The Beat Goes On....

"Jail Birds!" - oil panel 8x10 inches

" Final Fanfare" - oil on canvas 12x16 inches

"Sunlit Lane" - oil on panel 8x10 inches

"Forgotten... Until Today"- McFadden's Sugar House - oil on panel 10x12 inches

Friday morning... when the sun reluctantly did crest the eastern horizon... what did we behold... but white stuff on the ground... "just a dusting"... as we refer to insignificant first flurries... but nevertherless - SNOW! The forecast on the radio this morning is for more snow in our area over the next few days... but the snow tires are on... the car's winterized and a good supply of windshield wiper fluid is on hand. We're ready!

Despite the cold temperatures that have swept into the Oro- Medonte... the colour continues to hang on... the sun continues to provide warmth and lighting. I've been able to be "out there"... still capturing more village material for our upcoming "Friends and Neighbours" exhibition in two weeks. This morning... I will return to the field... two, or maybe even three sites already on my radar... weather permitting!

The jpegs posted today are favourite places that continue to interest "me"... a couple I have painted on more than one occasion. Two others are "first timers" for me. Not that they didn't strongly pull on me to be painted... just that the old adage...."the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence"... seemed always to draw me away from what was beautiful... and at hand. No longer! They are now painted... and "I" will feel less guilty in passing them... as I did frequently because they now have a presence.

The top image is an old throwback... a designated "Heritage Site" from Hillsdale's earliest rural past. It is a one room jail... two holding areas... complete with iron bars... each with a cot... and a wood stove to provide the "amenities". There was no need even for a guard I'm told... so "visitors" were simply left to their own thoughts and amusements until feeding time... or release.

I noticed this site on many... many occasions before painting it finally... simply because it is located on a lane leading directly to our parking for our Gallery. We must pass by it each and every time that we return to our Gallery and home. The colour was still rich and enticing on Thursday... so I decided to bite the bullet and give it a stab.

Earlier in the summer... as I swung up the lane... I was met by a small gathering... or "murmeration" as it is known.. of starlings either feeding, or gathering small stones for their crops in the view ahead. It struck a funny chord within... which I have held on to until this pleasant wee painting...."Jail Birds" came into being! Sometimes the waiting... is about rethinking...revising what is merely visual... into a stronger image with something more to say! I like the final cut!

The second jpeg... a lovely Victorian vintage Ontario brick was once the manse for St Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Since serving the servants of the Lord... it has served as the home for a very gifted potter... and presently is the home and business of Event Decorator and Design... owned and operated by Elizabeth and Steve Johnston. Liz is the only daughter of Biker n' Triker, Rolly Hallyburton. Deb at one time was the book keeper for this very high end event planning business... until her "craftiness"... got the better of her! HA HA!!!

I painted this painting yesterday morning... watching the half inch or snow on the tree branches and ground melt out of existence... for now! It was a lovely bright and crisp day. The quiet and solitude was broken only by a couple of interested school children... headed of to classes at the nearby elementary school... a block or so further eastward down Albert Street... and a very busy blue jay that kept noisily ferrying back and forth into the fir cover to the left in the painting.

The third image lies up Mill Street West... near St Andrew's Presbyterian Church. I liked the higher elevation of the sunlit clapboard house... joined to the foreground by the brightly lit roadway and dark foliage shrouded wings left and right. It was a simple composition... simply painted and I am pleased with the outcome.

The fourth and final image for this post... John McFadden's Sugar House... has been on my list-to-do for three weeks. However... the leaf cover was too dense and gaudy to offer a pleasing and uncluttered composition. So I patiently waited... and that paid off! As Kenny Rogers so aptly put it: "Ya gotta know when to hold!" Painting outdoors is indeed like playing in a game of poker with a myriad of other "players" in the "game"... playin agin ya! Sometimes the cards are stacked against you... and "Ya simply...gotta fold!" HA HA!!

During the next week... although I will be away for two days... I will be concentrating my attention upon more contemporary and modern homes in the new subdivision... to show that the village is composed of both the old... and the new. Life is lived quite differently in both places... but I quite enjoy walking through both areas... and have friends living in each. Both add a distinct flavour to village life.

So Autumn continues to hold Winter in abeyance... for who knows how much longer? But who cares? I look forward to Winter's arrival... as a continuation of expected seasonal change. I will be ready! I have my winter clothing... cotton gloves... boots... and trusty snowshoes at the ready! But until winter arrives... I'm out there!... Painting another piece of Autumn 2011!

Good Painting to ALL!