Spooky Season - Free Colouring Page

There is Halloween candy in the grocery stores, the leaves are shedding, the days are getting shorter and shorter, I have pulled out my wool socks, and am contemplating the commitment to putting the dang fenders on my road bike. I love October… its the month of my first born, and I love the feeling of prepping to hunker down a little for the darker months. I am so grateful I am not going to spend the winter relentlessly checking the ‘Windy’ App and dreading the gusty pink bar and heavy rains that would make the boat toss, turn and drip for weeks. Those were the challenges of living aboard on the west coast in the winter months, and I am perfectly okay to let them go. Here in Vic, the weather is milder so camping, biking and hiking all year is doable… with a hot shower to come home to (I must be getting soft 🤣)!

October is also the month of Inktober, the daily Instagram drawing challenge that has been going on for a number of years. I have never quite made it to 31 as its a pretty hefty time commitment, but I may try this year (although I am busier with work so not sure if I can pull it off). I will post when I do, but don’t give me hard time if I find I have more fun things to do outside when I am not working because that just may happen.

Speaking of drawing, this months colouring page is something a little different. I do admit I like to geek out on the holiday stuff sometimes, and Halloween is no exception so a west coast version of Scooby Doo seemed fun. I could have easily made it more freaky, but for the sake of the kiddos out there I kept it light. Have fun!

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For those who are new to my site, each month I offer free west coast inspired colouring pages that are published and distributed in Tofino Time Magazine. They are also available for download as a high resolution PDF here (scroll down to the button below). If you would like them to come straight to your inbox when I occasionally send out a newsletter, please sign up for my mailing list (yeah, that annoying pop up). Personally I hate getting a bunch of spamming emails, so I promise to keep it to a maximum of once a month (more like once every 4 haha)! Please feel free to download them for personal use. If you are a restaurant, school or business that wants to print them for your clients, customers (or to keep their kids happy) or students then I am totally fine with that too. All I ask is you leave my contact info at the bottom of the page please.

Slugs n' Shrooms - Free Colouring Page

Ooooooh my favourite season is coming! Although I have to be honest with you, this summer was pretty EPIC! I forgot how much drier the south island is, and now that it has been a full year (unbelievable) in Victoria, I am reminded of how much I love the change of seasons (which is something that I never fully got in Tofino). This summer I spent a ton of time out in the forests hiking, as well as biking lots again and getting out on the paddle board. It certainly made it hard to focus on my personal projects as it was a delicate balance between play and work/client projects! Autumn temps and ‘schedules’ are coming though so I can get back at it (I haven’t abandoned them, honest).

So I know I said I wanted to do the colouring pages as a newsletter mail out, but I decided against it. The last thing I want to do it make you sign up for another newsletter of sorts just to get a free colouring page, and my projects are sometimes just not shareable for a while, so I am definitely going to struggle with content. I still plan to do newsletters, but only when I have something WORTH sharing. In the meantime I am just happy to continue offering them free on my site. Download them, or don’t download them. Your choice! But some good news is that I have decided a colouring book should happen. I have way too many pages now not to do it! Enjoy some Slugs and Shrooms this month.

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For those who are new to my site, each month I offer free west coast inspired colouring pages that are published and distributed in Tofino Time Magazine. They are also available for download as a high resolution PDF here (scroll down to the button below). If you would like them to come straight to your inbox when I occasionally send out a newsletter, please sign up for my mailing list (yeah, that annoying pop up). Personally I hate getting a bunch of spamming emails, so I promise to keep it to a maximum of once a month (more like once every 4 haha)! Please feel free to download them for personal use. If you are a restaurant, school or business that wants to print them for your clients, customers (or to keep their kids happy) or students then I am totally fine with that too. All I ask is you leave my contact info at the bottom of the page please.

