Smugglers Cove must be one of the most beautiful places on the Sunshine Coast.

The walk starts through the forest and continues along a boardwalk through marshy land with beaver dams – (I’ve never seen a beaver there though)

Eventually you reach the ocean, and walk along massive rocks with arbutus and pine trees jutting out of them.  It’s a beautiful place!

This place is beautiful rain or shine, the waves crash upon the rocks, and the ocean reflects the sky.

These two paintings fit together perfectly side by side, and I will be doing limited edition prints of them.

And the dogs love it too!

I’ve started a new series – and called it “The Tulip Theory”

I am normally quite a Dahlia fanatic.  I grow them, I collect them, I split them and I share them with friends.  But they truly are a complicated plant.  And perhaps a complicated, chaotic life can be seen from a complex Dahlias perspective.

So I decided to simplify a little bit, this is where the Tulip Theory comes into play…  Simple and beautiful.

Life, thoughts, everything, anything doesn’t have to be complicated.  Keep it simple!

I’ve been participating in some creative journalling with a wonderful group of women.  It’s about trying do  SOME artwork every day…

The more I create, the more ideas I have;  thus, I have several projects going at the same time, including a new tulip series called “The Tulip Theory”.

The quote on this page was found by my sister, and the photo is from when I was a child, and of course I have wings because I’ll be taking off at any moment.

My beautiful Dog Daisy passed away a little over a year ago.  I still miss her every day.

On March 3rd, 2008, we rescued Daisy from a reservation in Gold River.  It took us three days to dry her off, and three weeks to get her into the house.  She was emaciated, and had clearly been beaten.  Little did we know she was pregnant.  On March 28th, Daisy gave birth to 14 puppies, of which 11 survived.  We found homes for all of them except three, which we kept.

One and a half years later, Mr. Skunk, named this because he had a big white stripe down his back, died from Wobblers Disease. that left us with Oreo and Orion, who you’ve seen before on this blog.

Shortly before Mr. Skunk died, Daisy started limping, she was misdiagnosed twice, and a year later, we found out she had cancer in her shoulder.  When they did x-rays, we learned she had only one functioning lung, and had been shot with pellets, which remained in her stomach.  What a horrible life she must have had before we rescued her.

On December 9th 2010, Daisy passed away.  She was the light of my life, she brought me so much unconditional love and joy.  My life was complete with her by my side.  And she gave me two wonderful gifts, Oreo and Orion.  Had my wonderful and supportive partner not brought her home, my life would not be the same.

I recently completed a Daisy painting, seen above, called “Dancing Daisy” it is 30×40″ – it is named “Dancing Daisy” because every time Daisy the dog wanted to go for a walk, she would do a little dance in front of me.  A memory, that still puts a smile on my face.

Daisy!  I miss you every day.  I think of you every day.  You were THE best dog ever!

7:40am.

I am multi tasking:  Computer, TV, and reading lines from my favorite poet Shane Koyczan.

I feel a presence behind me.  I look up and read three lines,

“Looking at you it occurred to me, I could sit around all day wearing nothing but your kiss.”

We kiss, and he heads off to work.

Three minutes later, the phone rings.

It’s him, and I think, “What the hell is he calling for?  He just left…”

“Yes?”  I say.

“The sky is blood red.”

“OK.” and hang up the phone

I run through the house like a turkey with it’s head cut off just before Thanksgiving.

The dogs stare at me perplexed.

I am wearing pajamas.

I grab the camera, put on oversized slippers, and grab a jacket, any jacket and run to the car.

I drive like a maniac to get to the ocean to see the sun rise.  It takes five minutes.  I sing loudly with Joni Mitchell.

And this, is the beginning of January 2, 2012.

One of my biggest loves.

He’s 175 pounds of pure wrinkle cuddleness.  He loves to snuggle and be a cutie pie, he is very verbal and talks to me when he wants to go out.  He can even tell time.  He knows when it’s time to eat, and he knows when it’s time to go to bed; but he likes to ask permission first…  He makes a lot of strange grunting noises and then I ask him, “Orion, do you want to go to bed?”  And he slowly gets up and walks to his bed and snuggles in for the evening.

We rescued his mother three and a half years ago, best thing we ever did.  To me, there is no love, like the love of a dog.  Always loyal, always willing to be there, and with St. Bernards…  They read our minds and know what we want.

Orion is part Saint Bernard, part Hound – he has an excellent sniffer and knows how to use it.  He’s too tall for his own good, and at first glance appears to be a scary fellow, but he’s a lover, not a fighter.  (unless you’re a small dog, then he thinks you’re a squeaky toy).

I love to put my nose in between the pads of his feet, he has such a wonderful smell.  Can you tell how much I love him?

The beach is a peaceful place for me.  One day I’ll post some photos of Sargeant bay, where I often walk my dogs and collect driftwood and other oceanic treasures.  You’ve probably seen a painting or two of the place…

I collected several pieces of flat driftwood,  pieces that had probably been cut from larger pieces of wood and had been floating around and beaten up in the ocean for a while.  After windy days I head down to the beach and find many treasures, including these small flat pieces of wood, perfect for some fun and collage.

The Dahlias are from my garden, I collect them, they are the most beautiful feminine flowers; when they open into bloom, the viewer gets a giant surprise!  You never know what the flower will look like…  I am partial to pink, and I have about 40 different varieties, but my addiction to them will not allow me to keep it only at 40; in fact, I will be tearing out quite  a bit of grass in the spring and plant another 40 varieties of Dahlias.

The little girls are from a graphic designer who reconditions old photos and enjoys sharing the beauty of the past.

It’s fun to be creative in many different ways.  The creativity flows freely, and I embrace it.

Everyone’s crazy about a sharp dressed dog!

You may think dogs that are dressed are ridiculous, but let me tell you this!  A raincoat for a dog is a very handy thing; in fact, I don’t have wet dogs shaking themselves dry in my house, marking my walls with their water drippings, AND I don’t have the smell of wet dog either – not that I mind the smell…

My dogs only get wet heads and wet tails, and all the other dogs are jealous of their sharp raincoats.

This amazing figure was at the entrance of the outdoor totems at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

There were two poles, a more modern look.  I was instantly surprised by the intense presence of this totem.

My step son, who is in his late 20′s asked me to create a totem painting that reminded me of him, he said, “Paint me a totem that represents me to you.”  And this is the image that I chose.  The interesting thing is, I showed my step son several different totems – probably around 6 of the newer paintings, and asked him to choose which one I painted for him.  And he chose this one.  I was elated, apparently I know my step son.

A totem can be the symbol of a tribe, clan, family or individual.  The First Nations tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides.  Different animal guides come in and out of our lives depending on the direction that we are headed and the tasks that need to be completed along our journey.

Native beliefs further explain that a totem animal is one that is with you for life, both in the physical and spiritual world.  Though people may identify with different animal guides throughout their lifetime, it is this one totem animal that acts as the main guardian spirit.

This Animal Guide offers power and wisdom to the individual when they “Communicate” with it, conveying their respect and trust and learning the lessons it teaches.