The Owl Swing

Material:  Acrylic paint and collage on 8x8 wooden cradle.
Status:  Gone to a very good home!
Note:  The text is taken from the Down Syndrome Creed. . . and is used in honour of my son, Aidan who moves beautifully at his own pace.

Our Family at Sea

Materials:  acrylic on paper.
Status:  Father's Day gift for my husband....SURPRISE!
Note: About a month ago, James mentioned he would like a painting like this one.  It was a lot of fun to do, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I put in a representation of our family into it;  can you see the 3 boys?  Can you see me and James?  Can you see both sets of grandparents? 

No?  Okay, here's the cheat sheet: 

• The 3 trees on the right are the boys in order from oldest to youngest. 
• The two houses on the escarpment are for the grandparents. 
• James and I are on the boat between. 

Not sure what Freud would say, but there you have it!

The Teacher

Materials: Acrylic and collage on wooden cradle.
Status:  Gone to a good home.

Sailor

Material:  Acrylic and collage on canvas.
Status:  Gone to a good home.

Little Blue Bird

Materials:  Acrylic paint and collage on wooden cradle.
Status:  Gone to a very good home.

If Birds Read Poetry

Materials:  Acrylic and Collage on wooden cradle. Text is taken from a book about Emily Dickenson.
Status:  Gone to a wonderful home.

Owl do as You do

Status:  Gone to a very good home.
Material: Acrylic paint and collage on 6 x 6 inch wood panel.

Notes:  This is the first time I've used a wooden panel, and I'm definitely looking forward to painting on them more often. 

The text in this painting is from the poem:  Down Syndrome Creed by an unknown author.  I wonder sometimes if the author is aware of how popular this poem is in the Down syndrome community?  I hope so....it speaks to so many of us. 

This painting is dedicated to my son, Aidan, who is bringing out the best in all of us. 

Charlie de Gull

Material:  Acrylic paint and collage on 5 x5 inch wrapped canvas.
Status:  Gone to a good home.
Note:  I would like to dedicate this little guy to my Grandmother, Irene Wilford.  She had a playful spirit - and would get us excited about spotting the gulls at her cottage on Lake Huron. The text was taken from a book about Emily Dickinson.

Two in a Canoe

Material: Acrylic paint and collage on wrapped canvas.
Status:  A commissioned piece for a baby gift.

Notes:   It is so much fun to work on commissions because they challenge me to try different techniques, colours, etc.  It's a good thing to go outside of my own mind for ideas!  The name of the baby and date of her birth is collaged in the bottom left-hand corner.  I wasn't sure if the family would appreciate being "out there" on  the blogosphere, so I've censored it for now.  They haven't seen it yet, so after they do I'll ask what their preference is.

Walk on the Beach

Material:  5 x 7 acrylic paint on paper.
Status:  Gone to a good home.

Being a sailor's daughter, I love the water.  I also grew up with a fondness for gulls.  My grandmother used to call them Charlie - after Charles de Gaulle.  Long ago and far away, my sister and I found an injured gull....and in a moment of grand bravery, Bev wrapped her hoodie around it, and took it back to the cottage.  My grandfather was a doctor, and so we had it in our minds that we could fix Charlie up with whatever medical supplies we found in the closet.

"Charlie" lived in a cardboard box for a few hours until Mom convinced us that we were terrifying the poor creature.  We took it to the shore where it could feel at home. 

I like to think he made it to a lovely island and had a peaceful rest of his life.