Reflections - Colouring Page

Been a little slow on the sharing of things these days. The sun has been shining and quite frankly my priority when not working has been to get outside and enjoy it!! 😜

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For those who are new to my site, each month I offer free west coast inspired colouring pages that are published and distributed in Tofino Time Magazine. They are also available for download as a high resolution PDF here (scroll down to the button below). If you would like them to come straight to your inbox when I occasionally send out a newsletter, please sign up for my mailing list (yeah, that annoying pop up). Personally I hate getting a bunch of spamming emails, so I promise to keep it to a maximum of once a month (more like once every 4 haha)! Please feel free to download them for personal use. If you are a restaurant, school or business that wants to print them for your clients, customers (or to keep their kids happy) or students then I am totally fine with that too. All I ask is you leave my contact info at the bottom of the page please.

KAKAWIN - Colouring Page

I am a little mind blown that it is September already. I can feel the chill in the air in the evenings now, and see that the sun doesn’t want to stay up as late anymore, and the dew is a little heavier too. I actually love September. It is a time for organization, routine and a feeling of productivity. This year has flown by, and I am sure it has felt that way for many of you too.

We are settled in our place in Victoria now. I’m already sad to be missing my morning harbour sunrises, my dock family, my friends (sorry if I didn’t say bye… I’m terrible at them), and my little stinky otter pals, but I’ll be back and forth… often (and I’m not THAT far away). Being a live aboard in the harbour for over 6 years was amazing, but certainly not without its challenges. I love living on boats…it keeps you so in tune with the weather and the tides, and the sleeps are the best (except maybe the 6 weeks of storms in the winter), and doing so for so many years has given me a huge appreciation for the little things that most take for granted (showers, laundry, full sized fridge, freezer, actual WORK SPACE with all my supplies under one roof… and basically not living out of totes anymore). It’s made me a resourceful and pretty hardy gal, and truly grateful for the little things. I am looking forward to be able to spread out and be able to play with mediums that I couldn’t really use unless it was summer and could do so outdoors (I just bought a 36”x48” canvas to pick away at). So that being said, lets open the page to a fresh new chapter. All you peeps in Vic, I am here now… feel free to reach out!

As we were hauling all our stuff off the boat, there had been a few instances of Orcas, or Kakawin in Nuu-chah-nulth cruising through the harbour (I had the best neighbours), so I felt it fitting to include them into this months colouring page (and Robinson, I even included your boat at your workshop on Strawberry Island)! What colours do you see when the late summer fog breaks in the mornings? Feel free to colour and tag #tofinocolour if you want to show me your stuff!

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For those who are new to my site, each month I offer free west coast inspired colouring pages that are published and distributed in Tofino Time Magazine. They are also available for download here (scroll down to the button below), and on the Tourism Tofino website. If you would like them to come straight to your inbox each month as I am planning to start doing sometime this year, please sign up for my mailing list (yeah, that annoying pop up). Personally I hate getting a bunch of spamming emails, so I promise to keep it to a maximum of once a month! Please feel free to download them for personal use. If you are a restaurant, school or business that wants to print them for your clients, customers (or to keep their kids happy) or students then I am totally fine with that too. All I ask is you leave my contact info at the bottom of the page please.

TIDE POOL - Colouring Page

It has been a few months since my last post and colouring page. With Tofino Time taking a print hiatus during the initial Covid ‘crisis’, I took the opportunity to also give my creative brain a break too. It was a good rest, but now I am back in the swing of things again.

This colouring page is inspired by the current state of Tofino (or probably any small remote tourist town). A crowded ‘tide pool’ of groups of visitors hoping to escape the cities and go where there is ‘space’. Unfortunately though, being such a small town, Tofino is basically a potential petrie dish of possible infection. Residents are hiding out, while visitors crowd the shops, streets and beaches. Don’t get me wrong… I like having visitors here, and I know the business owners are happy to have ‘business’ again, but its such a strange juxtaposition of local economic needs versus the health and welfare of the people, and no one seems to know the ‘right’ thing to do these days. So much confusion, and that stress brings out so many different reactions in people. A little empathy can go along way (except maybe for the deliberate fools that totally disregard the suggested protocols). The weather has been nice so its not exactly a chore to chill in the harbour and watch the boats, enjoy some creative time, or disappear to less travelled trails and spaces for the day!

