squwetchy It has been almost a year since I took a #watercolour class at the local recreation centre. Last spring I took a course from a local teacher on painting Canadian landscapes in watercolours which taught me a whole bunch of new techniques and ideas for improving my personal sketching and painting. This spring, I signed up for a second course by the same teacher, but this time our focus is #flower painting in watercolour. we are encouraged to document the process each class by taking photos of the various stages of the artwork as we paint it as a group, but our instructor insisted obviously that none of those pictures that would hint or give away course materials be posted anywhere so while you will see a number of finished Paintings as a progress through the course over the next few weeks the closest I can give you to show some of the background is a picture like this of me documenting the colour I used to mix for one particular stage, which I don’t think gives much away.

pixelazy I was feeling photographic down at Terwillegar Park this morning. Enjoy this collection of random artsy photos.

8r4d Our morning #walk was full of interesting shadows.

8r4dsfeets My shoes this month are a pair of old recycled runners from a few years ago, but they are good enough for long morning #walk through the dog park on a quiet Tuesday morning. It may be #spring but there is still ice on the river. #rivervalley

adventuredog This little dog always seems to be a few steps behind. With it being #spring We’ve taken our morning walk to the local dog park where she can be off leash. That’s great and all but I spend most of my days shouting at her to keep up as she sniffs and wanders and occupies herself at her leisure.

adventuredog well, sure the rules are there for a reason, but they really count when the sign is on the ground and the sun is in the air? we went for #spring #walk turned into a photo expedition.

8r4dsfeets I like big bolts and I cannot lie… #rivervalley #walk

8r4dsfeets Lurking above the whale at #westedmontonmall

8r4d Mission Fail: My trip to the mall for #art supplies for my class which starts tomorrow hit a snag. I walked in to my trusty locale for inexpensive paints and behold the doors were shuttered and the bay dark. The cultural wasteland that is this city got another degree barren. Of course I spent an hour wandering in #westedmontonmall because y’know gas prices and why not. Tho for a Monday morning I don’t know what i was expecting. It’s dead as anything here.

8r4d It’s one of those things that often escapes or attention in a busy busy world, and tho you might feel that my life of quasi-middling retirement cannot possibly be busy busy, I do find myself needing to pause every once in a while and reflect on the good moments and #smallthings that warm up my still chilly days. Like when I walked over to starbucks for my two hours of morning writing today and was thankful that I wasn’t in this portapotty when the wind caught it, but also when I ordered a grande #coffee but they gave me a venti by accident so that my daily chapter was fuelled by discounted (but still overpriced) caffeine. Like I said, it’s the small things…

8r4d Around the park for some windy running play.

8r4d We did a trip to Canmore in March for spring break, tho the weather was decidedly still winterish. One of our hikes took us on a meandering stroll up and around the mountain trail past the golf course. #backposting