Mayne Island

Queen of Cumberland Ferry on a Morning in February

/ Terrill Welch / 20 Comments

It may have been super bowl Sunday for much of North America yesterday but for this Gulf Islander it was simply another lovely morning in the mist at Sunrise.

The Queen of Cumberland Ferry is just coming out of Active Pass and is heading to  Sturdies Bay Galiano Island. These small ferries are an integral part of Gulf Island life. They are more than a mode of transportation between islands and to Vancouver Island. These ferries are where novels are read, naps are taken, friends are visited, books are written and meetings are held. These ferries are an extension of home on the islands and of our communities.

I remember the first time I road the ferry to Mayne Island when we were coming to look at what is now our home La Casa de Inspiracion. A woman had gone to the washroom and left her purse open sitting on top of the table. Middle-aged musicians were practicing for a performance they were going to do the next day beside us. A sleepy child was nursed by her mother as she listened. Another group had papers and pens in hand as they discussed something that I could not comprehend or accurately hear over the other noises of the diesel engine and the acoustic practicing. I thought to myself, in a few years this will be normal. I will be part of this life instead of an observer. And now it is so.

Tomorrow, I have another image to share from Sunday’s sunrise. A colleague said “I think this must take the prize for ‘my favorite Terrill Welch.'”  I wonder if you will feel the same.

 

SPROUT: What aspects of your community show up 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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ORCAS IN EVENING original painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

I am sure many of you remember my recent “A Whale of a Story” where I was gifted a chance to photograph Killer Whales or Orcas from our Mayne Island shore on one of my recent January photo shoots. If you have a look at that post you will be able to see where I the inspiration for this painting came from.

ORCAS IN EVENING is a 12 x 12 inch oil on gessobord with a 2 inch wood cradle

 

In many ways this painting was a stretch for me. I seldom paint animals or birds into my paintings of sea or landscapes. This time I wanted to have the Orcas included. It was such thrill to see them like this I just felt “I must!” However, I wanted to do this in a way you could “feel” rather than just “see” the Orcas in their natural environment at sunset. This is why I anchored my work in the quote from Claude Monet and intention from an earlier post “Painting the Desperation of Wanting to Stay Alive.” I wanted to paint the impression of whales as seen from “the glance.” What do you think? Was I successful?

I also was thrilled to have the chance to paint pinks, oranges and mauve. Though still grounded in the body of cool-blue tones that are our foundation here on the west coast of Canada these “hot colours” are not common in my work. I couldn’t help but think of the paintings of a colleague and artist Lena Levin. You can view her work on her website.  Though she has primarily still life work at the moment, she did do a seascape a while back that she felt had been influenced by my work. Now it is my turn to share that this piece was definitely influences by her astounding palette development in these sunset colours. Do check out her Ten A Penny experiment as well. It is an idea I am watching closely. Even though I don’t do a lot of what are called “studies” I really like the concept. Lena is also on G+ HERE if you want to drop by and say “hello” or browse her recent posts.

SPROUT: Who is having a profound influence on your work of late? 

© 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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A Rare Sighting on an Ordinary Day

/ Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

There is sometimes nothing particularly outstanding about a particular day and yet my shoulders relax and I breathe just a little deeper than usual into the pleasantness of it all. Such a day is this.

Possibly this is what led to a rare sighting of Terrill Welch out on a photo shoot.

Covered in dirt from scrambling for a particular angle on an image and complete with weather-tangled hair, I confirm she was having a good day to hand the camera over to her husband, David Colussi, so he could take this photograph. Besides, she has never claimed to be inclined towards making fashion statements. At a rather round 5′ 3.5″ tall, on a good day, there never seemed to be a need or desired. Now, as for making photographs and paintings that would be a firm yes! 🙂

SPROUT: What is your favour photograph of yourself that seems capture the “real” you?

© 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

Good morning and happy Friday to you!

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A Good Day By The Sea

/ Terrill Welch / 13 Comments

Wild wonders are left washed in natural design after the many days of high winds, high tides and rain.

Seaweed clings in its deep sea green vest to the sandstone chest of the reef.

Reflections shine clear and true in the shallows.

It is a good day by the sea.

(image is available for purchase HERE)

I have more to share from yesterday’s time at the water’s edge but it shall have to wait.

Oh! A small celebration. My photograph of the three Orcas is featured on the cover of the regional Gulf Islands Island Tides newspaper latest issue. The online version is here athttp://www.islandtides.com/assets/IslandTides.pdf

Happy Friday and all the best of the weekend to you!

 

SPROUT: What makes it “A Good Day!” for you?

 

© 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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Waving at you from Mayne Island with Monet

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

My morning is very French here off the southwest coast of Canada. I slept late (9:00 am) hand ground my coffee beans, made espresso and baked the chocolate croissants. The sun is shining.

Wave photographs are almost the equivalent of my warm up sketches in a figure drawing session. The process gets me stretched down low to the ground in odd angles and into that place where my eye starts to relentlessly compose and frame the world around me. Waves also feed an acceleration that pulls up any lazy cells in my being that thought they might just coast along through the photo shoot. NOT! We are here to capture the movement of light. Time to get to work.

