Life here in Courtenay is a pleasure. The birds sing, the breeze in the trees is peaceful, the tide comes and goes, along with the herons and eagles, we walk the Riverwalk which starts only a few feet from our house, explore trails in the local and provincial parks, and of course we make art.
A few days ago we explored a different part of Millard Nature Preserve, across the road and up the hill. A brief sample of the sounds.
And in response to fan requests (you know who you are my friends) here are a few paintings as well. The first three are from photos taken years ago at the Grand Canyon. I’ve been testing colors and methods. Did this painting twice.
First
And again.
Another view of the canyon:
Leaving the canyon, this one from imagination, with an underpainting of marks made when testing pastels for values and test how many layers of pastel I could get on unsanded paper.
And finally, a rose from a photo taken last week.
There are a lot more, mostly sketches, but that’s enough for now!
Travels With Picasso 
I left an extended reply to this on Facebook, but I’ll comment here on how much I liked both your words and your paintings. I love that rose.
Thanks, Toin. I will look for your comment on FB.
Very restful sounds and of course your art work is always a delight to watch, although I am longing for more samples.
Ah, JP, where is your art my dear? Surely Bogota has some interesting subjects. And letters. I’ve seen no posts from you yet.
I’m enjoying Paul’s words and pictures, but it was lovely to hear from you, too. It sounds like a wonderful vacation and I wish you continued pleasures and more art-making!
Wendy
Thanks, Wendy. It took me awhile to make a post. I hadn’t logged on in a long time. And Paul does such a good job:)