Summer Painting Retreats at the Painted Petal Studio

Diane is offering two-day painting bed & breakfast retreats at the Summer House Painted Petal in Merritt.

For the working person needing a well deserved break, leave Vancouver Friday evening and drive the beautiful Coquihalla Highway, (a mere 1 hour drive from Hope) to Merritt, British Columbia.

Stay in either the Rose Room or Sunflower Room and awake refreshed to breakfast on the sunny patio or in the dining room.

Begin painting your selected subject matter until noon when you will break for a delicious lunch.

After lunch you will continue painting until 4pm.

You are then free to explore the local area, the Lower Nicola Valley, or drive east along Nicola Lake to historic Quilchena Hotel.

You can dine there, choosing the patio, formal dining room or old-fashioned saloon, complete with bullet holes in the bar.

In the evening, various painting DVD's are available to view in the parlor room at the Summer House or just relax out on the verandah with a book, enjoying the evening breeze and then a star-filled sky.

Then it's off to bed in your private room and up to enjoy it all again on Sunday. You will finish two complete oil paintings and be back home to Vancouver early Sunday evening.

Sunset, Sunflowers, Fruit or Vegetable

shown below are examples of subject matter to choose from:

An experienced or a beginner, you will have two small or one large painting to take home ready to hang.

A fabulous, creative getaway to treat yourself to. Call Diane today and book your weekend.

Friday to Sunday evening, including two nights accommodation, two breakfasts, two lunches, canvases, paint and supplies (bring your own brushes), $300.00

Weekday workshops also available, arrive Monday evening, paint Tuesday and Wednesday, and depart Wednesday late afternoon.

Call Diane, (250) 378-5773.

Seasons Change The Subject

May 24th is usually considered the dateline for safe planting outdoors. This year has been extra cold and my neighbour had two newly purchased perennials left on her porch freeze to death just a week ago. However it has finally warmed up and this week I will head back to Merritt to plant the garden.

Since gardening is such a major source of joy for me, it naturally follows that vegetable bounty would seep into my painting subject. For years my subject matter has been devoted to floral and seascape but recently I have taken interest in close up fruit and vegetables as well as an array of still-life.






I haven't given up flowers as subject matter by any means. As Eckhart Tolle,in his book The New Earth, refers to flowers as the enlightened beings of the plant world. I whole-heartedly agree.





These poppies have just come to bloom in my daughter's garden. They are so beautiful I am sure they will be subject matter for future paintings.

Luminous Tide

This original oil, “Luminous Tide”, will be offered at a special fundraising event benefiting Turning Point, April 30th at The Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver.