Deep Blue - Colouring Page

It’s October! I forgot what it was like to live in a place with somewhat stereo typical seasons! To a visitor used to seeing the obvious leaf colour changes, it is harder to know the seasons are changing in Tofino unless you have spent time there as the trees remain green year round, and the temperature only fluctuates on average 15-20 degrees or so all year (I know a couple of people who wear sandals and shorts all year). The changes in season come in different ways. The season for the feeding bears and visiting whales, lifecycle of the salmon, the different birds on the beach, the levels of fog, the measurement of rain and strength of the wind, the weight of the dew, the location of sunrise and set, the size and quality of the swell, the line up at the coffee shop and the brewery, and the daylight… or diminishing daylight. October is on of my favourite months in both places. Wool sweaters, Turkey dinners, my daughters birthday, all the Halloween weirdos… its just a fun creative time. Now I get to explore Victoria area more, visit pumpkin patches, hike through fallen leaves, drink pumpkin spice everything, slurp soup and doodle some Inktobers! Perfect time now to get back on track and get some creative projects finished up.

On the note of hunkering down… Have you seen My Octopus Teacher on Netflix yet? Quite a touching and beautiful story/documentary. Definitely worth a watch. This months colouring page is all about those curious cephalopods… <3

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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 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.

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.

February Colouring Page - West Coast Whales

Hard to believe it is already February. January was a pretty stormy month, but cozy all the same. Needless to say, I am certainly looking forward to a break from windy wet days so I can spend some more time outside and NOT covered in rubber rain gear!

Not too much to update on this month. Its back to piles of client projects… most of which I can’t really share until the clients do, so I am just hunkering down and getting them done. Soon its time to get some work done for the upcoming market season… its going to be here faster than we think!!

This colouring page is a little different… I have been drawing a ton of whales for different things lately so whales have been filling my head. I may as well fill yours with them too as The Pacific Rim Whale Festival is coming up in March (it took a hiatus last year). Enjoy!

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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 New Year

WANTED: Turkey Bandit and accomplices. Probably moving slowly after all that turkey, yams, potatoes, roasted veg and stuffing. Seems to have opposable thumbs. May have a greasy face, bloated belly and still be carrying a container of his leftovers. Thanks for leaving us the cranberry sauce.

Another Christmas come and gone. It honestly feels like yesterday that I was putting down LAST years tree! This season seemed short and sweet. We spent some time before Christmas in Victoria, Sooke and Mayne Island visiting family, then picked up our eldest daughter and brought her home for a few days over Christmas. It’s never enough time to really get quality visits with everyone, but I suppose thats just how it is when family is spread around like that. Tofino is tough to come to at that time of year… especially when living on a boat as there isn’t really room to put family or friends up and hotel accommodation can be pricey and pretty elusive over those popular days. Nevertheless, it was really nice to just stop and be present. This was also the first Christmas with our new stove, and Adam finished the salon table the week before so we could actually sit around a table and not our laps! I am not sure if those are the reasons it was easily the best Christmas dinner we have ever had, or if it was the company, or the food. Apparently the racoons thought so too… they were waiting patiently for us to put all our leftovers in the cooler outside (not a big enough fridge indoors). Those sneaky buggers managed to get in, and open click lock containers too. Perhaps that made our dinner even better… the fact that we didn’t get the opportunity to get sick of leftovers. 🤣

So here I am… writing a post, drinking coffee, and getting ready to take down this years tree. The week between Christmas and New Years is always a good one. I have no idea what day of the week it is, but I do know that I am already scheming and planning, writing lists and goals…excited for a new year. Wishing you all the best for 2020!!

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UPCOMING EVENTS:

Artist In Action at The Wickininnish Inn: I feel pretty honoured to have been asked to join The Wickaninnish Inn to help ring in the new year as an ‘Artist In Action’. Looking forward to doing some drawing/painting in their super cozy Driftwood Café, while the forecasted wintery winds blow outside on Chesterman Beach! I'll be there at the following times. Come say hi!

Monday, December 30th: 4:00pm - 7:00pm (opening reception)
Tuesday, December 31st: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Wednesday, January 1st: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Thursday, January 2nd: 10:00am - 1:00pm

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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’. **

Deep Sea Drift - Colouring Page

It is September already… what the heck!? Fall routines are around the corner… back to school shopping, fall sweaters, mushroom picking, and earlier sunsets. Tofitian’s are excited to be able to catch a breath after a busy tourist season once again. Even though I don’t work in the tourism industry per se, I still feel the pressure of everyone who does. Between keeping up with stock for the market and the shops that carry my work, and trying to remain creative while holding down the fort at home while Adam (who IS in the thick of the industry) is out on the water 10-12 hours per day can be a challenge. Not to mention clients needing work done, art shows, and holiday season preparation etc. Short stolen moments to enjoy the summer season in the form of a quick swim, beach walk, or ice cream cone is about all I got in this year… and now it is September.

