Day 21 of 30

California Bighorn Sheep

8 x 8

Acrylic

This poor girl needs work both on canvas and in real life.  She had chunks of fur missing and what looked like dozens of tics gorging away.  She was standing beside my car and giving me a bit of an indirect stare.

Day 16 of 30

Rainy Day in Milan

8 x 8

Acrylic

During our few days in Milan we noticed that almost everyone carried an umbrella and if you didn't carry one you were sure to have two or three umbrella salesmen chasing you down each block.  One afternoon we sought shelter from the rain at a cafe and watched the traffic go by including many cyclists carrying umbrellas.  It's ironic that living part time in the wet west coast Vancouver weather I have rarely owned and almost never carried an umbrella and have never ever seen anyone cycling with one, in fact it would probably be frowned on here.  Europeans ride a little differently though and with great skill.  

Zion by Bike

Zion South

16 x 12

oil on canvas paper

Recently returned from a trip south and just had to paint my experience in Zion National Park.  As of April 1 it is closed to cars and the only way in are bus shuttle, cycling or by foot.  We decided to cycle with some friends and what a spectacular ride it was up the canyon.  Much more peaceful than our visit a few weeks previously when the route was crowded with vehicles parked or trying to squeeze by each other.  The colors here are very intense and the lighting very mystical.

Sorry France, I've fallen in love with Italy!

White Lake Trails

16 x 12

oil on canvas

I ran this trail yesterday, 13 kilometres of jaw dropping beauty and the above painting will be in a show at Leir House in Penticton starting Saturday.  As for Italy we had three weeks there in September travelling mostly by bicycle on my beloved Orbea Diva.  Injuries from my crash in June didn't hold me back much and I managed to climb many of the famous Giro d'Italia climbs including the Stelvio, Mortirolo and the Gavia.  We had three days in the Italian Alps and then three days in the Dolomites followed by a week and a half on the Adriatic coast.  After riding extensively in France through the Alps and the Pyrenees I have to say this was the best trip yet.  If you like cycling and want to read more there are two write ups of our trip on the Granfondoplus.com website, go to the travel section or search for Hillier Italy.  And if you live in the Okanagan come by and see the show, details on the poster below.  

A big bump in the road

White Lake Trail 

8 x 10

acrylic on canvas paper

Unfortunate and unavoidable I hit a big bump in the road namely a fellow cyclist whilst we were on a big ride in Washington State 2 weeks ago.  With numerous injuries I'm laid up for a few weeks and had planned to paint as a diversion but find I'm somewhat limited in mobility and energy so am painting from photos and back to acrylics as they are easier to manage.  The above painting is of one of my favourite places to bird or trail run.  It sounds like my trail running group had a good one there last week.

Bike to Work Week

City That Cycles

Photograph

It's Bike to Work Week here and so I decided to include this photo in the few that I have hanging in Hooked On Books.  I couldn't believe the photo op whilst walking the side streets in Paris.  The street was deserted and empty but for the lineup of rental bikes parked for the day.  Not sure whether they were brought into the downtown from the burbs by workers or whether they were sitting there waiting for tourists to use.  The bikes are locked into meters all over the city and one only has to pay a fee, use the bike and then leave in any available meter.  A very bike friendly city!