Night when it was raining --- a glimpse out of my bedroom window at 10 p.m.

On a cloudy and rainy afternoon from out backyard

Walking home after school on a rainy afternoon

Rainy morning with leaves falling

Raining heavily outside at 8:30

A glimpse of 7th Street and Rosser Avenue of Brandon from the painting studio window of the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba

The sun is rising again at 7:30 today -- a very quick oil sketch looking out of my window early in the morning

A fleeting sunset moment today at 7:30

Moment after sunset when the street light was on

Looking across the street at 4 p.m

In the last light of the day

In the morning light

Stepping into early morning sunshine at 8 a.m on the first day of autumn

Two for today

 In the glare of the sun at 4 p.m from our backyard

Two linden trees in the receding sun at 7 p.m across the street on Balmoral Bay

From early in the morning to late in the evening ----- 10 plein air paintings for today

From Sunrise to sunset ------------ 8 plein air paintings for today

Sun coming out briefly after a moment of drizzle in the afternoon

Turning of the color --- Virginia creeper starting to turn red in the sun

In the path of the last light of the day

Brandon Forman Honda

Raining at 8 p.m when street light was on

The light from the street and shimmering reflected light on its surface suddenly transfigure a dreary night view into something charming at 8 p.m.  

Bronze statue of the Airman from the newly installed and unveiled RCAF WWII BCATP Memorial in Brandon

" They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them."
I drove over to the new memorial site to pay my tribute to the memory of those brave men and women who sacrificed their own lives so that freedom and peace would prevail. As I stood below the tall bronze statue silhouetting against the sky where the sun start to break out of the clouds and yellow moth plane was soaring into the air, somehow the movie for the Moment came to my mind, which was screened in the old theater in Downtown Brandon in early 90s , which in itself brought back so much memory of my early years in Brandon. I set up my easel on the spot and spent two hours painting and reminiscing about the distant past.

Midnight Moon in the sky

I stayed very late trying to capture a glimpse of the expected  Northern lights. However instead, I saw the moon emerging from behind the clouds at around 11:30 p.m. With the chill crispy air rushing against my face ,  with the crystal disc of the moon hanging up in the midnight sky, and with absolute silence enveloping everything in sight, I felt no sleepiness but  a rush of energy when I stood at the door painting this quick oil sketch before I was ready for this quiet and silent night.

the last roses of the summer?

Roses are still blooming in our backyard and hope summer will stay. A quick oil sketch done  in the warm late afternoon sunlight. The song  the last Rose of the Summer came to mind now .

Walking her dog in the street light on a cold summer night

A glimpse of our garden in the drizzle of rain

the Harvest Moon

Migraine headache forced me to lie down after supper in bed until about 9:30 p.m  When I got out of bed and looked out of my bedroom window , the thick clouds had dissipated in the sky revealing the harvest moon in the sky so bright that I grabbed my pochade box and did this quick oil sketch. It was Neil Young's Harvest Moon that came  to my mind now. Here is Neil Young's Harvest Moon .

My full moon night

My full moon night --- a quick oil sketch at 8 p.m today when the full moon was rising to mark Chinese Mid-Autumn festival today in China. In China today it is the annual traditional holiday of Mid-Autumn Festival when the whole family should get together to feel complete just like the full moon implies. We will eat moon cakes and share a cup of rice wine over a full sumptuous dinner. However, it is certainly not possible for me to complete the circle now for my family back in China when they realize I am alone and far away. When I called my wife in China, she reminded me that there is a box of moon cakes in the deep freezer, and do not forget to help myself to it. I did not feel like eating it, instead, I took my easel outdoor and watched the full moon rising and did this quick oil sketch: the full moon was rising, and the lights from the windows across the street were on and so was the street light. I always love the tenderness of this time of the day let alone when the full moon was rising now. I have two brothers and one sister in my family. My two brothers were raised by my maternal grandmother alone from when they were babies, in the far east of China while my sister and I were raised by my parents in the far west China. My parents did not want raising kids tamper their revolutionary fervor therefore sending my two brothers off to be raised by grandmother. We therefore were separated so far apart, and we managed to get together in china only twice our life time before I moved to Canada. My parents always dreamed of getting us all together as a family, sadly it never happened. Now it is even impossible with four of us sibling three different nationalities now. Always on this occasion it the poem by Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Li Po that always came to my mind ：

静夜思

床 前 明 月 光，

疑 是 地 上 霜。

举 头 望 明 月，

低 头 思 故 乡。

And also this traditional Chinese tune: Full Moon Reflected in the spring water , here is the vocal version by Chinese Central Choir

In the last light

A quick oil sketch from our driveway looking at Irene's house steeped in the last sunlight of the day.

Blooming geranium

A quick oil sketch looking out of the kitchen window late in the afternoon

An ordinary old house on Lorne Avenue East

Parkland Building of the former Brandon Mental Health Centre

Parkland Building of the former Brandon Mental Health Center in the morning sunlight 3 feet by 2 feet on stretched canvas For plein air painting , this is quite a big sized one. I normally do not paint on canvas of this dimension. However, since there is the annual special event Thrill on the Hills going on in ACC 's Northern campus and there are so many visitors there that the chance of me being not allowed to paint there is minimal. I have not been back painting there for many years now since the last time when I was asked to leave without a written painting permit by a security guard there. It took me three and half hours from start to finish which is very long time by my own standard. It was a very exciting painting experience, nevertheless, since I came across people whom I have not seen for a long time and also lots of people whom I had never met before. Quite a few people came to take pictures of me painting. Lots of kids there and they seemed to be quite impressed when they caught a glimpse of me painting there and will always lavish their complements onto me.

"Tender is the night"

Tender is the night   Just stepped outside and came back with this oil sketch: the moon was rising almost a full moon night, realizing there will soon be Chinese Mid-Autumn festival. The street light was on ans so were lights from windows across the street. How tender is the night. A quick 20 minute oil sketch, and then stepped in , how fitting! there came Schubert's impromptu. How sublime and how tender is always Schubert's music and this one is exceptionally so always brings tears to my eyes! Close your eyes and listen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAxz16D4BlE