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For those who are new to my site, each month I offer free west coast inspired colouring pages that are published and distributed in Tofino Time Magazine. They are also available for download here (scroll down to the button below), and on the Tourism Tofino website. If you would like them to come straight to your inbox each month as I am planning to start doing sometime this year, please sign up for my mailing list (yeah, that annoying pop up). Personally I hate getting a bunch of spamming emails, so I promise to keep it to a maximum of once a month! Please feel free to download them for personal use. If you are a restaurant, school or business that wants to print them for your clients, customers (or to keep their kids happy) or students then I am totally fine with that too. All I ask is you leave my contact info at the bottom of the page please.

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I love donating my colouring pages for all to use. Heck, one day I may make a book, but who knows? Donations are 100% optional, but they’ll definitely help keep me motivated to do more of them.

Donate

ALONE TOGETHER - COLOURING PAGE

Pretty crazy times these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken over the media and people minds all over the globe. It’s hard to clear your head when there is so much information… both accurate and inaccurate that is flooding the news and social media. Tofino is pretty much shut down… most of the shops and restaurants have voluntarily closed, and the District of Tofino along with Tourism Tofino and the Chamber of Commerce have asked visitors to stay home and not come (or go home if you are here). Fair enough… we only have one small grocery store, and a big enough population that solely relies on it so it is already stretched thin. No one knows how long it will last, and everyone reacts and deals in their own way, so it’s really important to practice kindness and compassion right now. Thanks to all the front line workers at all the essential services and businesses for hanging in there during this.

As a freelance illustrator, I work from home already so the concept of self isolation isn’t really a new thing for me, but we do live in a small space which certainly makes it tricky to buy lots of supplies to carry us through this. I also miss the spin bike at the gym already… but I bought a yoga mat, and the dog is getting regular walks. I’ve been getting regular text and messages from friends and family, and I am making sure to reach out to them too. Not everyone likes self-isolation so its important to check in with those people who are going nuts stuck at home. Rowan and I are working on staying creative, keeping well hydrated, eating and sleeping well to keep our immune system strong!

I am still finishing up some projects for clients. I am honestly not sure whether that will stop during this global crisis, or whether people and business owners who are forced to stay home and maybe work ON their businesses (creating work for me). Uncertain times, but I am just going to keep on trucking. If I don’t have client projects to do I will create more art and work on finishing up my playing card deck. I am sure the economy will be taking a hefty hit, but there is always plenty to do to keep me busy enough.

On a weirdly positive note, global pollution is way down. Apparently because of tourism and the traffic, Venice hasn't seen clear canal water in ages. Even Dolphins and fish have been appearing, and swans are enjoying the peace! Perhaps nature is taking an opportunity to reset. It will be interesting to see how we all come out of this.

In this meantime, here are some Pacific White Sided Dolphins to colour while you self-isolate. Let them remind you that we will all be swimming together soon enough (and not just in spirit)!

Oh, and wash your hands. xo

Greetings from my window… a few feet away from you all.

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FREE COLOURING PAGE:

Each month I offer free west coast inspired colouring pages that are published and distributed in Tofino Time Magazine. They are also available for download here (scroll down to the button below), and on the Tourism Tofino website. If you would like them to come straight to your inbox each month as I am planning to start doing that for 2020, please sign up for my mailing list (yeah, that annoying pop up). Personally I hate getting a bunch of spamming emails, so I promise to keep it to a maximum of once a month! Please feel free to download them for personal use. If you are a restaurant, school or business that wants to print them for your clients, customers (or to keep their kids happy) or students then I am totally fine with that too. All I ask is you leave my contact info at the bottom of the page please.

It's Whale Festival Time!

After a year hiatus, the annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival is coming back to Tofino and Ucluelet. This is the week long event where residents of the Pacific Rim come together to celebrate the return of the migrating Grey Whales (and mark the official ‘start’ of the season)! In theory the weather should be improving too (Tofitian’s love to talk about the weather). Check out their website for the schedule of events and come on out.

