Canvas to the Imagination

Boris and I have been lucky because for the past two weekends we’ve managed to get away from the city. We did a last minute trip to Galiano Island the previous weekend, and stayed on Bowen Island over the long weekend. I really needed the change of scene because it has energized me.

The Bowen trip was fun because we invited a pile of friends to stay with us, which led to much good food and plenty of laughter. The star of the weekend was Bosco the dog (pictured below) because he charmed and entertained everyone.

We had a few good days of almost summer weather, and then the rain came. I don’t think anyone really minded, because it was a good excuse to stay inside, read a book, play games, and cook.

Here’s to a promising summer full of excellent weekend adventures with friends.

Early spring in Vancouver was cold and rainy, and it felt as if warmer weather was never going to arrive. But those precious warm blue sky days have come at last and I’ve been getting outside to make the most of it.

I snap an endless amount of photos of the beautiful flowering trees found everywhere in our city at this time of year. I cannot get enough of them, their beauty is always a magical sight to see.

On Sunday I attended the latest in the Eastside Culture Crawl’s monthly series of intimate studio visits. The featured artist was Evan Broens, who works out of Railtown Studios.

While Evan’s work isn’t normally the style of art that grabs me, his talk about process and materials drew me in and convinced me to like his work. His opening line of being focused on shape and form is what did it because this is exactly what I am currently obsessed with in the paper cut work I’ve been doing.

These bottom two photos were taken on the side of the studio that belongs to Evan’s studio mate. I was curious about the dried lizards and what he intended to do with them. Sadly, he wasn’t around to ask. I know exactly where you can buy these in Chinatown but I’d never seen anyone purchase them.

It’s always a treat to get to poke around in an artist studio, and to hear them speak about their work. Next up in the series is an Intimate Studio visit with painter, Nicola Tibbetts. Registration is available through the Eastside Culture Crawl website.