August Art Wrapped 2026

August Favorites

Welcome back to my monthly blog post, my August Wrapped! August is a month of goodbyes; to truly understand it, one must accept the inherent beauty in endings. It's easy to feel bitter about the drop in temperature and lengthening nights, and yet to me, August has always felt like the lingering hug you give just before someone you love goes away, aching with longing and maybe a bit of fear, but deepened by the knowledge that this goodbye is not forever. It is a reminder to capture every moment fully and bleed your days dry of memories. So, August, I could never look at you with anything but love as I recall slanting golden sunlight cutting through the last green leaves and nights that seem endless under the stars. As we complete summer's goodbye, here are a few ways to make the most of September.

• Don't rush the Transition: Embrace it - Most people either want to hold onto summer for a month longer or want to jump right into autumn, but my advice is to love both at the same time. You can still spend afternoons lying by the river (this time maybe with a sweatshirt), then come home to a hot tea and Gilmore Girls on the TV. Both seasons can exist simultaneously, and I think there's beauty in that.

• Back to School Era- Even if you are past this stage in your life, I think September is such a beautiful time to reset. Think new notebooks, gratitude journaling, and mood tracking. So pick back up the highlighters and reorganize yourself until you feel in control again.

• Learn Something New- This goes along with the school season, but I always believe we should be in a state of learning. So this month, spend time figuring out something that interests you, whether that be a research topic, a poet or author, or a new skill. Challenging yourself keeps your brain healthy, so remember to exercise it like any other muscle.

• Embrace the Harvest- The end of August and beginning of September is when all the hearty crops come out of the garden. This means zucchini, pumpkin, tomato, and corn. Embrace this in your diet and find a new recipe you love.

  • Lately I've loved a baked zucchini dish with zucchini, onion, tomato, garlic, and parmesan and mozzarella cheese!

• Fall in Love with the Weather- Finally, embrace these colder evenings for the breath of fresh air that they are. Learn to love the wind blowing your hair away from your face and the light pattering of rain staining the sidewalks. So hop across sidewalks without stepping on cracks, and admire leaves with ombres of yellow and green. Stop to watch the duck in its pond sticking around for the final warm days and just laugh when water seeps into your sneakers on a walk.

  
  

Thank you for reading these little pieces of advice, and I hope you try one! Having a little sticky note above my desk with ideas like this really helps me remember to incorporate them into my days.

August Favorites

• Windsor and Newton Paint- I have decided to switch to a professional-grade acrylic paint, and this is my pick. The pigment and flow of the paint are better, and I love using them!

• Stationery- I love getting new pens at the end of August to bring in the school year, and this one is especially pretty.

  
  

Now, a little about me. As of today, my Instagram account has 426 followers. This was another month of mostly watercolour as I learn plein air to capture moments as I live them. In addition to the many small paintings I captured that way, I have wonderful news: two of my paintings, Lavender and Depth of Colour, are now on display at the Leighton Art Center as part of the Youth Works Exhibition. I am so proud to say my art has been featured in a professional setting, and I have loved seeing it displayed alongside the impressive work of my peers. I also finished an 8x10 acrylic painting of Kananaskis as a goodbye gift to my boyfriend who moved away to Montana. I love the way it turned out and the level of detail it shows. I finished my piece depicting the waterfall from La Fortuna, Costa Rica and finally posted the photos on Instagram. I also worked on (but only a small bit) the mountain landscape acrylic I've had as a work in progress for some time. That's all from the art side of things this month!

In my personal life, August was beautifully bittersweet. It was truly a love letter and goodbye to summer. It included two backcountry camping trips where I enjoyed fishing, swimming in the creek, and no wifi. Beautiful views, good company, and lots of laughs. Worked my job in the back shop and as a waitress, per usual, but took a fair bit of time off to enjoy the season. My family and I headed up to my grandparents' farm for the annual family reunion and saw the gardens and flower beds in full bloom. As a last goodbye, before everyone started their own separate adventures, my friends and I spent a couple of days at our camping spot wake surfing, roasting marshmallows, and enjoying each other's company. I spent a few other days up at the lake with my family, savouring the time with them before I moved out of the house during the last week of August. The move was the most surreal experience of my life. As a sentimental person, it is so strange packing up your soul into brown boxes. Despite the existential dread I felt, the first week turned out to be amazing. Not only did I meet a group of amazing people, but I fell in love with the space I was given and the campus I'm living on. The biggest comfort is my family's proximity, meaning I didn't miss brunch with my aunt or dinner for my parents' 20th anniversary. I got to explore downtown and am on a mission to become great at pool after my four years here. Truly has been a month of great change, but I can no longer say I'm afraid.

Thank you for tuning in if you've made it this far! I will try to post one of these at the end of each month to keep everyone updated. Let me know if you have any other ideas for what I should write about in these blogs (my dms and email are open!)