Paintings 2024 - 2025

I only did two paintings this year. Both of them were tarot-inspired, based on cards they kept getting during readings. Something kind of cool that I did this year was, I took pictures in stages instead of just the final product.

 

 

I kind of wish I'd have taken a photo of just the background, but this is where I thought to start documenting. Mostly, I was just really happy with what I'd done and was intimidated by the next stage, so I wanted evidence that it looked cool at some point before I screwed it up.

 

The crow is a symbol of freedom to the person I made this for, which pairs well with The Magician, as it represents the potential to become anything.

 

The infinity symbol and top half of the sceptre are a little wonky, but otherwise I was pleased. 

I thought I would screw up the angling of the table featured in the original image. To get around this, I did a stump, which is not only easier to paint, it's also more crow-like.

One of my pet peeves about tarot is that Pentacles and Cups are the same colour. So in this one I made the Cup a silver-blue. I also gave the sword a green handle.

 

 

The foliage creeping up the side was to cover up a black blotch that was made when our cat Kieran jumped on me. I think it looks nice though.

 

My signature on the trunk looks kind of like it was carved. I like it. 

 

I thought to take a pic of the background this time. Originally I wanted to do a tie-dye sky, as that's a symbol to the person I was making this for. I tried many ways, but it never worked out. I tried water colour and found it much more difficult than I thought it would be. Eventually, I would opt to just make it "watery" by dipping the brush, but the effect didn't really come through.

The dog and troll doll are both symbols to the person I made this for. Kind of compensating for not getting the tie-dye sky.

 I did two paintings in 2024 as well. I opted not to make a post for them, as I didn't think it was enough. But they'll fit into this one.

 

 

Art Walks, 2025

This is a repost from my main blog.  I'm keeping it there for visibility, but it did occur to me as I was writing, that it literally resembled an art gallery. It was just too applicable to this blog to not include it.

Everything below is a repost.

Me and Lee-Anne went on the two local Art Walks this year, as we usually do. The one in our neighbourhood was smaller than the one branching from downtown, which is usual. However, it seemed like the disparity was increased this year. The Central Art Walk was only eight locations, and they could be divided into two separate "clusters" with a lot of unused space between them, whereas the Frederick Art Walk was so busy that we weren't even able to complete the whole thing.

It wasn't too long ago that I would go to these things, skirt along the perimeter, snatch glances of artwork and avoid talking to anyone. This year, we were not only involved in every stop we came across, but we spent perhaps an irresponsible amount of money.

The place I got this from generously hosted several contributors, one of whom noted that I was from his neighbourhood. He was enthusiastic to explain the background of the painting to me. While it looked good in the place that I purchased it from, it doesn't quite have the same effect here. I'll find a place to display it where it's appreciated.

The top two images of the sunset and the flower vase are from someone at WALES. The bottom depiction of a cat walking by a rainbow was from someone else. They were both stationed at our office, which was hosting several artists.

We got a bunch of magnets. For some reason, these were a trend this year.

We bought a crochet cactus named Carl Tractor. Each of his line got a story associated with them, which you might see as a thought bubble floating behind him. It says: 

"He once beat an advanced computer at chess, but could never do it again. He takes his sister to the movies every Sunday."

Last year, Lee-Anne ran into someone with Girlguide cookies. She'd run out by the time we got there, but we exchanged phone numbers for when the next batch arrived. That didn't come, but when we were shopping for clay ghosts this year, the seller reminded us that she was the one that had promised cookies. Luckily, she had them in stock this time.

Stickers were also popular. Lee-Anne has been riding her bike more frequently, and she's heard that the best deterrent for theft is stickers, because they're inconvenient to remove and visually distinct. So she got a bunch on the art walks

The same guy that I buy bowls from had charcuterie boards. I wound up getting two, one for us and one for my mother and brother.

Last year I got a homemade calendar, which I was hoping to see again. The house was open, but there were no calendars this year.

Kenabeek Pics, Summer 2025

 

Fall Pics, Kitchener 2024

 

Kenabeek Pics, Fall 2024

Recently me and Lee-Anne visited my grandparents' property in Northern Ontario. It's Canadian Shield country. Cascading mossy rocks and sparse woods made of birch, poplar, maple, and conifers

 It's really hard to catch the depth of the rolling hills in a photo.

The Stone Circle, where my aunt used to do her Wiccan rituals. It was fairly undisturbed. Maybe one stone was out of place.

I'd never visited in the Fall before. We would always come up during blueberry season in the summer, and at Christmas. It was a unique experience for me to see the changing leaves. The Autumnal colours were fairly muted, with more yellow than red amongst the green. During the four days we were there it did seem the season matured into a proper Fall

There is a post on this blog from over ten years ago. Back then, I uploaded a pic of this same birch tree. I took this photo without remembering that. It's not too crazy, this tree is right next to the house. But still

Technically this is in Temiskaming Shores. It's the only one taken outside their township