Judy has done a couple of versions of this story time painting of a Nana and her grandchildren gathered for an afternoon read. Sunshine creates a warm shimmer across the group. Watercolour is wonderful for building a feeling of soft, airy light.
There is something about the simplicity of this scene that makes it very appealing. Rolling clouds, summer crops in full bloom; a view that stretches for miles. Judy also caught the colours of the Peace Country season perfectly.
Carolyn has a big boost to her stock of books underway: 17 new ones. They have all been printed, cut, sewn and given head bands. In this stage, several are getting their end papers.
Below, time to begin the fun part; designing covers. This is when the urge to complete the project gets really strong. The time factor becomes secondary to the creativity factor and the books transition from exact copies to unique collectibles. Stay tuned for final results.
Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea
But sometimes he took off and flew to the Mighty Peace Country!
We like kayaking but we’re not exactly hard core. Sometimes a nice paddle in calm waters through quiet surroundings is exactly what you need. After a lot of lake excursions, it is quite thrilling to move quickly whether you paddle or not. The Peace River, living up to the name, is the perfect place to end the summer on a lazy note. Five people, five kayaks: we set out for a five our journey.
This is our final destination, but we have to drive past it to get to our launch site. Here we go across Dunvegan Bridge to travel upriver to Pratt’s Landing.
A little upstream of Pratt’s. This is a different day, at sunset, but same place.
We followed this heron most of the way. Well, it seemed to be the same heron. It would just let us catch up and then it would fly away call “Grok!” Sorry for disturbing the Peace!
We hit the wind, rain and gentle rapids all at the same moment (of course). This was a ten minute storm. The rest of the time we were dry, warm, and serene.
It was an impressive storm! There was thunder too, but not lightning. Don’t be on the water in a lightning storm.
There’s the bridge, looking all sunny after the rain. Our stop was just past the bridge on the right so we got to pass right underneath. And we were finished, sad to be off the river but quite pleased to dry off and have a snack.
Locally grown flowers are an anomaly at our market, where giant zucchinis and bunches of dill five feet high are what most people come to purchase, so it was a lovely surprise to find rubbermaid tubs full of these beautiful bouquets. 
The flowers are pretty, but look at the leaves through the water and the glass. This is what Carolyn would focus on in a painting. It’s one of those details that could be avoided completely – minimum information is needed to make you believe that the stems are in the water because people don’t usually look at things like that; they focus on the flowers – but it would elevate a painting to hyper-realism. The curve of glass and leaves, the reflections, the play of light are all fascinating if one looks.
Carolyn and JK took a trip to the Boulder Gardens, a hiking path near Tumbler Ridge, Alberta. Masses of boulders have fallen, or not fallen, in several patches down the side of a mountain, creating an arrangement of rocky ledges, caves, and towers. Stay on the path, or, as we are encouraged to do by the official signage, wander off as you like.
In the background is the Quintette Mine, the reason a road to the Boulder Gardens even exists. It is not a nice road. It could be advertised as the Pothole Gardens Vehicular Tour.
Fall brings unusual beauty. Well, late summer. September will bring snow, like as not, which is also quite lovely.