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FREE COLOURING PAGE:

Each month I offer free west coast inspired colouring pages that are published and distributed in Tofino Time Magazine. They are also available for download here (scroll down to the button below), and on the Tourism Tofino website. If you would like them to come straight to your inbox each month as I am planning to start doing that for 2020, please sign up for my mailing list (yeah, that annoying pop up). Personally I hate getting a bunch of spamming emails, so I promise to keep it to a maximum of once a month! Please feel free to download them for personal use. If you are a restaurant, school or business that wants to print them for your clients, customers (or to keep their kids happy) or students then I am totally fine with that too. All I ask is you leave my contact info at the bottom of the page please.

Happy Holidays - Colouring Page and December Events News

I’m late! I’m late! Wow… this fall/winter has been such a scattered mess of projects and ideas that it’s already December 5th and I haven’t uploaded my colouring page yet! I suppose it’s bad enough I have no new cards or calendars this year for you either!! So sorry! Sometimes it just is’t going to happen (yes you will notice some similarities in my colouring page as well… haha).

So on that note… there are a couple of cool things happening this month.

There are only a few days left to bid on TWO fundraising auctions that I am participating in. One is over at 1% For The Planet. I am auctioning off a Limited Edition ‘Coastal Hunters’ 16x20 Giclée print! This auction wraps up December 9th so get your bid in while you can!

The other one is ‘Friends of Pacific Wild’ #wildauction2019 in support of Pacific Wild’s Fundraising campaigns to conserve and protect the Great Bear Rainforest. Auction Week will be December 2-6, with the auction closing at 5pm December 6. Head over to Instagram to see the original 12x12 piece I created specifically for this event.

If that isn’t enough, I am also participating in the second Pacific Board Art Show over in Cumberland Friday December 6th. I will have a couple of hand painted skateboards for sale at this event. Sounds like its going to be a fun night! Art show with LOTS of cool creatives, live music, and the whole town is taking part in the Little Village Light Up. It also happens to be a fundraiser too… they all seem to be happening this month!!

I’ve also got some cool client projects happening too - book illustrations, logos, posters and an apparel collaboration. So as you can imagine, I had to pull out of the Christmas Winter Artisan Market this year. Sorry to all who were wanting new card designs or calendars… next year… next year.

There is a fun little piece of news though. I decided to sacrifice any chance of a winter vacation, and spend the money on a new printer (and not just any printer) a large format, pigment ink (archival ink), Giclée printer!! I was finding that with the costs to get high end prints printed, I was more hesitant to do smaller runs of archival prints. My lack of storage, and remote location (can’t just quickly drop in to the print shop) is also an issue. This will allow me try more images that I wouldn’t normally get printed. It will also allow me to give my smaller prints a more personal touch. Larger ones and cards will still be done through my favourite crew over at Art Ink Print. :) My little ‘Paperboat Press’ is sitting buried under half painted skateboards and paint until I can get through my list of projects. Looking forward to experimenting with it when I can get to it. haha! 2020 is going to be fun!

I am also admittedly excited to be back to working on the boat! My studio space wasn’t quite working out for me, and I honestly seem to work better in the chaos of my floating space. I decided to save the rent, and go back to working around Rowan’s homeschooling and Adam’s galley/salon building (keep it simple… sort of). It’s weird what we get acclimatized to. That being said… we do have a new stove and almost a salon/work table so our wheelhouse is getting closer to finished!

Anyhow, on that rambling note. A very BIG THANK YOU to all of my supporters this year… it keeps me going on doing what I love to do! I am super excited for 2020 and all it may bring.

And don’t forget to use CHEER2019 if you go to my card for 20% off for the next couple of weeks.

Wishing you all a warm and happy holiday season!!!

Bin Bandits - Colouring Page

The wild west coast often brings on the thought of bears, wolves and cougars as the ‘local’ wildlife, but these critters are the ones who come out at night to cause trouble. Racoons may be super cute, but they can be nasty if cornered (my old husky/malamute lost part of her ear to a young one once). They also will take any opportunity to raid any left out trash. Tofino is full of ‘animal proof’ trash/recycle bins around town so they can’t get in, but they seriously will come all the way down the dock to the boat if we accidentally forget to take our garbage up! You will also notice that most of the bins in town are artfully wrapped (there are three with my art on them). I was going to draw in this one, but I decided to let you try instead. If you want to share it with me, just hashtag #tofinocolour on your post!

