photography

In the Rain at Cattle Point Victoria B.C.

/ Terrill Welch / 9 Comments

With much harder rock formations than the sandstone found on Mayne Island, this urban seascape in the rain caught my attention yesterday when we were in Victoria. The clouds are low and soft rain is falling but the mid-day sun is pushing through a gentle light from above.  Last evening’s high winds have passed and this heavy peace remains sprawled over the point.

(image available for purchase HERE) 

As the name of this park suggests, this point was historically used to unload cattle for upland farms on Vancouver Island.

And an update on

Spring Studio Sale – Art is not ART until it is SOLD

As far as I know Sam Juliano from Wonders in the Dark did not win the big 500 million U.S. lottery last night so at the time of this posting all five paintings are still available for purchase. Thank you everyone who has shared the link to my spring studio event and for your kind words and interest in these paintings. There is still the better part of five days left and still time to decide or share the link with someone else you think might be interest.

 

All the best of Friday everyone! I see the sun poking through here in the Mayne Island quiet so sending a little your way.

 

SPROUT: What was the last rainy day moment that captured your creative energy? 

 

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Evidence of the Sea

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

Yesterday, on G+ I shared an image “30 km per hour” that anticipates a view. It was also posted on Facebook so you may have seen it there as well. The perspective of this image of the mountains seen in the distance beyond the road and human clutter of power lines and the image I want to share today have something in common. They are both approaching “the view” indirectly. The beauty and mystery of the sea is only glimpsed rather than being the central visual focus of the frame. However, “the view” is still the emotional drive of both the images.

I haven’t made “Evidence of the Sea” available for purchase yet because it is still only an idea I am exploring. That idea is – what is the power of leaving the most tasty bits of a scene to the viewers imagination. Here the sandstone tells the story in vivid lines about the preceding tides and storms. It is calm and clear and beautiful by the sea today but in the evidence left behind on the sandstone we know it is not always so. I sense that we would miss the glee and delight of this gorgeous day if we had no reference to the dark gray, the freezing winds, high tides, hail and the snow during the weeks before. Tell me, would you feel this blue sea and sky as deeply if this was all that I shared with you?

SPROUT: How do you create depth of experience in your creative work?

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Tea Time

/ Terrill Welch / 18 Comments

I was frustrated waiting for spring so went out to the covered courtyard and started up my wood cook stove to make a cup of tea. While I was there I oiled the cast iron and wiped it all down.

By the time the water had boiled and tea was made I no longer cared if it was spring yet. I sat and read my book by the stove and let the rain and hail fight with the sun for space in the sky.

However, a few days later we drove by the field that has daffodils in the spring. These daffodils are part of Mayne Islands’ present that meets its past.

The tree alone at the back of the field always captures my attention.

So it is now spring blustery March weather and all.

 

I am away with family this week and shall not be on line all that much but wish you the very best of the week.

 

SPROUT: Where do past and present meet in your life today?

 

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Edge of the Storm

/ Terrill Welch / 22 Comments

There was another wind warning yesterday. It didn’t amount to much. Sometimes this happens because Mayne Island is often on the edge of a storm as it sits where the swirly marks on the weather report change directions. But after the last storm we need some more butane for the little heater and cooking element. It is always best to be prepared. We are also low on groceries so I venture out – with my camera too of course.  When I am done my chores I  go to our favourite beach and see what I can see even though there is a light rain, a good wind and visibility ceiling is low.  Yike!

I don’t think we will be going to sit out on the sandstone rocks today either.

(image available for purchase HERE)

Well that is enough of that! The rain is trying to blow into the lens hood and it is not particularly pleasant out here. Time to go make a hot cup of tea and nibble on that fresh Farm Gate Store bran and apricot muffin. I may muse awhile about the packages of seeds and spring plants I saw at the Hardware Store for awhile as well.  It seems to be the best sign of spring we have seen for days. Oh, I guess I could work on packaging up the paper work for our taxes too. Hum. Let’s have tea and think about it.

Sprout: What seems so near but is far off on your creative horizon?

P.S. seems to be some trouble replying directly from email notices today. My apologies. I have checked the settings and everything seems to be in order. Hopefully the issue if fixed soon.

But this might help to make you feel at least a little better….

BROWSE THE WHOLE BOOK! For the next 48 hours you can browse my whole book PRECIOUS SECONDS – MAYNE ISLAND IN PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS plus I made it available on standard paper lowered the profit to $2.00 from $5.00 over the production price – creating a nice savings if you have had this on you wish list. Things will go back to usual pricing with a 15 page preview on Saturday morning. Make that cup of tea and enjoy!

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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When the Wind Howls

/ Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

When the wind howls in the big voice of the southeasterly through our valley we listen all right. Well, I listen. David seems to be able to sleep through most anything, except me jumping every time a branch or fir cone is slammed onto our tin roof.

Such was our Sunday evening when I first heard the whipping of the branches. I listened. I got up and checked for a Mayne Island wind warning. Sure enough:

Southeasterly winds up to 80 km/h will spread to East Vancouver Island, Southern Gulf Islands, Greater Victoria and the Sunshine Coast early Monday morning.