Even though I love the temperatures in the summertime, fall IS my absolute favourite time of year. Cooler temperatures, wool sweaters and cozy socks. I get caught up on all my admin work, client projects and get to spend more time in the studio. I look forward to holiday preparation and if all goes well, may get an opportunity to enjoy the hot sunshine a couple of borders down. We’ll see…

So with school starting around the corner, here are some jelly fish (Moon Jellies, and Lion’s Mane jellyfish to be more specific) to colour. You’ll find it in the latest Tofino Time magazine too! Enjoy!

Feathers and Fins - Colouring Page

We’ve had a convocation of about 6-7 Bald Eagles flying around in the harbour often these days. It is very distracting from work as it is really fascinating to watch them (it also seems to be making all the gulls a little unsettled). They all seem to be full grown, so not sure why there are so many that seem to hunt/fly together as I know they tend to be alone or in pairs. Anyway they are beautiful regardless!

Summer has been busy with work, and sadly not enough play as of yet. I am also thick in prep and painting for the Pacific Board Art show coming up mid August, which is a really fun change and having a studio space actually makes it possible to do! Lots of client projects and busy Saturday markets so its nice to do a little something for me.

Pacific Wild will be receiving 30% of all art sales at the show so in the spirit of the wild (and inspired by all those eagles), here is August’s Colouring page for you! Look out for it in August’s Tofino Time magazine too!

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. ;)

Forest Forager - Colouring Page

I can’t believe it is almost June already. The weather is getting warmer, the whales and bears are out now, and the streets and beaches are already packed with visitors. I just got back from a week in NYC which ended up being a great idea as it really kept the busyness of Tofino in perspective (the theme for this colouring page). Walking through the streets of Manhattan require speed and purpose in order to blend in… the complete opposite of the laid back cruisey nature of this west coast town (if you try to stop in the middle of the sidewalk there, you basically get run over by the person behind you). I loved it there though… museum visits, a huge variety of food, a multi-cultural immersion, amazing subway system, friendly and helpful locals (despite the hefty amount of tourists). For a place so hectic and overwhelming, the people had so much patience with the visitors. That was definitely a take away from my visit and something I will reflect on when I need get somewhere in a hurry here in the summer. ;)

But back to perspective… I’ve got a black bear foraging along the shoreline for you for June’s colouring page. This is the primary location you will find bears at this time of year (except maybe on the side of the highway driving in). It is a good idea to remember that bears are the locals here and we share our wild spaces with them. If you do see one, give it plenty of space. Don’t go running up to it attempting to feed it or take photos with it (yes, people DO that). If you love them as much I do, DON’T FEED THEM. “A fed bear is a dead bear” means that a habituated bear (one ‘comfortable’ with people’) is more likely to be euthanized if they inadvertently cause problems. Bears have a wicked sense of smell, but terrible eyesight. If you are hiking in the forest, try not to surprise them. Make noise if you are in a bear area! I know its hard… they are beautiful animals, and its such a cool feeling to see one in the wild. Just try to remember, they are WILD animals and it is best to see them from a safe and relatively undetected distance (ie. a boat).

Feel free to download it here or open up a Tofino Time magazine and give it some colour yourself. :)

Ebb and Flow - Colouring Page

Decided it was time to revisit an old friend, and an integral part of our rugged, rocky landscape.

Bull kelp is still one of my favourite marine plants. It grows and thrives in rough coastal waters literally ‘growing’ with the flow of the current. It's held down by a little root ball that anchors it to the ocean floor. The stem then grows and reaches towards the surface from 30 to 60 feet long at a rate of up to 10” per day! It eventually enlarges and forms a single, round float with many as 30 to 64 long thin blades that grow from it to form a golden brown canopy on the water's surface… perfect for creatures to hide in, or to use as an anchor to stop them from drifting too far (like sea otters do).

You often see piles of bull kelp on the beaches after the winter storms tear the kelp from the seafloor, washing it ashore. Kids drag them around as little beach pets, and my puppy is always trying to eat it... and then often throwing up later so I’m not a fan of that part. Haha! I love how they gracefully move in the water, their blades like mermaid hair.

Look out for it is this months Tofino Time magazine.  I haven’t included this one in my new colouring posters, but maybe next print run! Enjoy!

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!

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Black and White - Colouring Page

Killer Whales, Orcas, or Kakawin (in Nuu-chah-nulth) are making headlines these days. The Southern Resident Killer Whales (comprised of J, K and L pods) that live in the waters off BC’s Gulf Island’s and Northern Washington are threatened. With their populations dwindling, efforts are being made to educate the public on how to help protect these beautiful creatures. Threats include toxins in the ocean, noise pollution and reduced Chinook salmon stocks (their preferred diet). In the spirit of #oceanoptimism, some ways you can help the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) : https://www.whaleresearch.com/orca-conservation. 

Here in Clayoquot Sound we often get visited by Bigg’s (Transient) Orcas. Unlike the larger family groups of Resident Whales (which show up on rare occasion), Bigg’s Orcas travel in smaller family groups and hunt marine mammals (seals, sea lions, porpoises etc.). Sometimes, we are lucky to get front row seats as they cruise by Tofino Harbour!

I decided to celebrate these beautiful marine mammals for February’s colouring page. Keep an eye out in next months Tofino Time magazine and on the Tourism Tofino website.

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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!