The appearance of Spring means it's time to think about getting your garden underway. Whether it's filled with inspiring blooms or tasty vegetables, gardens go with spring like snow and Far West jackets in the 90's go with winter...the natural world never stops its cycle.

Gardening brings to mind an old self-portrait I painted of myself as a carrot. Sometimes enough is enough with self-portraits and a differerent take is needed. Carrot Top was done in oil on a large discarded roof shingle of some sort. Roof shingles and expensive paintbrushes surprisingly do not get along so well together.

Spring weather is always sure to draw everybody out from their winter hiding places and into the streets for some shopping, dining and fun. Crowds can be both exciting and a drag to work on, depending on how you look at it. On one hand, they are filled with all sorts of unique characters, locations and props, in a randomized pattern which can make for tremendous compositions. On the other hand, crowds can take a while to complete, and can bog an artist down in details, which can really ruin an overall picture. This is a watercolour and ink drawing of a scene on Queen Street in Toronto.

The weather has finally warmed up, and along with it has followed a symphony of birds. It's their busy season, so pretty much any tree, wire, pole and fence has suddenly been adorned by one of our feathered friends. And they are actually easier to see now, without leaves on any branches yet. All of the usuals have been out and about, including an abundance of cardinals. There was a particularly tense stand-off this morning between a stubborn blue jay and rough-around-the-edges squirrel. Do desperate angry squirrels eat birds? hmmm. But as of yet this spring, the rare Weiner Dog Balloon Bird, has remained elusive.