Rubies & Oil Painting

I have recently reached a certain "ahem" age milestone in my life. I will give you a hint, I received rubies on my birthday to celebrate.

With this milestone a lot of changes have come about;

1. I recently had my second child in May 2010

2. I have rediscovered a passion of mine...art.

I love art history and going to art galleries when I get the chance. I went to Paris last year and was thrilled to be able to see many of the paintings I had studied in the art history course I took at Acadia.

I have always painted and drawn, but never really had the confidence to develop my talents. About eight years ago, I decided to pick up a second hand book titled "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" By Betty Edwards and completed many of the exercises and realized that I could actually learn to draw well! I proceeded to take an introductory art course at MUN, which was fantastic. I learned a great deal and my passion for art began to grow. However, life happens and this new found talent was sidelined by the birth of my first daughter, but the dream stayed with me.

Sketch I did of my first daughter. Conte Crayon 2005

I recently started taking oil painting lessons from a wonderful local artist Daina Deblette Scarola. I was talking to my husband one day about my desire to draw and paint and he told me about a local artist he was following on Twitter and I should follow her as well. We ended up going to her exhibition in Seaforth, N.S. and bought a few of her paintings. I loved her work and eventually got up enough nerve to ask her about lessons.

My first lesson was at my house which was fantastic as I have a new baby and getting out of the house to take a course is not possible right now. I was so pleased with the process and the result, I have spent the last few weeks painting when I get a chance. I can't wait until the next lesson.

Morris Lake 2010