Wrapping up a busy spring by painting in nature! June 2025 update

Diana Skelhorne
Jun 10
4 min read

Updated: Jul 5

***Greetings from Timid Turtle Pond, one of my favourite places in the world. In the first article below I'll tell you why it's also one of my favourite places to paint!***

Whoops! I guess I missed sending you a newsletter in May. And now I'm late in June! Well, it couldn't be helped. I've been busier than an artist with brushes glued to both hands and both feet — which isn't as fun as you might think! So let's dive right into this month's newsletter.

In this update:

Painting in one of my favourite places
Wrapping up my spring workshops
New work alert! Protector, Fantastic Flicker and Deer Hugger

Painting in one of my favourite places

This spring and summer I’m spending a lot of time at one of my favourite places: Timid Turtle Pond.

It’s a little slice of heaven, the pond surrounded by trees and the air filled with the sounds of birds — my favourite music.

It’s also a great place to paint. I don’t need to look far for inspiration. I just glance at the pond and see Mama Duck swimming by with her brood of yellow, fuzzy ducklings — so cute! I look at the grass and see a robin hopping along, stopping every few feet to cock his head as though listening for the worms and bugs hidden from sight. The bullrushes sway gently in the breeze and — in the distance — I hear a rooster crow and a horse puff and bluster.

Is it any wonder I love to paint at the pond? Keep checking my website and social media accounts to see some of the paintings I’m creating here. Spoiler alert: So far, they’re all birds!

Wrapping up my spring workshops

***What a great group! Participants and paintings from my Paint a Bold, Beautiful Bear workshop.***

In late May, I ran my last workshop of the spring season — and it was a big one!

Fourteen eager participants took part in the workshop, each of them creating a bold, beautiful bear in just four hours. I was so proud of the good work they did!

With three spring workshops complete, I’m now planning for the workshops I hope to hold in the fall. (And I'm taking a break — workshops are so much fun but they're also a lot of work!)

Are you interested in attending one of my workshops, maybe in your area? If so, let me know!

New work alert!

In the last few weeks, I finished three new paintings. Here is a look at each of them:

Protector

Last summer, my husband and I drove to Alaska and back. In Northern British Columbia, we ran into a herd of bison. The huge animals were crossing the highway and eating and resting at the side of the road. The bison were so impressive that we stopped and spent some time just taking them in — appreciating their size, strength and presence from a respectful distance.

When I got home, I was of course inspired to paint the bison. The result is Protector, which depicts a strong male bison standing guard while the herd moves safely behind him.

Protector is 12 x 36 and painted in oil on canvas, with gold leaf highlights. The original painting is available for purchase on my website. Prints in a variety of sizes and media are also available.

Fantastic Flicker

Earlier this spring, I was out for my morning walk and heard the unmistakable sound of a Northern Flicker drumming loudly. I often hear that sound in my neighbourhood, so I didn’t think much of it. Until a woman appeared from beside the house waving her arms and saying “shoo!” toward her roof.

I laughed a bit and she turned toward me. “Do you know how to get rid of these things?” she said. “He’s making me crazy! And he’s destroying our chimney cap!” I didn’t have any advice to offer, unfortunately, but I did make sympathetic noises and offered that mating season would probably be over soon. Because that’s why flickers (and other woodpeckers) drum on roofs, trees and telephone poles: to attract mates.

Fantastic Flicker is 10 x 30 and painted in oil on canvas. The original painting is available for purchase on my website. You can also buy prints of the painting in a variety of sizes and media.

Deer Hugger

Deer and trees have a special relationship. Not only do trees provide shelter for deer in the wild, they also provide food in the form of low-hanging branches filled with delicious leaves. (Although if you have an unfenced garden you may not appreciate deer treating your trees and other plants as a food source!)

Trees also play another role for deer: as a dating app. Male deer rub their heads against trees to mark them with their scent. This lets other males know whose territory they are on and alerts females to the presence of an eligible mate. Pretty handy, eh? This young buck certainly seems to appreciate the important role his tree is playing in his life!

Deer Hugger is 24 x 24 and painted in oil on canvas, with gold leaf highlights. The original painting is available for purchase on my website. Prints in a variety of sizes and media are also available.