Cedar Stroll

Oil on Linen 20 x 16

I love walking in the forests of BC. The Red and Yellow Cedars are spectacular, and when you find some old growth, the diameter of the tree trunks is astounding. This scene is from Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. The dappled sunlight breaking through the canopy of trees was something I just had to paint.

Cedar Stroll

Spring Bloom

Original Acrylic on Canvas 14 x 18

Although Spring has not officially arrived in Victoria this year...it's SO cold!!! we do have the wildflowers blooming everywhere. They are actually about one month behind their normal blooming schedule. Usually we paint en plein air Easter weekend, and capture them just before they finish, but the blue Camas are still opening. This is Beacon Hill Park near my workplace, and at lunch I captured this shot while taking a walk. The shadows were very short because it was midday, but the colours were wonderful. As always, when I have a lot of green in a painting, I struggle a bit with foreground, midground and background. I pushed and pulled the values and finally settled with this version....for now. Do you find paintings with a lot of green challenging? Do you have thoughts on how to overcome this problem, other than practice?

Spring Bloom

Wild Flower Meadow

I've been wanting to try painting on a cradled wooden panel to see what it's like compared to painting on canvas or linen. So this was my first foray into painting on wood. As recommended, I sealed it with two coats of matte acrylic medium before starting to paint. There's definitely a learning curve here, because the paint goes on, (and comes off), differently for sure. It's quite a slick surface, so it doesn't stick that well, and can easily be removed by mistake if you don't use a light touch. I've got one more to experiment with, so I'll see how that one goes. I'd like to try building up texture before painting, and it would be interesting to see how acrylics go on as they dry so much more quickly. Have any of you painted on wood panels? Do you have any tips you'd like to share?



I actually really like this composition, and will probably repaint in on canvas. This is a walk my husband and I took recently in a nearby natural park. The park is full of protected plants and trees. The wildflowers are Fawn Lilies that are naturalized throughout the meadows, and the tree is a Garry Oak.



I'm really delighted to report that I've been juried into the TD Art Gallery Paint-In on July 16th. It's a wonderful summer art event which brings thousands of people together for one day, observing and talking with the artists at work. It's a really high energy and fun art celebration organized by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. If you happen to be coming to Victoria at that time, you'll definitely want to put this event on your agenda.

Wild Flower Meadow

CNIB Eye Appeal Art Fundraising Event

Last Thursday evening was the Artists' Reception for all those who had donated works of art to the CNIB Eye Appeal, the national annual event to raise funds for the blind. As I said in my last post, as visual artists it is difficult to imagine having impaired sight or no sight at all. Being inspired daily by our sense of sight is what makes us create, so it's fitting that Victoria's artists join forces and help make this evening a grand success. Here I am beside my still life in oils.


The event took place in Crystal Gardens which is an historic building, now part of the Conference Center. It started out in the early 1900's as a glass roofed swimming pool. With all of that natural light coming through, it's the perfect venue for an art show and auction.

Here is Jean Wilmhurst, friend and fellow artist, who I met through the Federation of Canadian Artists. Jean is a very talented acrylic and watercolour artist. She is shown here posing beside her donation - a gorgeous watercolour of Blue Poppies.

These last two photos show some of the works for live and silent auction. Many of BC's highest calibre artists were part of this event, so I felt quite humbled to be a part of it. I haven't heard the outcome of the evening yet, but it was sold out, so no doubt it was a success.

CNIB Eye Appeal Art Fundraising Event

Sweet Treat

Original Oil on Linen 8 x 8

I had so much fun with the first painting of Bartlett pears that I decided to do another. I'm pleased with the glow again, and prefer the looseness of the brushstrokes in this one.


Tonight I'm going to the Artists' Reception for the CNIB Eye Appeal Art Fundraiser, at Crystal Garden. I donated a painting to this worthy cause. As visual artists it's hard to imagine a life with either limited or no sight. I hope the fundraiser is a great success. The artists' event will be an entertaining evening, chatting with many of Victoria's artists.

Sweet Treat

Harvest

Original Oil on Linen 8 x 8

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter with family and friends. After last weekend with the Studio Tour, I was very happy to sit back and relax. I did manage to get a little painting in though.

I saw these Bartlett pears at the store and loved the rosy glow on the gold. They looked so sun kissed. I decided to place them on an old pop crate that I have, and it reminded me of harvest on the farm. For this one I was concentrating on creating the glowing light on the pears, and on brushwork. Trying to keep it loose and say it in less.

Harvest

Oak Bay Artists' Studio Tour

What a wonderful weekend and Studio Tour! The weather was sunny and many very friendly art lovers visited my studio over the two afternoons. One visitor was a great friend who I had lost touch with and hadn't seen in 15 years! I was so excited and busy talking that I forgot to take a picture! This is a photo of me in my dining room with some of my west coast scenes.


These two happy partons said they had just bought a new home and I'm honoured to have my paintings grace their walls.

