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| ACK!! This is my new hip joint. I still have mixed feelings about having something like this done, but it was either that or living in constant pain or being stoned on opiates. I put up with the increasing pain and loss of function for over four years. I finally decided to have surgery but had to have it done across the border in the U.S. It was pricey [thank goodness for the small inheritance left to me by my aunt] but the surgery and after-care were fantastic. Dealing with the American medical system, and comparing it to the Canadian made very aware of the inadequacies and inefficiencies of our medical system here. I won't rant on and on about it, but if you'd like to comment, please feel free. Anyway, it's five weeks since the operation, and I am doing extremely well, healing very quickly. I hope to be riding Bruno again in August, and taking the dogs out for long hikes in the woods. |
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| This is my friend and neighbour, Christine. She is an ecologist with environment Canada. She and her daughter have been an enormous help - taking care of Bruno, boosting morale, bringing meals ... I could not have done this without their help, and I am most grateful! My sister, Steph, was also a huge help, driving me to and from Bellingham, caring for me at home. She made sure I didn't overdo things [I am not a patient person, and wanted to get back to life as usual in the first week post-op] More about Steph in a later post ... |
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| My drawing |
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| First few applications of colour. Most of this painting was done wet-on-dry to get a sense of texture of the feathers. The colours used throughout the work were aureolin, quin. sienna, quin. burnt orange and phthalo. blue. |
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| Gradually building up depth of value and texture with wet-on-dry applications. |
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And here is the yellow-breasted chat, found here in British Columbia in the interior regions of the province. I showed the painting to Christine this morning when she came over to feed Bruno, and she loved it. So I will have it framed, and give it to her with many thanks for all the help she has been the past few weeks. I also gave her daughter one of my tugboat paintings that she loved. So that's it for now. I'm not sure how often I'll be posting or painting - still can't sit or stand in one position for to long. Thank you for visiting! |
