Northern Spotted Owl Chicks

Northern Spotted Owl Chicks ~ 5" x 7"

watercolor, pen and acrylic ink on watercolor paper

For Sale in my shop starting March 2, 2014

BID HERE

So, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I've been working a bit differently for the last little while. 

I needed a change. I needed to not take myself and my art so damn seriously. I felt bored and stifled. I never learned to play...I know!! Really, I was so afraid to go out on a limb, splash paint around, use crazy colors, break the rules. I played it safe. I got really good at safe. 

BUT...as a wise man once said...

 “Safety is the most unsafe spiritual path you can take. Safety keeps you numb and dead. People are caught by surprise when it is time to die. They have allowed themselves to live so little.” – Stephen Levine

I'm having fun!!

Two new Raven paintings

What I got up to today...I got some new acrylic inks I thought I'd try out, I was feeling kind of playful, sooo...

Pretty much done!

Ascension ~ 5" x 7" acrylic ink on 300lb watercolor paper

The Rainbow Thief ~ 5" x 7" acrylic ink on 300lb watercolor paper

Grizzly Bear painting in progress shot and finished!!

In progress ~ almost done!

Finito!!

Big Mac ~ 30" x 40" oil on canvas

I took a very long break on this guy... Sometimes, when I have had a bad relationship with a painting, I need to hide it for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. When I'm struggling, all I see is what is wrong, with no idea how to fix it, and if I put it away I can come back to it later, and usually I am able to see exactly where it needs to go. This is what happened here. And he's done! Hurray!

Here is the link to my last post where I documented the progress... http://tahirihsblog.blogspot.ca/2012/10/in-progress-wildlife-grizzly-bear.html.

Fly Away With Me ~ Caherciveen Ireland

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

Bid Now on DailyPaintworks

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

BID NOW on DailyPaintworks

Bidding starts at only $30

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

For Sale on DailyPaintworks

Click here to bid

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!