Above the Courtyard

Above the Courtyard - SOLD

This is a repost of one my all time favourite paintings. I love the quality of sunlight I captured in this one. It brings back warm memories of a year abroad. I hope you have a great weekend. Talk to you soon!

Above the Courtyard

Moroccan Platter

Acrylic on Canvas  12 x 24  $350
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This piece was inspired by various travels. The platter is Moroccan and the fabric is an Egyptian prayer rug. I love both of these home decor items. All they needed were some green apples. This painting is one of the pieces on display at the Victoria Airport.

Moroccan Platter

l'Aperitif

Original Acrylic Painting  12 x 12  $250 
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When I was living in the South of France, each evening began with the Aperitif, and usually a number of good friends. We would sit down around the table and share conversation and laughter, often a glass of wine and some little appetizer like the olives pictured above. This is a little Moroccan dish I bought while living there, and it's something that I cherish for both it's beauty and memories. This painting is more about the Aperitif experience than about a particular aspect of painting, however I did enjoy painting the light on the olives and the wine glass. The ratan table top I could have done without, but once I'd committed, I just kept on going.

 

l'Aperitif

En Provence

Original Acrylic on Exhibition Canvas
Image painted over all Four Sides
24 x 24  $800 + s/h


I completed this painting last summer, as part of a show entitled Mediterranean Moments. I did the still life set up with props that I owned, and was given a huge, beautiful lavender bouquet by a friend of a friend. The owner of the lavender has a lavender farm on her property, and as she is also an artist she went above and beyond to get the lavender to me, in perfect shape. I was deeply grateful. I then needed a background for the set up, and having lived in France, I had photos of lavender fields in my photo file. But to place the still life in front of a field from a photo was rather tricky. I was very nervous to try this and didn't want to ruin a good still life with a bad background, so I decided to paint the background first, thereby eliminating unnecessary work if it turned out poorly. The next tricky part was depicting the hot Mediterranean sun. I did many set ups in full sun at various times of day, and took even more photographs, finally arriving at this design. The last challenging part was painting all that white! White is so hard to paint! Very little of it is actually white. Because of all the lavender in the painting, I mixed a variety of temperatures and tones of lavender grey. In the end it was a great experience which I believe grew my painting skills. So don't be afraid to try something difficult. When we push ourselves we grow.

En Provence

Above the Courtyard

Acrylic on Exhibition Canvas  24 x 24  SOLD
Image is painted around all four sides

When I was living in the Southwest of France I loved the intimacy of the wrought iron balcony with it's warm sunshine and quiet moments with friends, while down below in the courtyard another animated world complete with fountains, children, seniors and pitanque players was taking place. I worked hard at capturing the golden warmth of the early evening sunlight as it hit these gorgeously ripe nectarines and the folds in the cloth. I'm also really pleased with the reflections in the glaze of the ceramic bowl. I used a combination of full body and fluid acrylics to create the glow and light effects.

 

Above the Courtyard

In the Garden

Acrylic on Exhibition Canvas 24 x 24 SOLD

I'm pleased to announce that I have been juried into the Butchart Gardens Summer Art Show and Sale. The Butchart Gardens is our premiere Victoria attraction with 50 acres of the most spectacular floral finery and landscaping. It's a fabulous experience in all seasons. The above painting 'In the Garden' was a perfect fit for this show. When I first had the concept for this painting, I wanted to capture the pleasure of breakfast in the garden on a summer's day. When I actually set up the still life to photograph, it quickly became about light and shadow. I loved the shadows cast across the tea cup and table and onto the garden chair. I wanted to capture the bright summer sun, but give the impression of the freshness in the garden with the cool blue and white colour scheme. I'm really pleased with the result.

In the Garden

Still Life Show - Vancouver BC

From the Garden Acrylic on Exhibition Canvas  24 x 24  $800 + s/h

Au Marché  Acrylic on Exhibition Canvas  24 x 24  $800 + s/h

I'm very pleased to announce that two of my paintings 'From the Garden' and 'Au Marché' have been juried into the Annual Still Life Show at Federation Gallery in Vancouver BC. The exhibition runs until June 27 and you can view the entire show online at
http://artists.ca/show/still_life_show

Check out the site for more information about the Federation of Canadian Artists, a community of artists and art lovers who share a passion for the visual arts through education, exhibition and communication. Also check out two International Shows coming up soon, that you may be interested in entering - POTE 'Painting on the Edge', and AIRS 'Annual International Representational Show'.

Still Life Show - Vancouver BC