Fly Away With Me ~ Caherciveen Ireland

Fly Away With Me ~ 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel

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Starting at only $39

(the auction becomes active on the morning of January 10, 2013)

Oh…to fly away to Ireland again…I wish I could. Maybe not quite yet, judging from the fantastic storms they're having right now, I might not want to be there. But soon. Please…soon :)

This building looked like a castle from a fairytale to me, but it was called the Barracks, in Caherciveen. 

Caherciveen was a little coastal village that I stayed in, as a departure point for my trip to the Skellig Islands, where the ancient beehive monastery perches on top of a spire of mountain rising out of the sea. The evening before my trip, I spied a castle ruin in the distance and decided to go for a walk. It didn't look very far, but the road meandered in it's typically irish way, and it took me a few hours to reach my destination, Ballycarberry Castle. The ruins were fascinating, and I spent a while exploring inside, where it was dark and spooky…imagining duels in the narrow tower stairwell.

Anyways, on my way back to my hostel the sun was starting to go down, and when I reached the Barracks, it was illuminated by the golden light of the setting sun (it's actually a whitewashed building) As I stopped to snap pictures, the multitude of birds perched along it's spires and rooftops burst into flight…and I ended up with this.

Afternoon Encounter ~ Bella Coola Grizzly

Afternoon Encounter ~

5" x 7" oil on 1/8" hardboard panel

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A memory of an afternoon swimming with my family at the Atnarko river. The water is this rich green colour, from the algae that on the bottom, but also from the reflections of the lush greenery all around. Bears are abundant in our beautiful valley, and encounters like this are not at all uncommon. Generally the bears are shy and go their own way, but we did have a poor hitchhiker get attacked this summer! He was near a salmon bearing creek, and it is assumed it was a momma with cubs on the other side of the road. 

Captain Jack Sparrow

Captain Jack Sparrow ~ 5" x 7" oil on hardboard panel

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Link becomes live on Dec. 20, 2013

Captain Jack Sparrow is my dog. This is a painting of him from when he was a little puppy. He was a gift for my son's 9th birthday, can you guess what his party theme was? Yup…it was a pirate party! But Captain Jack is not a pirate in our family, not even close, unless you count the odd dive for a fallen scrap at the dinner table. He's a sweet hound, lab, border collie mutt…He's one of my best friends, an awesome running partner, and a cougar protector. I've been out walking with him and a few times he has stopped dead and not allowed me to move past him. He just says, "Nope, no way, you're not going that way. There's danger. We're going home." If I turn around, or go another direction, he's completely happy, but there's no way to force him to go towards whatever it is that he senses. He's gentle and playful with the kids, and seems to know that he can't bite down hard. If we say ouch he backs off. I'm grateful to have such a loyal friend and protector in our family. 

Do you want me to paint your pet? 

Drop me a line…tahirih_camelle@hotmail.com

Prince of Shadows

Prince of Shadows ~ 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

For sale on Daily Paintworks…bidding starts at $39.00

Click here to bid…the link becomes active the afternoon of Dec. 19

My love of horses has been with me since I was a child. I remember so vividly, a spirited Morgan/Arab cross that I was riding with a friend one day. She was a beautiful bay that looked very much like the horse in the picture I painted. My own horse was a placid and gentle quarter horse and was no challenge for my friend who hadn't ridden much. Being the experienced rider  we decided to switch and I got to ride that gorgeous Morgan. She was a dream, with a smooth gait and lightning speed. 

About an hour into our ride, five kilometres or so from the nearest house, the horse I was riding went down on her knees, and tried to roll, saddle and all. I didn't know her well, and thought that maybe she was just trying to dislodge the saddle. When I saw her eyes, though, they were filled with pain, and I knew she must be colicking. Colic is a painful intestinal condition, that can severely injure a horse, and is very very serious. If they don't get medical attention, they can die. 

I forced her to her feet, and we took off, at breakneck speed, through the woods. My only thought was to get her to a house where we could call a vet, as soon as possible. She would run, then stumble and fall…every time I had to jump off of her back before she rolled on me and then my friend and I would pull her to her feet, and I'd get back on and run more until, battered and bruised, we made it to a friends' house that had experience with horses, but she wasn't home. Only her young daughter was there. We called the vet, only to discover he was already out on another call, and it would be hours before he returned. We got a bottle of vegetable oil, wrenched the horses' mouth open and poured it down, and then took turns pulling her to her feet, and making her walk in circles. I was always told to never let a horse roll when they were colicking, as it could cause serious damage. At any rate, after a few hours we were exhausted, and still no vet. My friend finally came home, and said we should probably shoot her! I refused adamantly, as it wasn't even my horse! Finally an uncle showed up who had a pain killer for animals, and the horse calmed down. And then the vet came, and finally all was well. The vet commended us for saving her life! 

Geza's Ghost ~ the plight of the rhinoceros

Geza's Ghost ~ 24" x 36" oil on canvas

PRINTS AVAILABLE

Geza was a two and a half year old white rhino (this painting is actually of a black rhino) brutally mutilated and left to die by a poacher that will try to sell his horn to someone who thinks that rhino horn has medicinal qualities. It has no more medicine as our hair or fingernails, as it is entirely composed of keratin.
Rhino poaching is out of control, and some species of rhino are nearing extinction. Almost 1000 rhinoceros have been killed this year alone, and the killing is happening faster than the rhino can reproduce. These idiots must be stopped.
I'm offering prints of "Geza's Ghost", with most of the proceeds going to a charity which helps stop the poaching. Print size is 12" x 18" with a half inch white border all around. PLEASE help stop the obliteration of one of the most magnificent creatures on our planet.
This video is about Geza and his plight. WARNING! It's very sad and hard to watch:

The Storyteller ~ man playing flamenco guitar

The Storyteller ~ 5" x 7" oil on board

For sale at Daily Paintworks 

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Confession: I've always had a thing for musicians… ;) I even ended up marrying one!  Lol!  I remember being a little girl, and watching my dad's fingers on the strings and just being in awe, tingling with excitement that such a beautiful sound could come from his fingers. The fascination has never left me. I'm the girl in the corner of the bar, sketchbook open, trying to capture some of their passion on paper instead of dancing. Not a few musicians discovered my habit, and own little sketches. Musicians open up their heart and soul to you, on stage, in person and I find it awe inspiring, raw, vulnerable and brave. I feel that they are most themselves when they're up there, and I want to capture that.

(reference photo attribution: Rich Anderson)

Going Away

Going Away ~ 6" x 6" oil on board

For sale at DailyPaintworks

BID NOW  (bidding starts Nov. 11)

It's getting colder…and colder…the frost hasn't left my yard in three days, and the wood stove has been burning furiously, trying to keep the chill off my new home.  Did I tell you we moved? It is a lovely house that my husband built with his dad about 35 years ago. It's big and solid and cozy with three bedrooms and two fireplaces and lots of quirky artistic details. I think his dad was a closet artist ;) Much too manly to admit it, but when I look at some of the love and attention to detail in this house, I can tell, although I never knew him.

Nevertheless, when the weather gets colder, all I can think about is travelling. Years ago I found this image on flickr and fell in love…I promptly emailed the photographer HaoJan Chang, who graciously gave me permission. When I see this, I'm filled with longing, expectation, excitement…all of the emotions that an upcoming trip can bring…it's a perfect image for how I'm feeling lately and I just had to capture it in paint.