Wow, what a ride October was! A three woman show, an FCA show and a Studio Tour, added to 3 Mastrius groups and my 4C Artists' Network, made for a VERY full month. You know, doing the painting is the easy and fun part. Then there is everything that goes on after that: photographing, cataloguing, framing, and labeling and that is just the start. In order for anyone to actually see the art, there are submissions, calendaring, acceptance (or rejection -it happens), taking the work to the venue, more labelling, and hanging. But it's not done yet -you have got to tell everyone about the show -so that means multiple Facebook and Instagram posts, reels and stories, and getting to write to YOU to let you know what is going on. It would be nice if it was over then, but it's not. If a painting sells, you have got to get it to its new owner (if I am fortunate enough to capture the heart of a beautiful human being), or bring it back home, wrap it up and find a place to store it until its next outing. And then there is the book keeping, tax reports and banking. Whew, no wonder I get exhausted! Now I am not really complaining, because thanks to you, I am not bringing so many paintings back home after shows, and that is a sheer delight (except for the book keeping and tax reports parts). So now you have a bit of a handle of what goes into getting my art out into the world, and hopefully will be able to appreciate all the work that goes into being a painter, and why it matters so much to me that you are here, reading this! The first annual Calgary Artists Studio Tour was great fun, despite winter deciding to arrive at the same time. About 40 people came by for the tour and it was so lovely to talk to folks about my process in such a relaxed atmosphere. My friend Leslie was a wonderful tour companion, and our work really complimented each others'. I had my eldest son, Jeremy, here with with his amazing pottery, and his wife, Ai, with her gorgeous stained glass work. So there was lots to see besides personalized tours of my two working studios. Apart from the fun, it was a great excuse for a total studio clean-up, which was quite overdue! Thanks to all of you who ventured out on that snowy weekend ❤️ After the tour was over, I was so excited to go back to the Banff Boutique Inn for a second Artist In Residence stint. Together with fellow plein air painter Gerry Mulhall, we had a great time and actually got to paint outside one day. It was cold and windy but we persisted, jumping back into the car from time to time to get warm. Below are my paintings (all 12x12" oil on panel) and the places we painted. I just had to paint the funky and tenacious tree on the cliffs to the left of Bow Falls -I felt like it was calling to me "Everyone comes to see the falls, but just LOOK AT ME!!" Check out Gerry's efforts on his FB page. Let me know if you would like first dibs on one of these!! | 
