When i thought it couldn't possibly rain harder...

 We started hearing about the atmospheric river event that was coming days before travelling to Quatsino on Vancouver Island. The day we arrived it felt impossible that massive rain was coming. The sun was shining and the weather was beautiful. But once the rain started, it just didn't stop. All day it has been absolutely pouring rain with hourly accumulations of 5 - 10 mm per hour.

It was a perfect day to stay inside and paint. I was inspired to capture two sea otters at play as we had seen several while out on the boat the day before. 

There is something about painting water that is fascinating. I often encourage workshop participants to "paint what you see". That is exactly what I did with this project. It took more than several layers and some drying time in between, but all I did was paint what I was seeing. This was the result.

We didn't know what to expect in terms of dining arrangements before arriving at TGO (The Great Outdoors) Quatsino Lodge, but it's turned out to be a real team effort. We've each taken turns preparing meals. I did a homemade vegetable soup for lunch one day. Heather made a lovely pasta dish for dinner yesterday. Wendy and Brad prepared some prawns and rice tonight.  The remnants of my vegetable soup was served as an appetizer. 

The rain suggested - no: DEMANDED - several naps throughout the day.

After my vigorous painting sessions I ascended the spiral stairs up to our second floor bedroom for short snoozes. The pounding rain was hypnotic.

One of the challenges I had in painting in a remote location was how to take archival photographs of the finished work. The cloudy and rainy conditions provides exquisite lighting. We found a spot under the covered deck that allowed me to photograph "Sea Otters at Play" at the same settings that I use back in the studio in High River.

Sea Otters at Play, 18" x 24", acrylic on gallery canvas

The soft indirect light that happens on a cloudy day is actually perfect for my purposes. Should the clouds ever go away I would have to find a different solution.

I took a break midday to take a short, yet wet, walk down to the beach. I was hoping to do some exploring further up the beach but the stream next door that is normally a trickle had turned into a torrent. Despite that, there were some lovely examples of flotsam and jetsam.