I sketched in the seahorse, placing it slightly above the center of the paper.

Next, I started to add the strands of seaweed.

I began with the one I would have its tail wrap around.

Next, I added a couple more strands behind the seahorse.

Lastly, I added one more strand on the lower left side of the drawing.

Morning Sky

It is a beautiful, sunny day even though it started at 32F (0C) in the morning, the temperature quickly rose to a high of 62F (16.7C).

I wanted to complete this painting that I found in storage earlier this month. All that need to be done was to put in a few darks into the bottom of the closer shore and the reflections into the water.

Using a mixture of ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson I put the darks randomly onto the shoreline below the trees and just above the rocks.

From there I added a few darks into the light and mid tone reflections already in the water.

Lastly, I put a bird into the sky.

This original 16" x 20" acrylic painting when framed will be available for $375.00.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork. I hope you will return often.

Sunset Lake 1

As I was coming home from Lindsay, I could see the bottom end of Chemong Lake and I stopped on the shoulder of the road to do this little drawing of the lake with the islands.














It is something that perhaps I will develop into a full colour painting at a later time either in acrylic or watercolour.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Pat Harvey McCourt

I have posted the biography of another member of the Buckhorn Artists' Group, Pat Harvey McCourt to the blog as well as some samples of her artwork.

Playing in the Waves

It is not going to be one of the warmest days for close to the end of April with the morning starting off at 21F (-6.1) and the high of a balmy 49F (9.4C) but, at least it is supposed to be sunny most of the day.

After doing the barn chores and having breakfast I decided I would like to work on this sketch of Christine playing in the waves with a stick that I had started many years ago.

At that time I did a watercolour painting of her called "Christine on the Beach" (see post on 17 April 2011) from one of the other sketches.

I started working on Christine, beginning with her hair and gradually working my way down, next by putting in the facial features.

From there I put the clothes on her upper body.

This was followed by putting the details on her right arm.

Next, I wanted to get the lower part of her dress completed, showing all the folds created by the strong wind that was blowing that day.














Lastly, I drew in her legs and feet as well as the stick she was using in the water.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and look at the artwork.

Bright Reflections

The morning started off foggy and fairly warm, with temperature at 41F (5C) but by the afternoon the sun came out and the temperature rose once again to 62F (16.7C). All in all, a very pleasant day.

I decided that I would like to finish this painting that I had started a number of years ago and I just needed to put some ripples into the water in the foreground.























I started by putting the water rippling against the base of the rocks in the foreground using a mix of Titanium white, ultramarine blue and a touch of burnt sienna to grey it slightly.

Lastly, I added a few reflections of the sky colour into the water using white and cobalt blue in a few areas in the foreground.

This original 10" x 14" acrylic painting when framed will be available for $235.00.

OSWOA - Sewing Machine

I know it is supposed to be spring but when the day starts off at 22F (-5.6C) with blowing snow and the wind making it feel like 10F (-12.2C) and our high for the day is 32F (0C) and the continuing wind and snow making it feel like 20F (-6.7C). I certainly don't feel like working in my garden.

Today at KAGS our theme for the Still Life class was Sewing, Embroidery and Needlework.

Fortunately for me the old Singer sewing machine was one of the pieces in the display and I was able to get more details on a painting I had started a couple of years ago (see posts on 19 January 2012 and 24 July 2013) and I will finally be able to get it completed.

I also did a number of sketches of other parts of the display and I will post those at a later date.

If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $80.00 and sold unframed.

ACEO - Reflections 7

Today I wanted to finish this painting that I had started a couple of years ago (see post on 25 July 2013).

For this painting, I had always wanted to put a duck in the water and today I drew in a female Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos).

Next, I washed in a base colour of raw sienna and as it was drying I added a slightly darker colour mix of raw sienna and burnt sienna into some areas to give the body some shape.

While the duck was drying I put the reflections into the water with burnt sienna and a small amount of French ultramarine blue.















I added more blue to darken the reflection colour and painted in the eye, the nostril, the shadow between the upper and lower part of the bill, the top of the crown and the eye-stripe.

Next, I added more raw sienna to the colour and put in the mid tone markings and lastly, after adding more raw sienna I put in the lightest markings.

Using cadmium red and cadmium yellow, I painted in the bill and this was followed by adding the highlights with aureolin.

I used a tiny dot of cadmium yellow for the highlight in the eye.















At the shoreline, I indicated some reeds using various mixtures of Antwerp blue, French ultramarine blue and new gamboge. Using the lighter marking colour, I put some shadows into the water at the base of the reeds.

This was followed with a few closer more detailed reeds on the left side of the painting.

