I live on a windy, twisty road, that weaves up into the hills and dips down to small Shoe Lake and my home. I walk this beautiful road most days and often find inspiration for my paintings.

Behind my pizzeria is a yard where we cut the firewood for the giant pizza ovens. Up on a small hill are these slender birches. I painted this on location when it was -26! The sun was shining and since there had been precious few days of sunshine, I just had to get out there and paint. I froze! All of my paintings come framed in solid maple floater frames.

Winters in Dorset are quiet - such a difference from the lively summer and all the bustle of business, cottagers and tourists. I found this array of chairs at a cottage on Rabbit's Bay on Lake of Bays. The light in March is beautiful, especially in the late afternoon. The chairs reminded me of people, quietly enjoying the last rays of sunshine and patiently waiting for the cottagers to come to enjoy the beautiful view of Lake of Bays they are facing. All paintings come framed in a solid maple floater frame, custom-made in Dorset.

The Bigwin is a historic boat that used to ferry vacationers to the famous Bigwin Island on Lake of Bays where live bands, dancing, swimming, fine dining and lodging entertained guests. This boat ferried many famous musicians, actors and politicians to the island in the first half and mid part of the 1900"s. That era is now gone. In the 90's, the boat was resurrected from its watery resting groungs and restored. Today, the Bigwin carries tourists all around beautiful Lake of Bays. It docks in my village - Dorset. An original painting of the HHS Bigwin is a popular purchase! This painting is framed in a solid maple floater frame.

My canoe is very old and very heavy. I can barely lift it into the lake. However, it fits me and my small lake perfectly, it glides gracefully and silently through the water and responds instantly to the commands of my paddle. I love it. I first aw it on a back road on my way to Huntsville, one rainy day. The canoe was half in the ditch, with a "For Sale" sign on it. I sped by, but thought about it all day. I made a point to drive home the back way again, just to have another look. It was gone! I went to the nearest house and knocked on the barn door. The man said, " It's still here. I just pulled it out of the rain." Now, I am not an expert on choosing the right canoe, but I can recognize a thing of great beauty and character. My thought was, "Just think of the beautiful paintings I can make with this canoe - not only the canoe itself, but the places it can take me to." The seller was a canoe builder and he told me that this canoe was the oldest canoe that had ever crossed his threshold. He and his friend had restored it. I bought it.

This is a rather unusual view. I have painted the iconic Dorset hump bridge many times from just about every angle, except this one. It was a very bleak, grey day and I thought it was perfect for painting the undergirding of a grey, iron bridge. All paintings come framed in a solid maple floater frame, handcrafted in Dorset.

Here is the inside of my favourite dining hall. I love to sit and watch the young servers dressed crisply in formal white and black as they silently move around the hall, attending to every need of the guests.

The best day of last summer was a tour of Rock Lake and Whitefish Lake in Algonquin Park. My friend Mike ferried my husband and me all around the lakes in his wooden boat on a warm, sunny day in August. These were one of the spectacular and inspiring cliffs that we visited.

On occasion, my husband paddles me around Joe Lake to paint. I particularly like to paint the small creek at the north end, that flows out of Little Joe.