The Southern Gulf Islands is us. The Weather Network confirmed what I already knew. We were in for a bit of weather. I send out a note here and there to let people know I may be off line due to power outages. You see, it has to do with these big fir trees that get blow around like reeds of grass in these storms. With the heavy rains we have been having the earth is soft and then against their best efforts over they go onto the power lines.

I head back to bed, sleeping lightly until about 5:00 am when the winds are really getting carried into a frenzy. The chair on the deck gets knocked over, cardboard boxes from my prints are flying around and it sounds like the roof is getting hit with machine gun blasts of debris. But the electricity is still on. I get up, make coffee and post my painting in our G+ with Brushes group gallery. The lights are flickering and my fingers rush. At 5:50 am the room goes dark. The winds continues to howl. I call down from the loft to David to turn on the battery lamp that is by the bed so I can see to get back down the stairs. I take it from him to read until daylight. He rolls over and begins to snore. I want to shake him! But I don’t. I take up vigil in the grandpa chair in the great room reading and wait for the soft light of dawn and the storm to end. Daylight comes and the storm continues.

Eventually, I notice someone is up trying to find breakfast while keeping one eye on the sky for falling objects.

She is braver than me. I wouldn’t want to be out there.

After a nice long sleep-in David finally gets up and decides he just has to have toast for breakfast. No problem.

In the early afternoon the rains come and I know the storm has about blew herself out. After awhile the rains stop and the mist starts to roll its beauty through the trees.

An eagle rests quietly. I exhale and say to self – well that wasn’t so bad. It is the same thing I say after having dental work.

We listen to CBC public radio on our excellent emergency transistor and hear that the winds reached 100 km/h and other than a roof being blown off in Campbell River, 300 marine emergency calls, ferries had been cancelled and tens of  thousands of people  without power, all is well. I make hamburger stew for supper and we visit by candlelight in the quiet.

Sometime during the night the power comes back on and David volunteers to get up and turn off all the lights we had switched on absent-mindedly during the day when they were not working. Then I sleep – really sleep, until the moon is shining in the window at 6:00 am this morning. Making toast is a little less like camping this morning.

 

SPROUT: How do you weather a creative storm? 

 

 

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Holding the Sea

/ Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

The rain is steady this morning and the forecast is the same for at least the next five days. I have woke early, very early – 4:30 am to be exact. I have decided something. I have decided to shift my creative routine.  Change it up if you will. Oh you might not notice to much of a difference as there is always something percolating to share. But I will notice the difference in my work flow. It feels a little like this photograph of the sea – holding.

before it rushes forward with a recognizable pounding rhythm.

(image available on my new pro smugmug gallery HERE) 

I want to step back and look at my adventure from the cliff-side of my creativity.

I want to sing to the sea of its flow while I organize, file and scrub the vessel that holds my daily works and my place of eating and sleeping.

Then I will be renewed to begin again with fresh eyes and replenished spirit.

It is time. Could it be spring?

 

SPROUT: What are the your notable signals your recognize that time you it is time to shift your creative flow. 

 

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Embracing Life Happy International Women’s Day

/ Terrill Welch / 15 Comments

You say – what? no seascape!? Well, not this morning. It is March 8th and International Women’s Day today. This is a photograph of my mother I took a couple of years ago. She is on holidays and we are having a picnic after going on a garden tour with “just the girls” which included her sister, my sister and my sister’s daughter. I love this photograph of my mother because it shows her natural beautiful self. She is about to shake her finger at me and say “don’t you dare!” But I was faster. Being a farmer in rural British Columbia Canada my mother has worked hard and lived close to the land not far from where she grew up. She reads with exuberance checking out armloads of books each week from the public library. She knows most of the Latin names for her plants and studied genetics to be able to improve her breeding stock of Hereford cattle. Her daily walks take her past bears, moose, elk, deer, geese, swans, grouse and the fox sleeps on her doorstep. Her cinnamon buns are still the best in the world and I love her. Her quiet and sometimes not so quiet belief in me is part of why I am who I am today.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Great Blue Heron and the surf

/ Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

Here at Creative Potager we haven’t been down for walk on the beach for a while. It must be time – yes? About yesterday’s adventure with a Great Blue Heron and a good strong surf, will that do? Get all settled in because here we go…

It was about three o’clock in the afternoon and a wee bit of sun was coming out after a morning of heavy rain, hail and even a bit of snow. Miss Prissy, the old blue ford 4×4 seemed as ready as we were to go stretch our legs down at Reef Bay. David and I chatter away at each other as we stop in at the Farm Gate Store. We have a quick visit with the owners Don and Shanti McDougall as we pick up local eggs, bread, plum jam and a few other odds and ends. One more stop at the Trading Post to pick up our weekly bottle of red wine and then it is time to head for the sea.

Of course we had to stop and check out the daffodil field along the way. Not enough blooms for a photo op yet. Soon though, very soon.

As we come by Oyster Bay I can see the surf is up and we almost stop there but I had a hankering for Reef Bay. By now you know it is a favourite and I thought we might be just a bit more sheltered from the wind. Pulling that old ford around on the half-acre at the entrance to the trail to the water we park. I leap ahead and David comes along more leisurely behind.