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Skeletons I

It is a cool, 29F (-1.7C) cloudy and overcast and we are supposed to get more rain today, but at least it isn't as windy.

However, as the day progressed and the temperature rose and hovered around the freezing mark, it brought us an interesting mix during the day of rain, hail, snow and then more rain, more snow, more hail and then a mix of rain and snow. But the sun did finally come out and we had perhaps less than 10 minutes of sunshine.

I pulled out this drawing that I did a couple of years ago (see post on 02 September 2013)and thought it needed something more to make it a little more "spooky".

I played around with the drawing for a little while and settled on a full moon in the background.

This little 2-3/4" x 3-1/4" original pen and ink drawing is available matted and shrink wrapped for $20.00.

Light Sources

It continues to pour down rain which started last night. Fortunately, it is above freezing 37F (2.2C) which means no snow, ice pellets or freezing rain. However, the wind was strong enough to blow my lawn chairs and table off the front lawn, so I will leave them where they are until things calm down a little here, because I know from experience that they will blow back off the lawn before I can replace all of them in their original position.

Unfortunately, I can expect a long and stressful trip to Toronto today dealing with all the fools on the road who either drive as though they are on dry roads, weaving back and forth across the lanes in an effort to get where they are going faster and are basically an accident waiting to happen; or the others who creep along afraid, constantly riding their brakes and cause major slow downs. Not something I am looking forward to doing, but that is life.

I thought I may as well relax before I have to leave and do a couple of drawings showing the light source, the highlight, regular colour, the shadow, reflected light and cast shadow.













I started with a cylinder using a roll of paper towel as my guide. Once I had put in the quick outline, I put in the dark area in the top indicating the hole in the core of the paper towel, this was followed by putting in the light area where the normal colour of the object is seen, being careful to leave the paper untouched where the highlight was located.

Next, I added the shadowed area, followed by leaving a lighter area for the reflected light on the far side of the roll of paper towel. Lastly, I added the cast shadow beneath the cylinder shape of the paper towel to ground it.

Since I still had some time before I had to leave I wanted to do a sphere and as my model I used a very large marble.

I indicated my light source, followed by putting in the cast shadow to anchor my marble in place.

Starting at the top of the marble I left an untouched area for my highlight and from there gradually worked my way down to the bottom of the marble leave a light space for the reflected light.

Unfortunately, I have to head out.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Raging Water

Once again the mornings are dropping below freezing 26F (-3.3C) and with the wind making it chill feel like 16F (-8.9C), but with the sun shining by the afternoon the temperature rose to 57F (13.9C).

Once again I was working in the lawn garden and clearing out the dried, old stalks from last year, removing any of the new weeds that are starting to show themselves and digging out the edging around the garden. It was a productive day and I have almost a third of the way flower bed completed.

I wanted to do work on a painting today, so I pulled out this little piece that was originally called Background 11 (see post on 22 December 2014) which was created by using leftover paint from an acrylic painting.















As I looked at it and turned it each way, I thought by turning it upside down that it looked like water rushing over partially submerged rocks.

I added more rocks into the water using various mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna, ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson. This was followed by adding the rushing water flowing over and around the rocks using titanium white, raw sienna and burnt sienna, cadmium yellow and ultramarine blue.

This original 5" x 7" acrylic painting is available unframed for $40.00.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

Pineapple 1

We had a steady wind blowing all day but that didn't prevent the temperature from climbing up to 60F (15.6C) making it good working weather.

I enjoyed spending the afternoon working on clearing out the old leaves and dead stalks that had accumulated during the winter in the lawn flowerbed.

I then tackled lifting my irises out of the ground by the bird bath and removing the thread weed that had wound itself throughout their roots. It took a while to do but the results are well worth the effort.

When I came inside and after I made myself a cup of tea, I decided to do this sketch of a pineapple that I Christine had given me to use with the ham I was going to make for tomorrow night's supper.

Birch Sunset

Today, while I was getting a framed print out of heated storage, I came across two paintings of mine that were almost completed so I pulled them out as well.

After packing the print for shipping, I decided that I would finish this piece that just needed the birch trees in the foreground painted.

I used titanium white on the sunlit side and then added a small amount of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna to the paint for on the shadowed side and the larger branches.















With a dark of ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson I added the markings onto the birch trunks and the small branches.

Next, using various mixtures of yellow ochre, burnt sienna and Hansa yellow I added the leaves onto the branches.

Lastly, using the shadow colour and the dark branch colour I added some grasses and growies at the base of the birch trees.

This original 16" x 20" acrylic painting when framed will be available for $375.00.

