Tea Leaves

Tea leaves....there's something mysterious and spiritual about tea leaves.  Have you ever had your tea leaves read?  I did on a couple of occasions and I was well.....surprised!  I remember one afternoon having my tea leaves read by a Cowichan Native Indian woman out on Granville Island in British Columbia.  I had just finished one of my classes at the Emily Carr School of Art and thought it would be a relaxing thing to do.  I was curious and my curiosity found me looking down at the bottom of my tea cup after having enjoyed a great cup of tea and listening to this wise woman tell me about her interesting experiences living on Salt Spring Island (one of the gulf islands along the BC coast).  I couldn't make out the shapes at the bottom of that tea cup, but the tea reader saw all kinds and started pointing them out to me.  The star, the bell, the cross and so on.  It was a fun thing to do after a morning filled with classes.  I must say I did enjoy my cup of tea and walked away feeling relaxed.....like I had done something good for myself. 

When I got home, I decided to look up the different varieties of teas and where they come from....green tea, chai tea, orange pekoe, raspberry zinger, black tea, cocoa leaf tea, tea from ceylon, tea from India, tea from China and sooooo many different teas....herbal teas, fruit teas and more teas.  All teas come from leaves at some point even the fruit teas!  I began wondering what it would be like to walk through a field of fresh tea leaves growing....breathing in their scent and drinking in all their shades of greens and yellows.  I picked up my sketch book and began drawing and playing around with the shapes of leaves.  This propelled me over to my easel and I began to paint leaves but not just like leaves.  I began to layer washes and washes of greens - hookers green, chrome oxide green, veridian green, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and naples yellow....just kept putting the washes on and the deeper and more vibrant the leaves became.

Take a peek at my tea leaves below!  What do you think?

Tea Leaves - acrylic on canvas -- SOLD

More tea leaves.... Photo 2 of Tea Leaves painting:

Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday  --  SOLD .  This is a painting that is in memory of those who lost their lives on January 30th, 1972.  Those people who lost their lives are listed below:

Bernard McGuigan, Gerard V. Donaghy, Hugh P. Gilmore, John F. Duddy, James McKinney, James J. Wray, John P. Young, Kevin McElhinney, Michael G. Kelly, Michael M. McDaid, Patrick J. Doherty, William A. McKinney, William N. Nash, John Johnston.

Photo 2 of Painting Bloody Sunday:

Bloody Sunday - January 30th, 1972, Derry City, Ireland was one of the worst atrocities that the world would come to learn about.  The march that began from Bishops Field down to Creggan Hill and then moved onto William Street and into the Guildhall Square ended up being diverted into the Bogside and over to Free Derry Corner.

Barricades had been set up by the British troops.  A number of young people broke away from the march and tried to cross the barricades.  They began throwing stones and accusations at the British troops and in turn the British troops fired back with rubber bullets, tear gas and water canons.  The rest of the marchers continued to make their way down to Creggan Hill and over to the Bogside.

Within minutes, paratroopers began opening fire into the crowds.  Fourteen unarmed individuals were gunned down.  Over 15,000 people witnessed this horrible tragedy.  This footage was caught on camera by people who witnessed this atrocity first hand.

The people of Derry continue to march the same route each year since 1972 just like those that marched on January 30th  which is now known as Bloody Sunday.  All those lives lost.  All that bloodshed and for what?  When will wars ever end?  U2 has written a song about this atrocity.  Those lyrics play in my head this morning as I write this. 

Please Note:  a better picture will be put in soon.  I am working with a new camera and mac computer, please be patient with me. Maria.

Peony Pleasures

Peonies are one of my favourite flowers.  I love all kinds of flowers but peonies are bold yet delicate and they draw you in to their petals, folds and folds of gorgeous petals.  They look beautiful when they are freshly cut standing in a vase of water.  You can transport that vase of freshly cut flowers anywhere you like throughout the day - place them on your desk or on your coffee table or kitchen counter.  Bring them with you into your bathroom while you soak in the tub...enjoying these beautiful creations from Mother Nature.  Breathe their colours in -- the intense fuschias, the candy pinks, the pale champagne whites.  They are simply beautiful.  