This page is also in November’s Tofino Time magazine and up on the Tourism Tofino’s website.

**Please remember, these are free for download, but if you are printing them off to use in businesses or schools, please leave my contact/website information at the bottom of the page. Thank you!**

Stream Keepers - Colouring Page

Autumn is finally here! Every year I am stoked for the crispiness of fall. Time to break out the wool socks, beanies, sweaters and gumboots. I’ll miss those warm mornings and long days, but there is something to be said about just getting cozy and creative in this less chaotic time of year. This year I have a studio to retreat to when the weather gets rocky which is something I certainly look forward to!

October being the month of fall colours and Halloween, I did up some wild salmon for you in their more ‘ghouly’ stage of life. The return to spawn to the river from which they came. Starting from tiny eggs buried in beds of fresh water rivers, they go through many stages of fresh water life before venturing out to the open ocean for a few years before making the trip back. Between deforestation and destruction of natural habitats, fish farms, sea lice, natural predators, human industry, climate change, rising ocean temperatures, pollution and other threats, these incredible fish have a tough life. Wild Salmon are a foundational species to life on the Pacific Northwest. Wild Salmon have been a huge part of First Nations culture for ages. People and many species of wildlife depend on the marine-rich nutrients that wild salmon provide. Salmon watersheds provide clean drinking water, and because they are composed of flowing rivers and dense forests, they absorb carbon to slow climate change! The commercial fishing industry also supports local economy and communities along the Pacific Northwest. Wild Salmon are important for so many reason and I am glad to see more and more organizations fighting to protect them and restore their habitats.

You’ll see this page in Tofino Time magazine this October. Please feel free to download from my site as well, but please… pretty please… leave my contact info on the bottom if you are sharing them in your business, or other public spaces. :)

** I love doing these colouring pages and I hope you do too. I am so happy when I see them printed out in restaurants, or used in schools, and I love to see people colouring them! The other day however, I went into one of my favourite shops in the city and saw kids colouring one of my pages. Normally I would be so stoked to see that, but this time honestly I felt cheated and disappointed. The line of contact information at the bottom of the page was cropped off! Now I completely understand that images posted on the web are at risk of this, and perhaps it was an honest mistake, but I have included that contact info at the bottom of every upload so it was definitely deliberately cropped. That info is my calling card. That is so if someone sees the pages and likes my work, they may hire me for a project. I do not get paid for the hours of work these pages take, nor do I charge to use them, but that ability for ‘exposure’ (yup, artists hate that word), and the projects that may come of it is in essence how I do get paid for them. If you want me to keep doing these, then please, all I ask is you leave my info at the bottom of the page. If that is too much to ask, then I will just have to stop giving them away for ‘free’. **

OTTER CHAOS - COLOURING PAGE

I am a little mind blown that we are just about in July already. I fear this summer it going to sneak away from me before I know it! Last month was a busy one… market mode is officially on now, and as much as I try in the summer to scale back on client illustration projects, it has been hard to do this year. Lots of fun projects makes it really tough to say no… so I inevitably say yes to too much. Before I know it another colouring page is due and I am out of print and card stock. I am wearing too many hats right now… haha!!!

Otter chaos... July’s colouring page inspired by one my favourite creatures - Sea Otters. Whenever we head out on the water out here we often see them, either singles or in rafts like this... floating on their backs with babies or their lunch on their bellies. These little ocean hero’s play an important role in keeping our kelp forests healthy. Sea otters love to eat Sea Urchins, which if left unchecked, will ravage the ocean floor and eat all the kelp holdfasts. That may not seem like an important role, but Kelp Forests provide hiding spots and habitats for a huge variety of invertebrates, marine mammals, fish and even birds!  As these fascinating floating fuzz balls rarely come to shore, the only time you can be lucky enough to see them is out on a boat. ;)

West Coast Swell - Colouring Page

I’m a little blown away that it’s the end of March already. Feels like this winter was pretty amazing. Only 6 weeks of stormy weather this year, falling during that stretch when Finlea, my older daughter, came home for Christmas. She only barely ‘tolerated’ boat life so the stormy stretch was Murphy’s Law like timing. Now being almost April, and I feel the urge to decorate the boat with spring flowers and hopefully soon start slapping some Cetol on the cabin sides. I also get to show you all a BIG SECRET next week that I’ve been holding close to my chest for a YEAR now.