Blue Mood 1

While the day started off a little on the cool side at 28F (-2.2C) with frost on the ground, but with the sun out it warmed up quickly to 62F (16.7C).

I am pleased that my little Kestrels are once again moving into the nesting box outside my bedroom window.

Today I wanted to work with a very limited palette of two with perhaps a third colour added as an accent.

Using French ultramarine blue, I put a pale wash of colour over the entire paper.

While the paper was drying, I made various shades of grey blues and dark combinations of the two colours.

Starting with the lightest blue grey mix I put in the under paint for the trees in the background.













Using the next darker colour, I painted in the negative and left the areas of light colour throughout the background.

I continued adding layers of gradually darker colour and leaving lighter areas until I came to the darkest colour.

I applied the darkest blue grey mix onto the area of rocks in the foreground and using a palette knife, scraped out my rock shapes on the island in the foreground.

Using the dark colour mixes I added a little shading to the rocks.

With a mid range blue grey, I put a few ripples into the water.

Lastly, using cadmium yellow and aureolin I added in a few autumn leaves onto the deciduous trees in the background.

This little original 3" x 4-1/2" watercolour painting when framed will be available for $75.00. SOLD

Koi 6 and 7

Today I was watching a program on Koi and how they are raised and while the program was on I did a couple of drawings of them.

One of the many interesting things on the program was that koi have been reported to achieve ages of 100–200 years with the average age at a little more than 50 years.

There was a well-known red coloured koi called "Hanako" who lived to be 228 years old (1749-1977). Needless to say, he was owned by several owners through the course of his lifetime.

Koi 6

To the Japanese the koi fish is a symbol of luck, prosperity, and good fortune. They are also associated with Japan's national identity and culture.

Which is why I was surprised to find that Japan was not the largest cultivator of koi in the world; with the top five being Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Trying to keep all of the varieties and variations of koi straight can be hard enough, especially since new koi varieties are still being actively developed.

Koi 7

I fell in love with the Butterfly koi (also known as dragon carp, or longfin koi) when I first saw them in Aruba at The Butterfly Farm, but unfortunately with all the predators I have around here there is no way I can have a koi pond on the farm.

Four Seasons 3

It is not quite as warm as yesterday but I am happy with it reaching 54F (12.2C) and the bright sunshine which is helping to dry everything and my lawn is showing signs of starting to turn green.

Today I am painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group and I thought that I would do four different drawings each representing one of the four seasons with people on a roadway..















Spring 3

I thought I may as well start with spring, which is well known for its rainy days. After putting in the road and some trees on each side I put in a few puddles on the road.

Then I added a lone figure walking on the road and carrying an umbrella to keep off the rain.















Summer 3

Next it was time to work on the summer road, with its hot days and trees covered in leaves which provide shade from the sun.

After getting the road and trees put into the drawing, I thought for this one to put two couples out for a walk on the road heading toward each other.














Autumn 3

After lunch I started on the autumn road with its semi bare trees on each side of the road and a scattering of leaves at the edge of the road.

For this one I thought I would like to have three people walking down the road.















Winter 3

Before the afternoon was over I wanted get the last season completed. I started by indicating the road and putting snowbanks on each side of the road with the trees bare of any leaves.

Lastly, I put an adult with a child walking along the road.

At a later date I may decide to do painting of the four seasons.

Lake Reflections I

Today I was going to paint with the Lakefield Creative Arts Guild but with the weather being so nice, sunny and warm 62F (16.7), I decided to work outside in the garden.

Later in the day after I had finished the section of my garden I wanted to clear, I thought that I would mat and shrink wrap a number of the pen and ink drawings I had completed last year.

I pulled out the mats I would like for the various drawings and found that there were a couple that needed a little more work before they were finished.















This was one of them and it needed a little more land put into the background (see posts on 12 June and 30 November 2014).

By the time they were finished I didn't have time to cut mats; but when this original 7" x 9-1/2” pen and ink drawing is matted and shrink wrapped it will be available for $50.00.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and look at the artwork. I hope you will return often.

OSWOA - Evening Sky 5

I recently pulled out 25 paintings that I had started and they needed perhaps an hour or less of work to complete.

I chose this one that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 20 January and 27 March 2015) and wanted to finish.

It needed another tree on the closest island and rather than put in a full tree I added a tree stump and a few more growies.

More work needed to be done on the trunks as well as adding a few more dead branches onto the trees.

If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $40.00 and sold unframed.

ACEO - Misty Forest 2

It is a cold day with the temperature at 30F (-1.1C) and the wind chill making it feel like 21F (-6.1C) which made it a good day to stay inside and just play with various colours in my palette.