I was inspired to create this painting after having a disagreement  between my husband and I.   This painting represented the anger, the hurt, the sadness and the forgiveness that came out onto the canvas.  Love is a powerful emotion but forgiveness is even bigger and very freeing. 

Here is the Peonies painting!  It is acrylic on canvas and is done on a 38 x 40 inch canvas. 

Peony Pleasure   -- SOLD

Photo 2 of Peony Pleasure

The Sugar Bush

It happens once a year for a few short weeks.  The weather has to be just right and all of a sudden you wake up one morning and it's time for a visit to the sugar bush.  Maple syrup season has arrived.  March into April is officially Maple Syrup season in Ontario.

The days are warming up and the nights are just cold enough.  Though you can't feel it, there's a stirring underneath us that reaches deep into the cold dormant earth.  There's a quickening, a gentle awakening from a deep winter's slumber.  The maple trees begin to stir and come alive again.  The sap begins to flow through their trunks and a sweet elexir that we have come to enjoy is extracted from these wise trees.  Maple syrup is on its way and the taste of sweet, sticky, golden liquid leaves me with a craving for sugar snow and steaming hot pancakes with melting butter dripping down their tender, fluffy sides ready for every mouthful to be savoured.

Each year, during maple syrup time, I am transported back to fond memories of an excited little girl going to the sugar bush with my elementary school class and making snow taffy with my classmates.  Hay rides with horses taking us through the sugar bush while our peals of laughter rang through the woods as we breathed in the sweet air that wafted out of the sugar shack.  When I go to the sugar bush, it's a pilgrimage of sorts for me as I remember the many fun-filled trips to the sugar shack.  The same eagerness and excitement I felt when I was seven years old takes hold of me as I plan my trip to the sugar bush each season.  Would you like to go to the sugar bush with me?

The Sugar Bush  --  PURCHASED

This painting is acrylics on canvas (24 x 36 inches). This painting has been donated to a silent auction that will take place at a gala that I am invited to attend.  Money raised from the silent auction will go to support programs at a mental health center in our community, to raise awareness and help to de-stigmatize mental illness.  This is one cause that I truly believe in and will advocate for.  Post a comment on my blog site, I would love to hear from you.  Below are some other views of the painting.  Ciao for now, Maria.

 The Sugar Bush right angle view and below is the left angle view.

 

A walk in the woods

March 1st and today is the beginning of my blog site.  I am excited to begin posting and displaying my paintings.  I am also looking forward to your posts and comments.   I have just finished preparing a few canvases so they will be ready to receive the colours and shapes that will bring them to life -- risky business for some but then again, I like to take chances-- especially the ones that will bring about positive results.

This painting titled "A Walk In The Woods"  - SOLD is painted with acrylics on canvas and is from a photograph I took on a drive up to Clark Lake, Quebec.  The weekend was great and the snow was just beautiful.  It lay heavy on branches of the tall pine trees.  It was one vast, never-ending winter wonderland.  Driving deeper into the woods to get to the cottage, it was as if I was being magically lured into the woods and all I could see for miles around me were the dense majestic pines, the expanse of snow that lay on the ground like a jewelled blanket with it's lavender shadows and champagne dappled sun beckoning me to get out of the car and lie in it, maybe even make some snow angels.

The sun coming through the trees created a glow around me that was warm, inviting and flirted with the idea that spring could be just on the other side of this Canadiana delight.  If I had a picnic basket with me, I would have stopped and laid down a cloth and enjoyed some cheese and maybe even a glass of wine, okay some organic blueberry juice pour moi.  The moment brought a song to my head and I began to hum it.   Do you remember the song The Teddy Bear's Picnic that goes like this: "If you go out in the woods today, you're in for a big surprise..."

Take a look at what happened when I waltzed with the canvas below.  Can you see yourself going for a winter picnic in such a beautiful place?