Right away I spot the Great Blue Heron over on side of the reef closest to the Strait of Georgia. These birds are a bit skittish here and keep their distance. So I get my camera set and begin the trek to see if I can meander close enough to get a good photograph.

Oh, I am spotted but still the heron seems content to pretend to meander just a little way down the reef hoping I haven’t noticed it. As it disappears behind a rock I think it thinks I have missed it. Then up pops its head. I move the camera just slightly to position the frame and there it goes…..

At first it is high over the crashing surf and then swoops down in a long glide close to the water.

(image available for purchase HERE) 

I go back to enjoying the surf for a few minutes

thinking about the sea

and the sandstone…

life and relationships and time.

The heron is contentedly hidden among the seagulls as I watch the Oyster Catchers and notice another large storm cloud coming our way.

With stiff fingers from the brisk wind I look to see where David might be as I make my way carefully back across the sandstone. The tide is coming in and I must clamber over the boulders to reach the beach again.

SEED: The Great Blue Heron is a favourite bird for many and particularly nature photographers. Its beauty and prehistoric squawk seem to keep our attention longer than most shore birds.

Great blue herons’ size (3.2 to 4.5 feet/1 to 1.4 meters) and wide wingspan (5.5 to 6.6 feet/1.7 to 2 meters) make them a joy to see in flight. They can cruise at some 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 kilometers) an hour.

Though great blue herons hunt alone, they typically nest in colonies. They prefer tall trees, but sometimes nest in low shrubs. Females produce two to seven eggs, which both parents protect and incubate. Chicks can survive on their own by about two months of age.

reference: National Geographic at http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/great-blue-heron

Well, I hope you enjoyed your seaside walk and feel refreshed and energized to meet the day! All the best, from Mayne Island to wherever you are in this grand world of ours.

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Down by the Pond

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

There is something that feels very Canadian to me about a cabin by the pond such a s this one. It is not in a row of summer resorts but is by itself next to a pond that feels like it was created just for the cabin.

(image available for purchase HERE) 

Old fences seem to be part of any pond where there are or have been livestock.

But one is never very often really alone at a pond. They frequently places of much bounty and shared living such as this feathered friend.

(image can be purchased HERE)

The flight was short and the landing one of humour propelling feet and tail dipping…

These photographs were taken with the permission of the landowner. Please do ask before venturing on to private land to take even photographs. You wouldn’t want someone coming into your apartment and snapping photos of your kitchen counter with the explanation “I was admiring your teapot from the street. It is so amazing! I didn’t think you would mind if I just slipped in to take a few photographs.” I know it sounds silly to image someone doing this in your kitchen. But often it seems harder to remember to ask before stepping into a forest or large field. However, if we remember that large tracks of private land are the owner’s kitchen counter then it is easy to remember to ask permission before entering.

These photographs were taken on the certified organic Deacon Vale Farm which also has my very most favourite local and find foods grocery store in the world Farm Gate Store. If you ever come to Mayne Island you MUST stop by the store and make a few selections for tasting your way through local fair.

SPROUT: What is your favourite story about pond life? 

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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My Mother’s Lipstick

/ Terrill Welch / 11 Comments

I posted the following on February 15,  2012 on G+ and Facebook:

Roses are often a photographer’s Valentine’s day hangover. I cannot see this particularly red without thinking of my mother’s lipstick. It is what she wears when going to town. She wears it with her earrings and usually no other make up. I have seen her “dress for town” as long as I can remember. She looks as beautiful today as she did when I was a small child. No one thinks to look at her hardworking farm-hands when she has her lipstick on.

Along with this photograph of a rose that was given to us after dinner at The Green House Restaurant….

(image available for purchase HERE)

And here are some of the fascinating responses I received…

Sue Wiebe (my sister):  So true! And that lipstick seems to transform her whole face. A highschool friend once told me, “your mom’s lipstick is her trademark and it looks so right on her.”

Lynda Schwemmer: My mother’s color too; for many years… I think it’s partly a generational thing. There she was looking so classy in her blue-red, while I, child of the sixties, was trying out the pales and the earth tones. And they are polar opposites. Those reds have come around again though…. For what it’s worth, I think my mom’s lipstick color is Revlon “Love that Red” which has been around since the 1950s.

Oksana Suzulhan: I think red was the only lipstick colour at one point ( rouge à levres, en français and I believe that’s still what its called ). I like your comment about your Mom’s hardworking hands and lipstick; I look at people’s hands and usually see soft (yuck – no work), worn (hard work), or for most of us here somewhere MOR….This photo brought back the smell of lipstick I remember when I was much younger – it had a pungent, waxy, perfumey smell which I haven’t come across in years… I think that’s all that was available when lipstick was first introduced, or probably made available to almost anyone who could afford it. It was a status symbol, along with that smell, and was worn only as your Mom put it to ” dress for town “….To-day, all this is part of our every-day ablutions – different shade for every outfit 🙂

Now isn’t that just the most interesting bits of information to be gifted for sharing one photograph of a red rose?

SPROUT: What colour do you think will have people thinking about you and your trade mark presence? 

© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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