CherylAnnHillsArtist

  Often when we do something, we have an expectation of what the outcome will be. Go to bed so you’ll be energized in the morning. Eat food so you’ll no longer be hungry. See the new Star Wars movie so you’ll be entertained. And on and on. Sometimes our preconceived expectations are met. Other times they are not. And depending on the sort of person you are, disappointments can be devastating or easily brushed off. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle of this scale. We are taught as children that our actions always have an outcome; sometimes good and sometimes bad. But few of us were ever taught to focus on the process, the steps leading to the outcome. We are sometimes told it doesn’t matter how, as long as we get the expected results. This kind of thinking leads us to only consider the beginning and the end. Both of those states are short lived and do not represent the effort, thought and emotions experienced during the process between the beginning and the end. It can a...

The laws of nature are always at work whether we are aware or not. Even our daily lives can be affected by it. These transitional seasons Autumn and Spring are often busy times filled with completing things from the previous season and starting new things for up-coming seasons. At the end of September, I exhaled; my art show season had finished and I could look forward to new projects in the studio, time spent in thought and losing myself in the creative process. I created some breathing room but as nature abhors a vacuum that space was quickly filled with plans and ideas for new events. Then of course I needed to set aside time to create the plan(s), gather the materials and execute the ideas. I’m super happy with the progress of my plein air painters’ group . This season I’ve seen the best participation since I began the group in 2019. Members are happy and active, and the work produced has been amazing. So, encouraged by this wonderful growth I decided to plan a year end show an...

It was mid October 2022 when I went up to my favourite place to spend a weekend taking in the fall colour and exploring the corridor between Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie. On this visit I went a bit further west of the Soo to Batchewana Bay, located on the north east shore of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. I'd read many descriptions of the north shore by notable Canadian authors and seen first hand many paintings of its moods. Sometimes it's almost better if we have no prior knowledge of a new experience, place, person before arriving as this keeps expectations at bay. I'd already visited Lake Superior Provincial Park in 2018, specifically the petroglyph trail. I was alone on that trail in the early light of the day. A peculiar staircase formed by rocks led down into a quiet earthen glen of large mossy rocks and trees with clumps of lichen floating down from branches like soft feathers. I actually expected to have a fairy appear in front of me, aligh...