You Left Your Coat

 During the warm summer months I was greeted in the garden by a small garter snake making its way across the lawn. The means of locomotion was amazing and fast. The snake quickly covered the open ground and moved under the shed.

The image of its curled body burned in my mind and I quickly returned to the studio to record the shape. The moving form was the important thing at this point so I used the first tools that came to hand, a large marker and grid paper. Not what you would call fine art materials but the shape was the thing and we all know what happens to memories.

So, as funny as it seems a few months later while I gathered kindling wood for the fire buried deep in the pile was a perfectly preserved snake skin. You are right in saying "that doesn't look perfect to me" but I should mention that the skin has since passed through a vacuum cleaner being mistaken for something other than what it was.

I guess the snake liked the garden as much as I do.

Halifax Morning Sky

The view from the Halifax Citadel out to the harbour mouth in Halifax was a striking one for sure. Recently as part of my studio cleanup and renovation I found this sketch that was painted about this time of year.  Just as the sun rose in the early morning sky of late December it punctuated a constructed city skyline with its own reflection on the calm harbour water.

December Days

As we move towards winter the suns path is low in the sky.

The days are growing shorter.

I will move outside the studio again now that hunting season is over for this year.