This colouring page was taken from a poster illustration I did recently for this years CSA Canadian Surf Nationals competition. I had some fun colouring it so I figured you would too.

The 'Otter Side' of Tofino

Yes I know… the river otters again, but they’re so cute to watch until they start crapping all over the dock. I still love them. The last few days, as I have returned from the shower, they’ve just sat there... blocking my passage to the boat. They stare at me as if to say, “where do you think YOU’RE going?”  I don’t back down. I just snap back at them... “move over varmits, mind your manners!” There are 5-7 of them at a time... a pretty big wharf rat pack if you ask me. I think it’s time I give them names.

These characters HAVE had me thinking how cool dock life is down here at Fourth Street though, and it is about time I gave you all an introduction to the ‘otter’ side of Tofino (har har)… the side that isn’t often thought about when you think about this magical place. Tofino (according to Google images and most media articles) is a place of wilderness and mile long beaches, beautiful sunsets, clustered specks of surfers in the waves and world class food. It is a tourism destination for sure, and a perfect place to unplug and get out of one’s busy city life. Visitors to Tofino flock here from all over the world, saving their pennies for months for their annual (or singular) visit, and they need to book ahead (like MONTHS) or they will be out of luck for prime accommodation here. Annual rainfall aside, I never to take for granted my daily beach walks, or dockside sunrises and sunsets, as it fills my creative well on a daily basis.

Fourth Street Docks inhabit a micro-culture of its own here in Tofino. For wildlife, we have river otters (as you well know by now), raccoons, sea lions, eagles, ravens, crows, seagulls, kingfishers, swallows and a myriad of other birds (of which my daughter’s besties Cedar and Toby are the local birders and can tell you more than I can). We even have Orcas visit the harbour on occasion too which can be a treat in itself.

Wildlife aside, there are many interesting people with really unique backgrounds and cultures of their own too. We have a whole dock full of crab fishermen who are up before the crack of dawn, and still going well into the evening. You’d never guess you were in Tofino when their day is wrapping up as the smells of spices in their cooking and the chatter and laughter on the docks at the end of the day makes you feel like you are stepping into another country. In the summer months there is a constant coming and going of sport fishing and whale watching boats. Gangs of eager tourists in their big floater suits with their “zoot, zoot, zoot…” (like a loud pair of corduroys) sound is all you hear when that wall of bright red comes piling down the dock. We have a brilliant silversmith who makes beautiful First Nations jewelry on his boat, THE Tofino choir conductor and her little dog Peepa, heaps of oyster farmers, T’aaq-wiihak/Commercial fishermen, as well as smaller dinghies and skiffs from offshore and/or off grid families who commute to Tofino regularly or head off to other islands for work. Our finger is usually pretty quiet (except for the otters and the guys who head off to Vargas to build the new Cedar Coast Field Station each morning), but in the summer months bigger sailboats and power boats will start to show up. Only the hardy ones come here as it is a really long way from the popular cruising grounds of the east coast of Vancouver Island. Oh… and there is Luke and Maddy who are running the harbour and navigating this eclectic crew of people (bring them donuts…really… they deserve it). I am sure I am forgetting a TON of people (sorry if you are reading this and I missed you), but these are the ones I see most regularly down here and came to mind. I could easily go into more detail but I am by no means a writer and I wouldn’t do them justice! Essentially, Tofino Harbour may seem quiet compared to everywhere else in town, but it is a busy working harbour. Between the float planes, and all the boats zipping off to wherever they are going, there is no end to entertainment down here. This is my home and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

So here are some otters… and a cameo of my ‘six knot studio’. ;) This colouring page can be downloaded for free here or on Tourism Tofino’s website, as well as in the pages of Tofino Time magazine’s March edition. Enjoy!