I asked if people minded if I took some photos and they quickly scattered into other rooms and out of sight, so the following pictures are not animated with viewers, but it gives an idea of the show.

Here's the living room. It was a circle tour of the main floor of the house. Through the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway and back along to the entrance. Paintings were hung on all the walls throughout. In all there were just over 50 paintings, from 6 x 6 up to 48 x 48.



Where ever there was a small section of wall, I made a grouping of complimentary paintings.

You're now wondering just how many holes I have in my walls. :-) We've put picture rail in the living room and will soon have throughout.


It was a lot of work to prepare for the tour, because I always garden, pot plants, and mega clean, (my family wants to run and hide) but it's always rewarding. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the visitors include other artists who want to ask about my process, art buyers connect, and people who just plain love art, are thrilled with the opportunity to talk to me about my work and inspiration. It's a great well attended community event!

Oak Bay Artists' Studio Tour

Autumn Escape

Acrylic on Textured Canvas 30 x 40 $1200

I've had the busiest couple of months doing lots of organization for shows coming up throughout this year. I've been submitting for entrance into shows, helping to apply for a grant for the Bowker Creek Brush Up Art Show and Sale in August, and I've been varnishing and framing like a crazy woman! As well I've been suffering from Blog Withdrawal and thinking that I'd be forgotten, when two of my blogging buddies, Virginia Floyd and Lorraine Shirkus, sent me kind messages checking in on me. Thanks ladies you really made my day!

This weekend is the Oak Bay Artists' Spring Studio Tour. I've spent the last few weeks preparing for the show by painting this larger version of a smaller piece I did called Country Road. When I completed Country Road I immediately thought that it was an image that could easily be much larger. So I went to a 30 x 40 canvas, and textured it with molding paste. I'm quite happy with the results, and when I compare the two, I prefer the brushstrokes of the smaller piece. But they both have their merits and I feel equally happy with them.

I have just finished hanging my show, and standing back and looking at it, I can honestly say it's my best Studio Tour Show to date. I have over 50 paintings, from 6 x 6 up to 30 x 40, in oils and acrylics, featuring still life and west coast scenes. It is the culmination of one full year of blogging, the goal of which was to push myself to improve my craft. I see so much personal growth as I look at all these paintings. This year I learned to paint with oils (I'm still learning), I experimented a lot with brushwork and edges, and I can definitely see and feel improvement in my craft. I absolutely love that! I also love how great blogging is, as a sharing forum and making friends with artists who I have only met online, but who I feel connected with.

Now that I'm starting my second year of blogging, I'm going to launch a blog project, starting soon (if only the weather would warm up). But first I'll be posting an interview with my good friend, portrait artist Manon Elder, who has an impressive exhibit at the Provincial Museum here in Victoria. I'll look forward to sharing her story with you. Talk to you soon!

Autumn Escape

Naptime

Original Oil on Linen 11 x 14 $275

Free Shipping Canada and USA

It feels like quite a while since I posted. I've been preparing submissions for a variety of shows and events running through the summer, and am still preparing for the Oak Bay Artists' Studio Tour coming up on April 16th and 17th. It's been a very busy time, but I managed to get back to the easel and paint these cute little boats. The Gulf Islands are full of images like this, so I've photographed many boats turned upside down. They always look to me like they've come up on land to take a nap.

Naptime

Help Japan Challenge

This weeks Daily Paintworks Challenge is the Help Japan Challenge. The theme of this challenge is "Home" - an image that says home to you. This painting is a Sunday morning on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, where I grew up. The west coast of Canada is on a major earthquake fault line. All of us have some sort of thrown together emergency preparedness kit for such an eventuality, but after seeing the crisis in Japan, we are soberly and seriously preparing our earthquake kits. This is an opportunity for you to donate to Japan Relief and have 100% of your donation go to the cause and at the same time receive a great original piece of art. Click here to go to DPW Challenge and view all of the wonderful paintings donated by artists all over the world. I'm sure you'll find something you will love to own with the added value of helping those in need.

Help Japan Challenge

Opulence - Step by Step

'Opulence' Original Acrylic on Canvas 30 x 30

I'm back! It seems like forever since I posted and talked to everyone. I was sick with a cold, then went out of town to visit my parents, and then my daughter came into town to visit us. It's been great spending the time with family and having so many laughs!

I think I'm finished this painting, but I'll need to live with it for a few weeks to really know. Because of the time lapse since I started posting the Step by Step, I decided to post them all together so you get the effect. There's a bit of glare in the upper right hand corner, probably because I used some glazing fluid and it has a bit of sheen. Once I've decided that it's finished, I'll varnish it so the finish is consistent.

Now has this ever happened to you? When I went to make this blog post, my image upload window wouldn't let me upload any pictures. I am a bit technologically challenged so things have to be pretty basic for me. I've been checking my 'cache' and my 'cookies' and updating Firefox and finally googling how to revert to the 'old editor' on my blog. Phew!

Opulence - Step by Step

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