After a dark, cloudy and rainy day yesterday we awoke to sunshine and a return to warm temps. Our first stop of the day was at the local farmers market to get some fresh vegetables and check out the scene. Live acoustic music enlivened the crowd and there were many treats to be found. This is a market where the farmer is the sales person, not just the vendor who owns the stall! Great fun, but no pics.
Next we drove north about 30 minutes to Campbell River. I had read about an annual chainsaw carving contest, Transformation on the Shore. This is not your rough roadside carvings. These folks are sculptors that use many tools to turn large cedar logs into works of art.
Here’s a sample of before and after to show how they “sketch” the wood and then what the sketch looks like as a final sculpture.
There are amateur, semi-professional, professional, and consultant categories. All of them seem to be experts. The competition began Thursday and goes until tomorrow, so none of these sculptures is finished. We watched several of them changed in the couple of hours we were there.
At 1:00 they began a one hour fast carving contest. These pieces use smaller blocks due to the time. The sawdust really flew as they tore into the block. Here are two competitors at the 30 minute mark.
All of this takes place along the shore with views of Quadra Island and the mountains on the BC mainland.
We also got to see a show by a local artist group. They meet together every Tuesday at the Campbell River Arts Council to paint. Many different mediums are represented. Today was their once a year sale. We chatted for some time with artists Susanne and Bob. They invited us to come up and join them while we are in the area.
I haven’t been ignoring my own painting. Yesterday I completed a piece inspired by the berries that we see ripening on our morning walks. In the dark woods there are shafts of sunlight that illuminate small areas. Sometimes that includes a berry or two!
And that’s the news from beautiful Vancouver Island!
Paul
Travels With Picasso 
Nice!
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I live the painting indeed. Summer has finally arrived in Paris which basks in ample sun with pleasant temperatures. I do not think I am that impressed with chainsaw carvings; it is just too noisy, so I am happy I can see your pictures!
I expect to see more paintings soon! Keep at it.
The painting is gorgeous!!😍😂
It was a sunny day for Marco’s birthday as well – we got to eat in the backyard – crab cakes in honor of his Baltimore heritage and orange rosemary polenta cake for dessert. It was just Em, Noah and Rowan as well as Alice for guests as certain important people were elsewhere making art. Cheers, ace