Seeing these bright-colored buoys on the water makes me smile!
They make me long for endless warm lazy summer days on the water… days that seem too far off on yet another gray spring day in Northern Ontario. The ice is still melting. The lakes will warm up. It all takes time.
Boaters, cottagers, fishermen, and just about anyone who spends time on or near the water are familiar with these buoys.
These buoys serve an important purpose though. Anchored to something under the water they are a marker, connected to a waterline perhaps, a mooring site, or a danger point to be avoided.
For me, they are a beacon of warmer weather to come, and oh, boy, I’ll be ready!
I have to admit that the hardest part of putting together this calendar was deciding which painting images to include!
I tried to show local scenes throughout the year that many friends and family will recognize and enjoy. In several cases, I wasn’t able to display the entire original painting aiming instead to bring out a good section.
I hesitated for a while.
Many of us use our calendars on our devices….phones, tablets, and computers. Are paper hanging calendars still wanted?
Personally, I still like to have a calendar that I can write on, hang, and flip through whenever I want to see the days, months, and entire year at a glance. Plus the images make it so much more pleasing!
The reception has been wonderful and encouraging! I’ve sold out of my first 20, and have ordered a second batch.
The cost is $20 + $3 mailing for a single calendar. The mailing for 2 calendars goes up to $5.
If you’re interested in ordering let me know at csvela87@gmail.com.
It was a strong and promising start and I felt really confident that it wouldn’t take me long to finish it. It was, however, a side piece. And it sat and sat.
Hope Blooms
12×12 Acrylic on canvas
SOLD
What is a side piece, you ask?
A side piece for an artist is one that you work on before and in between others, to loosen up and add some fluidity to your work process. I always feel a little freer with colors and techniques afterward.
There were times, I have to admit when I doubted myself. Would I ever actually finish it?
Well, I did and I really felt passionate about it. You see, the days lately have been long, cloudy and gray and the wintery cold weather has a way of hanging on extra long here in Northern Ontario. After a period of particularly gray and also emotionally heavy days, I knew I needed to throw myself into this painting to take my mind in a different direction.
Our world and all the people in it have been suffering under the weight of Covid 19. So many of us have been isolated looking for safety in our own home sanctuaries. It has left some of us detached from each other and sometimes, even ourselves.
Add to this, the stresses of families physically apart, yet trying to reach out to support each other, and sometimes it is more than we can bear.
The colors in this painting swirled around the canvas and really excited me and lifted my spirits! Black-eyed Susans have always been a favorite late summer flower of my husband and I’ve grown to really appreciate them too. Painting these flowers made a difference in how I felt that day and now going forward.
Have you ever wanted to just jump into a painting?
Well, this is one that I could literally jump into. It is the quintessential Northern Ontario scene along the shore of any lake. I can almost smell the dried pine needles on the ground—that wonderful earthy smell combined with the fresh breeze off of the lake. The sun makes its way through the trees and creates long afternoon shadows reaching out as though to grab your attention.
By the Lake’s Shore
18 x24 acrylic on canvas
I left this painting sitting unfinished on my easel while my attention was diverted with a journey away to a warmer climate. A family member that was minding our house and cat while we were away, was captured by it and claimed it on the spot!
This painting was created as an addition to a series of angel paintings that I painted in 2019 as my contribution to the Elliot Lake Art Gallery’s “Angels Among Us” theme which celebrated the holiday season.
11 x 14 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas $125.00
It weighed very heavy on my heart but I needed to release my emotions.
This native angel stands in recognition of truth and reconciliation and honors the lives of the lost children and the survivors of Canada’s residential schools. The angel brings us strength to deal with this truth, love for healing, and hope for a better future.
The moon casts its glow on us as our protector and watches over us.
The falling feathers were inspired by the lyrics from Neil Young’s song: “Birds”.
“…feathers fall around you, and show you the way to go home…”
Prints of this painting are also available for purchase. They are 8″ x 10″ set in an 11 x 14 mat with cardboard backing, ready for framing. Notecards 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ with white envelopes are $5 each of 3 for $12. Shipping costs are extra.
Driving on this road north holds many good memories. 12″ x 36″ acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas – SOLD
Anyone who lives or who has lived in Elliot Lake, Ontario at any time is very familiar with Highway 108, the 30 km stretch of highway that leads into the town from the Highway 17 turnoff. But not everyone has driven it to its’ most northern tip beyond the city where the highway ends and merges into Highway 639. At this point, you can still see part of the old road that turned off to right towards Quirke Mine, which no longer exists.
Comments from a Facebook post featuring the painting:
“I seen this painting and in my heart I knew it was E.L you’ve got the big whispy white pines perfectly (I live in AB now but grew up in Elliot Lake. I knew right away it was the 108!).”, and
“Absolutely stunning! I am familiar with that area. My brother worked in the mines. Really captured well.”
You would travel on Highway 639 on your way to Mississagi Provincial Park, or Laurentian Lodge, a beautiful log home with rental cottages on Flack Lake, or up to meet Highway 546 on your way east to Wilderness Lodge, or west to follow the Little White River, all the way around to Iron Bridge which brings you back to Highway 17! We still call this route along the river, “The Little White River Road”.
If you were a miner you would regularly travel along this highway back and forth at all hours on your shifts to Denison, Quirke 1 & 2, Panel, or Stanrock Mines.
This stretch of highway still holds on to many of its characteristics of earlier days like the old guard rails. The asphalt gives way to a more compressed gravel and it’s seems to get narrower the further you go.
We’ve driven this road many a time, often in the spring and most definitely in the fall. The views and the vistas from the high elevations are absolutely breathtaking! There is bush as far as the eye can see, and the colours in the northern fall forest are stunning! Mother Nature is an awesome artist!
After a long winter, Elliot Lakers often get a yearning to go somewhere! When they aren’t in the mood for a highway drive east or west to the larger cities, they will often drive the road north. The breathtaking beauty of the scenic nature here has a way of rejuvenating us.
I’m very excited to share my love for Arbonne products now as an Independent Consultant in Elliot Lake, Ontario, so that we can all live our best lives with an inside-out holistic approach to health with clean products that deliver!
With 100% vegan certified, botanical products Arbonne is dedicated to bringing you health, beauty and wellness so you can live your best life.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have or to place an order.
These adorable mugs feature Elliot the Bear, the sweet black bear peaking out from behind a tree seen on one of my banner designs hanging from several lamp posts along the downtown streets of Elliot Lake and along the highway. Each mug makes a great souvenir or gift.
Only $20 each. Contact me via email at studio@corneliasvela.com
There are 2 designs. Mug #1 features the bear on both sides. Mug #2 includes the following text:
Notecards!
Order these attractive blank notecards, handy for everything from a personal thank you note to birthday greetings. A nice gift idea as well!
$4 each or 3 for $10.00 Add $2 to cover mailing costs. Contact Cornelia at studio@corneliasvela.com with your request today! More designs now available.
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Artist’s Blog
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you’ve got the big whispy white pines perfectly (I live in AB now but grew up in Elliot Lake. I knew right away it was the 108!).”, and 
