Destemido - Fearless One Original Sumi-e by Lynne Gerard The majority of the painting and writing I do is influenced and inspired by elements I find very close to home.  Living on the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve assures that a number of the works seen in the gallery are of noble equines. As I work on building up the webpage for my Fine Art Greeting Cards , I have been taking photos and typing up descriptors of the many card designs I offer in my gallery.  These cards come under different categories, for example, "Birthday", "New Baby", "Just Because", etc. and are each printed, assembled and hand detailed right here in my studio on the bay.   I also offer Christmas and Holiday Cards, but mostly these are in a different type of card style requiring less handwork and are grouped within the webpage I've titled, Fine Art Notecards . I do however have two Holiday/Christmas cards that I have made that are of the same style as my

Ancient Influences Palaeolithic-style Rock Painting by Lynne Gerard This post first appeared in my Journal of Ravenseyrie blog on 20June17 under the title, Ancient Influences . Paleolithic art is a silent touch from distant ancestors, their marks a reminder of our own vitality and mortality, a prompter to savour our present in this ancient arena of life...A seer throws the old ivory carvings, kneels, and reads them thoughtfully:  "They say, 'Wake up, you are on; we have had our time and this is yours.'"   She smiles and -- I thought she was mocking, but perhaps not -- goes on to say that the truly good message from Paleolithic art is  "that one would be wise to play: play physically, play mentally, and, above all, play artfully."    (from THE NATURE OF PALAEOLITHIC ART by R. Dale Guthrie) This is a special time!  Summer wanes and autumn begins to assert itself with all the marvellous variety of fragrances and colours that one season yie

Spring Thunderstorm Over Ravenseyrie East Bluff, Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island Ontario, Canada This blog entry was first published in the Journal of Ravenseyrie on June 4, 2016. The MOST important source of inspiration for painting ideas is our own lives... and what we like most. ( Jack Dickerson ) I have been influenced by paintings I have seen in books, and in museums, not because they defined success but because they suggested possibilities. ( Eleanor Blair ) Every day I wake up thankful to have made choices in life that make it possible to live here on Manitoulin Island. The dynamic elementals of our life on the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve provide me with infinite inspiration all times of the year and catalyze creative ideas that number greater than my mind and body are capable of sustaining. The big sky, the roaming winds, the shifting colours and the indigenous flora and fauna - especially the horses - permeate my senses whether I a