Early September Walk

September 12, 2011September 13, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

How about a long walk? We haven’t been on one together for awhile. It is a warm afternoon and getting close to dinner time so it should be peaceful out on the point. Doesn’t that sound like a great idea?

I knew you would be game. Shall we?

(This image is available for purchase here.)

The arbutus trees are particularly intriguing this time of year….

as their bark splits and peels back to another layer of beauty underneath.

Then there are David’s trees.

“Oh look at this. Have you taken a photo of these yet?”

I hadn’t. So I did.

A quiet ledge. Now this seems to be perfectly designed for a Creative Potager moment. Ahhhhh.

(This image is available for purchase here.)

Then there is this particular arbutus tree! I don’t know how many times I have tried to get it just right in a photograph. Maybe this time. What do you think?

(This image is available for purchase here.)

Well that is it for the sunny west side of our late afternoon September walk. Time to cross over to the dark side. Can you hear the surf through the trees? It won’t take long.

(This image is available for purchase here.)

The air is still humid and warm with hardly a whisper of relief off the water. The sky is clear. Yet the sea is dark and hugs the shadows along the shore.

(This image is available for purchase here.)

A bit of a puzzle isn’t it?

Time to head for home. We have been over an hour and a half. It is a good thing we brought our water bottles.

———–

As long fingers of fog are blown into our open windows this morning, I shiver and begin closing out the cool dampness. Then I remembered the sea from our walk on the weekend.

(This image is available for purchase here.)

Remember that the late afternoon was warm and humid with hardly a wisp of breeze off the water? Yet, the sea frothed and boiled as it slammed up against the sandstone shore? Now we know why. Fall is here.

Sprout question: What signs of fall are blowing in your direction?

New: Check out my coffee table book PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs

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

Being With What Is (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Five new plein air oil paintings by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Hiking Brown Ridge on Saturna Island (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

KEEPING WATCH original oil painting by Terrill Welch

May 19, 2011June 10, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 23 Comments

Here it is! The last painting, KEEPING WATCH, of the 15 that will be in my solo exhibition, STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition opening June 30, 2011 is complete.

The painting started out in the usual Terrill-Welch-fashion with an underpainting ready to start working up into a painting.

The large upright canvas did not fit on my easel so I painted down in the sun room which is a deliciously bright place to work.

The canvas had held the movement in the scene from the beginning of the underpainting and I can see that one of my jobs will be to retain that energy right through to completion.

You may guess by now that I am painting my very most favourite arbutus tree overlooking the Strait of Georgia by the light house at Georgina Point. This tree will be featured in one of my photographs on the front cover of this year’s Mayne Island Community Chamber of Commerce brochure and be distributed up and down parts of the west coast of Canada and the United States.

The painting is now starting to breathe on its own, talking back quietly to me as I work.

Now I am close. It is not finished but I am undecided as to what to do next.

I let it rest for a few days and then I finish it up.

KEEPING WATCH 36 X 24 by 1.5 inch original oil painting by Terrill Welch

If you want you can use your inspection skills and see if you can discover what I changed. One change is particularly obvious. The others not so much so.

Please NOTE: I am taking a week off from blogging. The next Creative Potager post will be Friday May 27, 2011. It is time for a little creative downtime before shifting gears into the final preparations for the opening.

Sprout question: What does creative downtime mean to you?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

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

Story of the HENDERSON HILL Original Oil Painting (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
ONE original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
FIR TREE original oil paintings by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
HEAVY CLOUD original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Salish Sea 3 original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Fast Water part 1

February 1, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 13 Comments

Over the weekend I had the most extraordinary opportunity. I was invited to go with a group of 13 to 18 year old students and two coaches for an outdoor pursuit hike along the Cowichan River near Skutz falls on Vancouver Island. These students are amazing and I absolutely enjoyed the pleasure of their company and the opportunity to be their guest.

The Cowichan River is fast and high this time of year.

There is little time to capture its beauty because I am keeping pace with these young bodies as they leap and skip along up the south side of the trail heading west. They are quiet, talking softly in small groups as they walk single file with the river glimpsed through the trees and over the steep edge of the narrow trail. I sense a relaxed intrigue rather than boisterous, frenetic, silliness I might have anticipated. For some, this is their first semester of outdoor pursuits. They may have spent very little time before today walking on the earth’s soft uneven surface. Through the soft steady rain, low cloud coverage and mist we walk together – as if we have been doing it for years.

A smaller group of older students had separated from us before we crossed the first bridge and gone up the north side trail to practice making stretchers. They will lead teams in stretcher exercises when we meet up with them later on our return. I will cover this in more detail tomorrow.

There are protected groves of Gary Oak in the park where we are hiking. My daughter, Ms. Herman, is one of the two coaches. She waits while I grab a couple of quick photos (with no idea that the camera is pointed in her direction).

We move swiftly to catch up to the rest who are gathered for a lesson on the river bank.

I snap a couple of river shots and totally miss what this particular lesson was about. Sorry Mr. Norman.

View image in full resolution and purchase here.

Next I see a series of switchbacks in front of us. A hill – this is where the 15 year olds are separated from the 51 year olds. I am thrilled to reach the top still being able to talk and not having had to stop and rest part way up. The view was worth it.

View image in full resolution and purchase here.

It is a perfect spot to give a quick lesson on using a compass. The students learn how to gather all the information they already know and begin to locate themselves on a map and learn how to read and set a compass direction.