I started by wetting the paper thoroughly with water and just dropping the different blues into various places on the paper and adding one of the reds to the right side on top of some of the blue colour in that area.















I tilted the paper slightly to have the paint run upward into the area at the top that had less paint.

Once the paint dried, it looked like tree covered hills in the fog.

With a pencil, I lightly indicated a few of the larger tress that would stand out through the mist.














Using a mixture of French ultramarine blue and raw sienna I started by painting in the larger trees in the foreground on the right side of the forest.

Adding water to the paint to lighten the colour slightly, I put in the trees on the left side of the painting. This was followed by lightening the paint colour with more water and putting the distant trees in the centre of the painting.














If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Twin Birches 1

It is nice to have a warm 43F (6.1C) morning for a change and to make things even better I was greeted to a thunderstorm earlier this morning as well. Even though the storm didn't last very long it was still nice to watch and enjoy.

Down by the Snelgrove Brook in the last bottom field before forest starts there is a pair of large, twin birch trees.

About four years ago there had been a slightly smaller birch but the beavers came along and cut that one down to build their lodge.

I thought I would do a quick sketch of the trees with the brook and far shore behind them.

This drawing with spring colours would be nice, or perhaps in the future I could easily do them as a four seasons series.

Caribbean Shore 1

We are under a freezing rain warning for later this morning and with the temperature at 27F (-2.2C) and the wind chill making it feel like 20F (-6.7C) it gives me a feeling of déjà vu back to 2013 when I was without power for almost five days due to the freezing rain storm that we had about this time of the year.

So rather than dwell on the upcoming storm I thought I would do a drawing of a nice warm place like a beach in the Caribbean, with the surf rolling up onto the shore and a soft breeze making the palm fronds gently sway.














This little black and white drawing brings back warm memories of the white sand beaches. I can hardly wait to head south to the Caribbean islands again.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork.

Emerging Art Show

Today I dropped off my paintings for the upcoming Emerging Art Show at KAGS which will open tomorrow afternoon and the opening reception will be held on Saturday 11 April from 1-4p.m.











If you have a chance, please come out and meet the artists on at the opening reception or just to enjoy the exhibit before if closes on 30 April 2015.

Run in Shed I

It is 24F (-4.4C) and overcast and we are to get more snow flurries today. I think it is supposed to be spring, but winter just doesn't want to leave.

I pulled out this sketch that I did a couple of years ago (see post on 18 June 2013) when I went out for a drive in the countryside.

Beginning with the closest building I put in the barn board and straightened the fascia boards. Next I added some overgrown grasses and weeds at the base of the shed.















Then I moved to the next building and began working on the well weathered, wooden roof. Some of the boards had warped and twisted showing their age.

From there I started on the solid side wall with its entry door for the times when the animals are shut into the shed during bad weather. Then the back wall and interior sidewall.

Lastly I added a fence line in for the pasture and some long grass and growies around the second shed.

Autumn Solo 1

It is another day that I am greeted with a light covering of snow on the ground with cold temperatures of 21F (-6.1C).

I decided that I would go out to Burleigh Falls and take photographs as at this time of the year the water is quite high, but I also wanted to do a sketch of an oak tree that was near the water that I didn't have time last year draw.














The colours on this particular tree instead of being the usual shades of brown and rust, was in shades of red, yellow and orange.

At a later date I may do a painting of this tree against the rapids above Burleigh Falls.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Show Updates

I have updated the Buckhorn Artists' Group blog with a listing of shows some of the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work in during the month of April.

If you get a chance come out and visit them at one or all of the shows.

Confirmed Shows for 2015 - April

This is a listing of confirmed shows that I will be exhibiting my artwork at this year. I will update the list as more shows are added.

Norwood Skillet, 4247 Highway 7, Norwood Ont.
25 Mar - 27 May 15

The Evinrude Centre, 911 Monaghan Road, Peterborough Ont.
02-04 Apr 15 The 15th Annual Peterborough Garden Show

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery, Peterborough, Ont.
KAGS
08-30 Apr 15 Emerging
Opening Reception 11 Apr 15 from 1-4pm.
10 Jun - 05 Jul 15 Warm and Cool
Opening Reception 13 Jun 15 from 1-4pm.
26 Aug - 27 Sep 15 Faces and Figures
Opening Reception 29 Aug 15 from 1-4pm.
11-29 Nov 15 Outdoor Painters' Show - Elements of Nature
Opening Reception 14 Nov 15 from 1-4pm.
02-20 Dec 15 and 06-17 Jan 16 Winter Show
Opening Reception 05 Dec 15 from 1-4pm..

