Welcome to our first edition!

I'm very excited to be sharing this newsletter with you. I appreciate how all of you have been so encouraging to me.

So why the newsletter?

Well...it's like this. I've been painting on and off for the last twelve years. I started to paint while our family was living on Vancouver Island. We'd moved there because I had fallen in love with it on our trips there. My wife Leta, was not quite as keen to give up stability, home, and wonderful friends. But, because she knew how important this seemed to be for me, she put aside her dreams so we could give it a try. The long and short of it is that it didn't turn out that well. The cost of living was much higher than we had even planned for. I was in a job that I was totally stressed out in, and I was struggling with health problems. I must tell you that moving back with nothing and having to start all over again was one of the most humbling times in my life!

Yet, amidst all that, we also had some things happen that continue to bless us. We developed some wonderful friends there through our church, that we cherish to this day. As "prairie people" we did things as a family that the kids still talk about. Crab fishing, catching fresh shrimp off the wharf, and long walks along the ocean.
And then there was the gift of painting!

I started painting because I was lonely and scared! No glamorous aspirations. No desire for fame. Just a need to get some of the ache out of my gut and when I tried painting it seemed to soothe me. And it was wonderful to feel like I was connecting with something that I was actually wired for.

OK you say. But why the newsletter? Leta tells me I'm a bit of a storyteller and like to ramble! Don't you just hate it when your spouse calls you on things and you know they're absolutely right! :0)

Let me finish this off as best I can then. As we started to rebuild our lives here, I painted when I could, started up a home based picture framing business and then took on management of a Tim Hortons franchise my good friend William had just purchased.
It seemed there was less and less time to paint with all the responsibility and one day about three years ago I put down my brushes and just quit painting. Leta and my good friends kept encouraging me, but my heart just wasn't there. Then, deep down, there was the fear I couldn't do it anymore anyway.

But life has the most interesting twists! I hurt my back and have been off work at home for over four months. Every so often I'd limp downstairs and see my easel, my paints, and my brushes just sitting there. Then I'd feel so bad that I'd limp back upstairs and try to put it out of my mind. Then I'd feel so guilty that I'd limp downstairs and do it all over again! Except for one day when I hurt so bad that I couldn't limp upstairs! And there was no one home to help me!

So I dragged myself to that easel, sat down, and told myself that it was time. I picked up my brush and started to paint. It was pretty awkward at first...I could barely remember how to mix certain colors. But, as I kept painting it got a little easier every time. I'm happy to tell you that as of this newletter I've now completed seven new paintings and it feels wonderful!

Ah yes...but why the newsletter?

I don't want to stop painting anymore! It's far too hard to keep mustering up the strength to start all over again! This way I know that there are a group of people out there who I've made myself accountable to. People who every two months will want to know what I've recently painted. People who have believed in me in spite of myself!

Oh...by the way, you know one of those new paintings... It just won an award! Isn't life too interesting!

From My Easel

As of this issue you'll see seven new watercolors on my webpage. I'd like to give you some background on a few of them.

"The Past That Built a Future" : This is a painting of a kiln from a brick manufacturing plant that was in operation many years ago near Roseisle, Manitoba. It still stands today, a proud reminder of days gone by. It's located in the valley of one of my favourite spots in Manitoba. I'll often take drives to "the valley" just to soothe my soul. I know there will be many more paintings from my trips there.

"Turtle Mountain Treasure" : I was honoured to have this painting chosen at the Central Region Juried Art Show to be part of their touring exhitition this year. The Turtle Mountain area of southern Manitoba is one of our "gems" We don't have the grandeur of the rockies but our beauty lies in it's subtleness and diversity. A quiet serene beauty. So typical of the prairies and their people.
This painting was truly a study in greens for me. It was very exciting for me because I'd felt I'd achieved some of the most luminous greens that I've ever painted

"At Peace" : This painting is of an outcropping of rocks on an island in the Whiteshell region of Manitoba. I was sitting in a canoe, the day was absolutely calm, the birds were singing everywhere, and my world was truly "at peace"

Each painting has it's own story. Ask any artist. Some times they can't tell you exactly what stirred them to paint a particular picture but they just knew deep down that they had to. All the paintings I've painted are because there was "something there".
I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you on just a few of them.