View fullsize

Winter Hideaway - Colouring Page

Happy New Year! As the holiday season wraps up, many of us in these cold, damp and stormy climates start dreaming of 25 degrees, warm bones and a hefty shot of vitamin D. It is also a time to clear the slate, and buckle down and prepare for the upcoming season. With lots of new projects happening in 2019, I am definitely looking forward to this year (although those who know us know we always seem to be in a state of flux)! Thank you all for your support in 2018 and prior, and I wish you all a fresh new year full of juicy adventures, wild experiences, wow moments, big changes, creative mind blows and general awesomeness!  

Here is a peaceful underwater scene for your colouring pleasure… a little more chill than the stormy surface it had been lately here on the west coast!

'Tis The Sea-Son Colouring Page

River Otters. We have a gang (or ‘romp’) of about 6 or 7 otters that hang out on the docks here at 4th street. They can be an intimidating at times as they don’t scare easily and are very familiar with all the folks down here… not to mention they seem to enjoy making messes on everyones boats. I discovered something interesting about them today though… did you know that River Otters sometimes eat BIRDS? I startled one this morning munching its breakfast on the dock. I couldn’t recognize what kind of bird it was but it was brown, and almost the size of the otter itself. It stared me down for a while, then quickly grabbed its breakfast and plopped back into the ocean so I could pass.  

This holiday themed colouring page is dedicated to my furry little ‘friends’ that are part of the population of 4th street dock. My instagram video the other day showed a darker side of them, so I figured I otter lighten it up!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Coastal Ravens - Colouring Page

A little break from Inktober madness for a colouring page as we have storm force winds heading our way today for the first storm of the season. I figured its getting time to cozy up with some pencils and get at it. Drawing line work on a rocking boat provides its own challenges, but I still enjoy looking out the wheelhouse windows and seeing the weather stir up the clouds and the seas. I always know storms are coming as there are flocks of grounded seagulls on the breakwater. Around the docks you’ll find plenty of birds… Seagulls, Crows, Ravens, Eagles, Kingfishers, Herons as well as a ton of smaller birds. Ravens are one of my favourites. They are beautiful and mysterious birds, but don’t turn your back on them. They are known to unzip back packs, open coolers and take your snacks away. Smart as a whip these tricksters are!

September Steller Sea Lions - Colouring Page

This summer has been a bit of a whirlwind and I cannot believe I am working on Septembers page already. I do apologies for August's LACK of page in Tofino Time. Between my brief holiday escape and some important articles that needed the space, I missed a month! No worry... back on track here. #tofinocolour

Welcoming the Whales - Colouring Page

March means warmer temperatures (finally), Tofino businesses coming out of hibernation (yes...Sushi!), tourists starting to come back in droves with spring break. Of course it is also when we welcome the whales back up to our coast with our annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival!

Subsurface Hunters - Colouring Page

We have been nailed by storm after storm this January... literally and figuratively it seems. I have been enjoying the energy in the clouds, the heavy rains and violent seas (aside from the Tsunami warning at 2am), but I have definitely spent more time indoors than I like to. The interesting thing about storms is that aside from shallower waters where the sea floor gets churned up, the deeper ocean remains calm amongst the chaos of the surface. I decided this colouring page should be dedicated to the subsurface hunters, the wolves of the sea, the Kakawin (in Nuu-chah-nulth)... one of my favourite mammals, the Orca (the largest of the toothed whales... actually in the dolphin family). Orcas are highly intelligent, pack hunters with strong family connections that can often be found on the coast here in Tofino and often come into the harbour to feed. 

Even though the "whales" are black and white, there is no reason you can't add a little colour of your own to them! Feel free to download this page, or find it in February's Tofino Time magazine soon. #tofinocolour

Guiding Light - Colouring Page

Happy December... It's that time of year again when we eat too many mandarin oranges and chocolate! It has been a busy fall for me with LOTS of design projects and holiday market preparations. With a record busy Tofino Winter Artisan Market for me yesterday, I think I will lay low today, bake some treats, get out for a good run and maybe throw around a little holiday cheer in the place with Rowan. Seems like a good time to also share my December's colouring page. This image in colour is also available as a Holiday Card in my SHOP. Let see how you choose to colour it with #tofinocolour! Enjoy the holiday season!

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