Sunrise at Timid Turtle Pond in October — I love it!
I'm back! Did you miss me? In this month’s update:
OK, now where's Diana?
Getting emotional — about my own painting?
Order now for Christmas!
OK, now where's Diana?
That's me on the floor with the participants in my Peachland workshop. What a great group!
After running all over the place in October (and for most of the year, really), I’m looking forward to staying in one place a while.
Where did I run to in October? First I went to Peachland, B.C., where I led a workshop for a keen group of painters. I taught the group some of the techniques I use to create my wildlife paintings and as you can see from the photo above, they were good students! I’m looking forward to visiting them again next year and to leading workshops in other locations as well.
From there I spent some time at Timid Turtle Pond, recharging and enjoying Thanksgiving with my family. The aurora borealis lit up the night sky and the weather was great…some of the time.
Then, late in the month, I flew to Powell River with my bestest art buddy Debbie Tougas to take part in a six-day art retreat and workshop. This time I was a student, not a teacher. It’s important to keep learning, even if you’ve been painting for years. The workshop was wonderful! I made some new friends and painted hard — sometimes for up to 10 hours a day!
With all that, I was pretty tired by the end of the month. So now I’m sticking close to home for a few weeks and throwing myself into painting. What will I create? Keep an eye on my social media channels to see!
Getting emotional — about my own painting?
I had an interesting experience while I was at the six-day art retreat and workshop in October.
At the beginning of the workshop, the instructor led us to a table covered in photos and told us to pick images to paint that we were attracted to. I quickly chose the images of an eagle, a bear and a raccoon.
For the next few days I created a painting that included all three of the creatures. And as I said above, I painted hard for many, many hours each day.
As I worked, and as the days went by, something strange happened. I found myself becoming more and more emotional about the painting. By the last day of the workshop, I was actually crying when I showed my painting to the other students.
Why?
I thought for a while and realized I had, without thinking about it, chosen images that represented me and my late parents: My father the eagle, my mother the bear and me, the clever raccoon, vying for their attention.
No wonder the painting made me so emotional! And how strange that I picked those images without realizing what I was doing.
Has a painting ever made you unexpectedly emotional?
Christmas is coming! Giant Santa told me so!
Order now for Christmas!
Christmas is just around the corner. Soon the malls and big-box stores will be filled with desperate shoppers fighting each other to find gifts for their special someones. Stressful!
It doesn’t have to be like that — you can order one of my prints or original paintings as gifts from the comfort of your home and I’ll have it delivered directly to you or to the person you’re buying for. No fighting necessary!
My colourful, adventurous and playful paintings are original and one-of-a-kind. You’re not going to find them in big-box stores or through giant online retailers. They are also surprisingly affordable and available in a variety of sizes on paper, framed or on canvas.
There’s still time to put in your orders, but please — don’t delay too long. We’ve heard rumours there might be a postal strike, so ordering soon is a good idea.
And remember — my prints always ship free in North America!
Thank you for reading my update newsletter! Get in touch if you have questions, feedback or want to talk.
If you know anyone who would enjoy or benefit from the content in this newsletter please forward it to them. And be sure to visit me online:
Website: dianaskelhorne.com
Youtube: Make Art With Diana
Instagram: @dianaskelhorneartist
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