Person who makes things, plays piano badly but with enthusiasm, runs quite a lot even when not being chased, science and nature fan, also works with charities and technology.
Married to @rossmillar and currently between dogs but hoping to rectify that soon. I’m really excited about connecting with folks here and not being worried that you will show up at my house and shout at me or whatever.
My first completed artwork of 2023 is a Kingfisher. Kingfishers are said to symbolize freedom, courage, adventure, and abundance - all things that I wish for all of us in the new year.
I don't normally add backgrounds to my animal paintings so this is a bit of an experiment for me (courage!) and I'm not sure I love it but here we are :)
Acrylic and watercolour on watercolour paper, 10 x 15 inches.
Wherever you are and however you might be spending this last day of 2022, I wish you kindness, peace, and connection in 2023.
Thinking about how the days are already starting to get longer and soon we will watch things growing again.
Day 24 of #ArtAdventCalendar is another dog in ink and watercolour - I am realizing that I draw/paint a LOT of dogs :)
Wherever you are and whatever it is you might (or might not) be celebrating today, I hope that you are feeling safe and warm. Here the cold snap is finally ending and I am feeling a lot of gratitude for that :)
Day 21 of #ArtAdventCalendar is a cicada in ink and watercolour.
We don't get cicadas where I live but we did encounter them once while camping in B.C. which was truly something to see and hear.
I am fascinated by insects and try to be very gentle with them. I actually have a giant (for here) house spider in my basement named "Barbara" that I have become very fond of. It is unclear what her thoughts are about me.
What are your feelings about insects?
For a very chilly Day 20 (it's -40C here with the wind chill) of #ArtAdventCalendar is a painting of a crow in ink and watercolour.
We have a family of crows who come every spring to nest in the big pine trees around our house and I love them. Last year one of them returned with an almost perfect circle in one wing that I can only guess was the result of a bullet. Poor friend :(
Day 18 of #ArtAdventCalendar is a self portrait in ink from a couple of years ago. If we are connected on other social media platforms you might recognize it as my avatar from one of them :)
I don't usually draw/paint people but I was happy with how this one turned out. I also hadn't done a self portrait since art school so it brought back some good memories.
Day 17 of #ArtAdventCalendar is a watercolour portrait of a dog (Are dogs allowed on this most revered day of the week? Maybe don't show your cat just to be safe).
This is from 2017 I think? A neat side effect of participating in this has been rediscovering so many pieces that I made over the last few years that I forgot about.
Day 16 of #ArtAdventCalendar is a gouache painting of a toucan from when I was experimenting with making animals out of basic shapes/colours.
I did a series of different birds but this one was definitely my favourite :)