My new watercolors will be posted to my website as soon as they are completed so be sure to bookmark it and keep checking back.

Speaking of Website...

My website designer is Shawn Andrich. Shawn has put a lot of work into this website and I think he's done a great job. I hope you'll agree.

If you are looking for someone to do some website work for you or need someone with strong troubleshooting skills to help you fix some computer problems, give Shawn a shout. His e-mail is firelight@mts.net


Musical Notes

I love music..especially folk and jazz.
Well....OK...I'll admit publically that a good polka stirs my soul to the point of a frenzied lover! But that's genetic!
I build mountain dulcimers. I also play and sing in my own amateur way, but I have friends who are great musicians. In every issue I intend to blatantly promote one or two of them because I believe in them and want them to do well. They are talented and work hard at their craft. This issue:

Tom & Lori Neufeld

Tom and Lori are from Roland, Manitoba. Gifted and versatile is the best way to describe these two talented people. I've watched in awe as I've seen children totally glued to them when they perform in their children's act as Lulu and the Tomcat. Adult audiences are equally captivated when they hear the lovely jazz and easy listening stylings when they perform just as Tom and Lori.
They are instrumental (no pun intended) in the Roland Cactus Cafe which is presented every two months from September to April.
These musical events feature a variety of excellent performers from central and southern Manitoba. You can check out their website at www.pembinavalley.com/cactuscafe/ What I also admire is how they include and encourage young performers to help them get experience and exposure.

Check out Tom and Lori's website: www.tomandlori.com to learn more about them.
When you get to their photos you'll recognize Lori as the drop dead beautiful lady with the great smile. Tom is....the other one :-)
( If he didn't have a great sense of humor I wouldn't be taking my life in my hands like this!)
All of their CD's are just great, so be sure to add at least one of them to your collection.

Once again their website is www.tomandlori.com

Chuckle, Chuckle!

Many of you know that I enjoy a good joke. I hate off color humor...it makes people uncomfortable and there's enough good stuff out there to make people laugh for a lifetime. ( I wasn't too strong in that statement ...was I?) :-)

Here are some real events that should bring a smile to your face and make you shake you head at the same time..

What Was Plan B???
An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines. The kidnapper then proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank account!

Some Days It Just Doesn't Pay!
Fire investigators On Maui have determined that the cause of a blaze that destroyed a $127,000 home last month...a short in the homeowner's newly installed, fire prevention alarm system.

"This is even worse than last year" said the distraught owner, "when someone broke in and stole my new security system..."

The Getaway!
A man walked into a Topeka, Kansas Kwik Shop and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently the take was too small, so he tied up the clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until the police showed up and grabbed him.

Did I Say That???
Police in Los Angeles had good luck with a robbery suspect who just couldn't control himself during a lineup. When detectives asked each man in the lineup to repeat the words "Give me all your money or I'll shoot", the man shouted "that's not what I said!"

And Finally....

A man called the emergency room at a hospital in Dayton Ohio. Frantically speaking into the phone he told the doctor on call "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!" "Is this her first child?" the doctor asked. "No you idiot!" the man shouted, "this is her husband!"

Until next time....

...feelings have been touched
and hearts have been moved,
all by the stroke of a brush!
Jerry Maksymyk

I'd appreciate your help with something. I'm trying to build my website and newsletter readership. If you know of anyone who might enjoy my watercolors or prints, could you let them know about my webpage and newsletter. If they are interested they can subscribe by just going to the newsletter page on my website and sending me a quick note.

If you have any comments or suggestions please contact me at my e-mail address. I'd love to hear from you.

Back to the archives