Good morning and Happy Thursday to you!

SEED:  Speaking of the French, I made a most treasured purchase a few days ago. It is the 282 catalogue (or catalog) published  by The Art Institute of  Chicago for the 1995 exhibition of Claude Monet‘s (1860-1946) art work. Did you know that he used to get angry and slash his canvases and may have personally destroyed over 500 paintings? His art career was 60 years long but he is best known for his earlier paintings during the impressionism hay-day and of course his lilies. Though my paintings and even my photography have often been said to remind people of Monet I have never studied his work – rather I reclined into embarrassment and pride at being compared to such a great artist, too scared to even give it serious consideration. I personally had felt my work may have more in common with Camille Pissarro but that is another story. But over the next few weeks and months I am going to read about and study Monet’s work closely and see if I can see what it is that has people so often making this connection.

© 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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Deep in the Meditative Woods

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

The winds have quieted down some and the rains have become patchy showers. With this relative retreat in the stormy weather, we head out for a long walk “to stretch the kinks out” as my mother would say. These walks do more than stretch out our physical bodies. They also refresh our emotional, mental and spiritual being. Most often the walking is done without talking and at a good pace but not power walking with arms swinging. That kind of walking would be exercise not meditative. We can do that kind of walking at another time — such as when we are going to get the mail and climbing back up the hills home.

So because the weather was only in “relative retreat” we decided to take a middle trail out to the point and walk deep in the meditative woods. We can hear the surf and wind in the distance but the big cedar trees in this part of the forest cushion all that they hold. Sensual whiffs of trees, shrubs and the rain-soaked earth permeate the cool air as it drifts past my cheeks. We keep walking.

(image is available for purchase HERE)

Did you think I was going to leave my camera behind? Taking photographs is very much like part of my meditative breath and personal practice of being present.

Today’s post and sprout question are part of a call-and-answer with Laurie Buchanan over at Speaking from the Heart and her post today “Rain Retreat Meditation.” I am going to borrow her question and sprout it here while encouraging you to answer it there – and here too if you like 🙂

Laurie’s SPROUT: Where do you go to retreat?

It may have been divine intervention that had me read Laurie’s new post just before setting this one for publishing here. Whatever the reason dear readers, you get two unplanned, uncoordinated, just-happened-that-way meditative posts in one 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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Mayne Island Rain Wind and Snow

/ Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

How quickly it all changes. Yesterday’s winds have given way to rain. How those branches did bend for fear of snapping as others had in the past.

We did not go out to the shore. I get too nervous in high winds to hardly leave the house. This photograph of the valley was taken while stood at the kitchen sink preparing lunch and being thankful that the electricity was still on.

The day before however we did venture out into the blustery weather. The sandstone shore of Georgeson Island was particularly lovely in the soft light of the winter afternoon.

(image available for purchase HERE)

But this morning it is raining. I sit quietly hunkered down under a down quilt on the old couch in the loft marveling at how different each day can be from another. It was only four days ago I overheard these daffodils muttering in the snow “I told you it was too early.”

The snow is now long gone for this  young deer that browsed under the trees by at the edge of the forest, hunched up in the damp cold. I wonder where it sought shelter yesterday as the winds howled like jet planes crossing over the top of the cliffs?

A flicker had called from the beam on the covered deck to ask if I might come out for awhile.

I did. But even the oregano was snow bound.

However, it was the day I captured winter by the pond

(image available for purchase HERE) 

and enjoyed the grass against the snow…

I noticed that which was undisturbed.

This is the noticing that comes with the sudden change of snow covering much of our dark greens, grays and browns during the overcast west coast winters.

Much is still dreary though.

I thought of lighting a fire in the outdoor fireplace but then went back inside to paint – as I did yesterday. I painted on the ample 30 X 40 canvas. I wonder how the weather will be evident in my brushstrokes? We shall see on Wednesday I think. Here is a snippet of a small detail I liked that no longer exists.

The painting is almost complete. A couple of wayward blustery brushstrokes to tame and it will be done.

SPROUT: How might the weather be impacting your creativity?

 

© 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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A Friday on Mayne Island in January

/ Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

There is still some soggy snow left but the warm dripping of rain is overpowering its January grip on the Mayne Island landscape. High tides meet the surviving remnants on shore.

Even the seagull seems to be hunch over in gloomy resistance.

We leave the bleak sourness of it all and head for home. My old ford pick up, Miss Prissy, rounds the corner on her last climb up Wood Dale drive before ducking down into nowhere. I looked up at the uncompromising cliffs.

(image may be purchased HERE)

I guess it is not all that bad after all. I smile and click my heels before sliding back into the truck.

SPROUT: How long will you hold out to find a bright spot in your day?

Happy Friday and the best of the weekend everyone!

© 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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A Whale of a Story

/ Terrill Welch / 20 Comments

I have been out practicing my mountain photography, as some of you might remember, on the beauties across the Strait of Georgia from our lovely Mayne Island. Such is the case on this Saturday January 14, 2012. We didn’t have snow but Vancouver had been gifted with a good dusting as we can see on the  coastal mountains.

Such nice a crisp bite to the air and the sea is rolling black gray. There are large thunderous snow clouds moving in billowing mounds overhead.

It is about 3:30 pm and maybe an hour before sunset. I look at the clouds and I look at the mountains and I start to wonder. Could we possibly get a pink sunset and maybe a pink glow on those mountains? I muse for a bit and decide to go over to light house at Georgina Point  right at the entrance to Active Pass. This is the best spot to try and set up a tripod and get a good view of the mountains. I get all ready just as the colours start to change. A couple walking their dog come along and visits for a short while. They wanted me to settle an discussion they were having about what I might be photographing. I diplomatically said “a little of everything.” They then wandered off with the dog leaping a head. I went back to watching for the pink to appear on the mountains. David joins me.

Not more than minute goes by when I hear the woman yell “whales!”

Now, if you have ever been anywhere on a B.C. Ferries or on the Gulf Islands when someone yells “whales” you know it gets your attention – no matter how pink the mountains might be about to get. I look down from the coastal giants across the Strait and start scanning the water.

I have never switched the settings on my camera so fast!

Killer Whales or Orcinus orcas – or Orcas for short, seem to be phantoms, smoothly surfacing and disappearing almost as fast as our eyes blink. Catching them in a photograph on the surface when they are traveling is not easy.

I had dreamed and imagined a moment like this but to have it be real – standing there with my camera ready, on the tripod, level, with remote cable shutter release attached. All I had to do was relax and see if I could get the timing down for moving underwater targets that were going to surface some place ahead of where they had just been. That was all. Breathe, Terrill breathe… shoulders down. Look. Relax. Look again. Okay. There. Right there! Got’em!

The whales  are relatively close to shore but still a slight reach for my canon Zoom 70-200 mm 1:2.8 L IS II USM lens. I am going to have to trust its clarity and hope for the best. It seemed there was going to be no playing around either. This pod was relaxed and traveling with a purpose. In mid January there wasn’t a whale watching boat in sight. I liked that. Things are all natural and easy. The sea, the whales and David and me.

Oh look here is a cow and calf…

You can see how close they are to the far sandstone reef…

Then they are gone. David and I looked at each other and smile. Chilled but excited. What a moment. Pure magic.

I say “You know they are travelling towards Saturna Island. If we go back to Reef Bay maybe I can catch them in the evening light there.”

David seems slightly more resigned than excited about this idea. But he humours me. Such is love married to a photographer. Off we go.

I was pretty sure they will travel farther off shore and it might be too dark… and I might not see them at all. But it was worth the chance. David decides to wait in the truck and warm up. I am going to have to hand hold the camera as there is no time and limited space to put up the tripod on the reef with the current tide level. Well let’s see what we can do. Are you ready?

There is a fishing boat coming across the Strait.

The light is exquisite. I scan the waters looking from north to south – hoping.

Ah, I catch sight of the first one…

Then the three…

I love when they seem to roll up to the surface like this one…

Then a flip of a tail as if to say good-bye and they are gone to far to capture in a photograph.

I had forgotten all about waiting for a pink sky

and pink mountains…

Now I notice that I am cold, even with my down jacket. My hands are stiff and my arms tired from the weight of hand holding the lens for so long. It is time to go.

One last shot from Oyster Bay and we call it a day.

SPROUT: If you could have a conversation with an Orca what would you say?

SEED: Now I have to tell you the whole story. Orcas or Killer Whales are not really whales. They are the largest of the dolphin family. There are 3 different kinds of orcas: resident, transient, and offshore. I think these might be one of the resident pods but I am not sure as I know so little about them.

© 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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Meet me at the Salish Sea for Sunrise

/ Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

I wish I had an easy way to settle us into this early morning adventure but the sun is getting up earlier and we are greeted immediately with a mauve Salish Sea sunrise.

(image may be purchased HERE) 

Let’s get Miss Prissy stopped and get that camera out! Quick! We have some photographs to take. Careful though, there is frost and things are a might slippery.

Oh look now! Such a splendid pink.

(image may be purchased HERE) 

The tide is high so we will have to stay on high ground. But it looks like there is just enough room to inch over to a comfy spot there and lean on a large sandstone rock. Ah yes, now the mauve and pink are together.

But it will change quickly again. Well, good morning! For a dawn like this, one must clean up don’t you agree?

(image may be purchased HERE) 

And off he goes to test the morning air. Such freedom in this flight at dawn.

(image may be purchased HERE)

Circling around and coming back as if on angel wings.

(image may be purchased HERE)  

Breathe in, rest and give thanks for another day with a beautiful dawn on the Salish Sea. Now are you not glad you met me at the Salish Sea for sunrise?

Be sure to join me again tomorrow  for a whale of a story.

 

SPROUT: What gifts of today’s dawn are you thankful for? 

 

© 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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