Kawartha Arts Network - Art on Kent, Lindsay, Ont.
KAN
09 Apr - 02 May 15 Local Floral
Opening Reception 11 Apr 15 from 1-3pm.
02 Jul - 01 Aug 15 Annual All Members' Show
Opening Reception 04 Jul 15 from 1-3pm.
03-31 Dec 15 and 07 Jan-16 Jan 16 Affordibleism
Opening Reception 05 Dec 15 from 1-3pm.

Peterborough Public Library, 345 Alymer Street, Peterborough, Ont.
Trent University, Canadian Studies Department, Art and Culture Tour
22 May 15 from 6:30-9:30pm.

MacKelvie Gallery, Keene, Ont.
PioneerVillage
28 May - 25 Jun Lang Pioneer Village Museum, Keene, Ont.

The Lindsay Gallery, Lindsay, Ont.
LindsayGallery
24 Jun - 25 Jul 15 Motion in Stillness
Reception 25 Jul 15 from 2-4pm.


St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, Lakefield, Ont.
27 Jun 15 Artists in Bloom II 2-4pm.

Lockside Trading Company, 2805 River Ave, Youngs Point, Ont.
18-19 Jul 15 3rd Annual Art @ the Locks from 9am-6pm.
16-17 Aug 15 4th Annual Art @ the Locks from 9am-6pm.

St Matthews Church, Buckhorn, Ont.
BuckhornArtistsGroup
16-23 Aug 15 25th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show

Township of Douro-Dummer Library Art Gallery, Warsaw, Ont.
08 Sep - 24 Oct 15 Three Good Friends
Opening Reception 11 Sep 15 from 7-8pm.

Millennium Park, Peterborough, Ont.
5th Annual Purple Onion Festival
20 Sep 15 from 11am-4:00pm.

Dancing Blueberries, 360 George St. N., Peterborough, Ont.
02-28 Oct 15

Fenelon Falls Fair Grounds, Fenelon Falls, Ont.
KawarthaArtsFestival
05-06 Sep 15 Kawartha Arts Festival

Please come out and enjoy the artwork displayed at these shows.

Hanging the Peterborough Garden Show

Today was a beautiful, mild and sunny day with the temperatures reaching 53F (11.7C) which is wonderful although by the weekend we are to get more snow.

It has been over three weeks now and still no sign of Junkyard; I can only hope that he is safe and has found a new home.

I started the day by going to KAGS to help load the grids, lights and tables that were to go to the Evinrude Centre for the Peterborough Garden Show.

Once there, the panels were quickly unloaded and two of us went to work setting them up. In the meantime others on the committee were doing the take in of paintings for the show.

When we finished the grids, we hung the cloth panels and finally the lights were added and turned on; we were ready to start hanging the fifty one paintings that were entered for the show.

We first set up the center panels with the larger paintings and from there tried to give each artist a grid for their artwork to keep it all together.









We put the tags with the paintings and had everything set up by 1:30. It was a lovely display of floral artwork.














I returned at 5:00pm to do my sitting for the art show and while there decided to work on this drawing of African Violets in a basket. This original graphite pencil drawing when framed will be available for $65.00.

I hope you will be able to come out and enjoy the Peterborough Garden Show and visit our art show during the weekend.

The hours for the show are:
02 Apr 15 - 5:00-9:00pm
03 Apr 15 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
04 Apr 15 - 10:00am - 4:00pm


African Violet Sketch

Lone Tree I

Today has been a busy day and full of many surprises. The morning started off cool 26F (-3.3C) but by late afternoon the temperature was a wonderful 40F (4.4C) when I took Kyora out for a walk through the fields, which still have a little snow on the trails but most of it has melted.

When I returned from running my errands in Peterborough I was delighted to see my pair of North American Kestrels have returned and will once again be nesting in the hawk box on the south side of the house.

We have had a pair of Kestrels nesting there for over 35 years; originally they nested in a hole in the building under the eaves but after five years we finally finished that side of the house in the late fall and closed the opening. Rather than the birds trying to find a new home when they came back in February I called the Toronto Zoo and received the dimensions for a hawk box that would be appropriate for them.

Ron built it and put it up in the late fall and they adapted to their new nest with no trouble, other than the first year kicking out the starlings that tried to take over their nesting site.

With wear and tear from the elements over the years we have had to replace the box three times with a new one.

I wanted to work on a drawing of one of the old dead trees along the fence line that will soon be felled and turned into firewood. It didn't take me long to do this little drawing and return to the house to warm up with a nice cup of hot tea.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.