End of Summer-Canadian Rockies

We spent the weekend in the Invermere Valley SW of Banff helping some friends celebrate their birthdays. Weather was variable but we had lots of fun. One afternoon while everyone was out boating I decided to hang back and do some painting. The flowers were starting to fade as they prepare for the arrival of Fall. A group of color caught my eye and I decided to capture the flowers in watercolour as well with my Ipad paint program. Interesting to see how different the two images are while also being the same. It's the end of summer in many ways, need to capture the moments before Fall knocks on the door.

Burano, Italy-Canal

As I mentioned in an earlier post we were in Europe a few weeks ago. Our journey took us to Venice, one of the most amazing cities in the World!
While in Venice we took a 4 hour boat trip on the lagoon to the islands of Murano and Burano, the two most famous islands of Venice. Murano is noted for its lume glass working with its many glass factories. We stopped at one factory and watched a master create a glass plate and then a stallion from  red hot balls of molten glass.

On Burano we were intrigued by the many colours of the coloured houses that are reflected into the green waters of the channels. With lacemaking being the main craftmanship attraction, there are shops everywhere with elderly ladies embroidering lace pillows, shawls and curtains. The laughter of children, fisherman working from their traditional boats and the many outdoor patios gave the whole scene a holiday flavour.

The sketch above was created on my Ipad. I wanted to capture the colour and spirit of the island, a special destination of our trip.