Cool Shade - Study

Original Oil on Stretched Linen 6 x 6 SOLD

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This is a study for a larger canvas I have planned. I'm working on a series of landscapes in acrylic, on textured canvas, in a larger format. It's interesting to me how painting these small paintings regularly, can impact my painting in another medium and size. For me, the improved skill set and familiarity of putting paint to canvas, allows for greater freedom and bravery in carrying out a concept. As I get farther along with the larger pieces I'll start to post the process.

Cool Shade - Study

The Boat Garage

Original Oil on Canvas  8 x 8 $150 Free shipping CAN & US
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Here's another scene from Hornby Island, although this time it's a house for boats instead of people. I've been rereading selected segments of Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting, and trying to apply his techniques to my painting style. Changing your approach to painting is one of the hardest things to do, but I've been focusing on this while painting this series of beach houses. I have found that with each painting the application of his suggestions has become easier. I started by choosing just one suggestion, worked on that, then the next time I worked on the same thing, but added another suggestion to the mix. Here are the points I've been focusing on. 

• Note the artistic intention - what is drawing you to this image? Decide what to feature and how best to do that.
• Squint your eyes and block in tonal values of light and dark with poster-like flatness, covering all of the canvas.
• Introduce modeling into all the flat values.
• Look for and feel the landscape sense - the artistic expression, the rhythmic reach of the trees.

I feel that I've learned so much from purposely considering each of these steps,  while painting these small beach scenes and I'm totally excited about it. Although these are steps that I use to some extent regularly when I paint, by really giving them consideration, it clarified my values and  improved the expression of my brushstrokes.  If you can get a copy of his book (lots of used ones online), I would highly recommend it.

 

The Boat Garage

A Room With a View

Original Oil on Canvas  8 x 8  $150 Free Shipping CAN & US
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Here's another beach house from Hornby Island. I just love this one. I'd be quite happy to move right in. The window gives you a fantastic view of Whaling Station Bay, a beautiful big, white sand beach with water warm enough to swim in the summer. We've spent some wonderful summer afternoons on this beach. It's hard to believe that it's the Pacific Northwest. 

 

A Room With a View

Beach House III - Under Cover

Original Oil Painting   9 x 12   



Another beach house scene from Hornby Island. This was painted from a picture taken on a walk along Whaling Station Bay. I loved the beach grass forming a path to the house, and the light play coming through the thick cover of trees. It seemed nestled in and cozy under the firs and arbutus trees. There was an awful lot of green in this painting. I find green a challenging colour. For me it's difficult to get just the right hue and temperature. So I really stretched myself on this one. I experimented with a variety of yellows and blues, scaping off my palette many times, before arriving at the colours I chose to paint with. I think the final result captures the light and feel of the place.

 

Beach House III - Under Cover

French Doors and Flowers

Original Oil on Canvas 8 x 10 Framed SOLD
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I demonstrated at the Night Market in my neighbourhood the other night, and decided to do this smaller version of a larger painting I did a while back. I'm quite pleased with the loose brushwork and spontaneity of it. It was a beautiful sunny evening and a good time was had by all.

French Doors and Flowers

Day Two Plein Air

Duck Pond  Original Oil Painting  8 x 10  $65 + s/h

 

It was the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada, so we doubled our pleasure and fit in two days of Plein Air painting. I'm painting beside the duck pond, with the bright green of the golf course showing through the trees. As soon as I saw that green grass glowing in the background and reflecting onto the water, I knew I had to paint it. I managed to approach the scene with a bit more simplicity, but I have to really work on simplifying even more. I'm on a big outdoor painting learning curve, and it's going to be a long and hopefully enjoyable journey. :-)


I won't be posting again until after the weekend, because I'm heading over to Vancouver for
"A Painting a Day" workshop with Liz Wiltzen which I'm really looking forward to. Check out Liz's blog. She's working on a project called '100 Paintings in 100 Days'. She painting most of her daily paintings in the Canadian Rockies, against all weather and temperature odds, and the results are simply beautiful.

Day Two Plein Air

Plein Air

Camus Meadow 11 x 14 Original Oil $50

This is my very first plein air painting of the season, and about my 6th plein air painting ever. I have a huge appreciation of artists who plein air paint regularly. It's an art form all to itself and a very difficult one at that. First you have to decide on a good location, use your view finder to figure out your composition, then the editing begins. What will you keep and what you will eliminate? There is so much information before your eyes. Then there's the atmospheric perspective and of course chasing the light! So this is really documenting my progress, as I'm showing square one here. Yikes!

A bit about the scene itself. My two painting buddies and I headed out to a local, very natural park near our homes. The park is full of protected species of plants and trees, and in the Spring for a few glorious weeks the Camus flowers are in full bloom. It really is a sight to behold. I've included a few photos of us painting so you can appreciate the setting.

Plein Air

Curb Appeal

Curb Appeal   Acrylic on Linen  16 x 20  $450 + s/h
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This painting is from a small village outside of Paris. The entire town was full of hydrangeas in bloom and all I could think of was how much 'Curb Appeal' the homes had. I wanted to move into all of them. In this painting and my last two postings, I've been concentrating on capturing the feel of the moment with minimal brush strokes. Putting each stroke down with purpose. I can tend to overpaint, so restricting my brushstrokes is a great exercise for me, and I'm pleased with the outcome.

 

Curb Appeal

City Dwelling

City Dwelling   Acrylic on Linen  16 x 20  $450 + s/h
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This painting is inspired from photos I took while living in Paris, France. We had a great apartment in the attic of a seven floor walk up. Yes you read that correctly. Luckily it was a beautiful staircase. Spiral, polished wood, tapestry carpets and floor to ceiling French windows on each landing. But the très chic apartments just above the cafes, within the trees that line the boulevards, like the one in this painting, always fascinated me. These people had large luxurious apartments, and on opening their French doors, could take in all the energy of the street life. I always thought of them as the Parisiens who were really 'City Dwelling'. This building had such beautiful old world charm and combined with the flower boxes full of geraniums, I simply had to paint it. 

 

City Dwelling