Artishow Plein Air Event - Empress Hotel Victoria BC

This past Sunday was the Artishow Plein Air kick off event. Every Sunday throughout the summer, artists will be demonstrating their work at hotels around the Inner Harbour of Victoria. Painters and sculptors will be out interacting with the public, both locals and tourists. It was a great day, and I spoke to people from many parts of the world. I'm very honoured and humbled to be with some of Victoria's best artists at Artishow, plein air summer event. Check them out - Annie Pelletier, David Hunwick, David Goatly, Tara Juneau, and Robert Amos.





The painting I started on Sunday is a view from Cattle Point, a few blocks from my home, across to Mount Baker in Washington State. We can go weeks without seeing Mt. Baker because of cloud cover, but when we do, it's absolutely breathtaking. It just looms up and glows in the sun.

The canvas is 24 x 48, and did I mention that it's always windy in Victoria? We're right on the Pacific Ocean with nothing but wind and water between us and Japan. Luckily I brought bungy cords. I had my canvas attached to the easel with a bungy, and the easel attached to a box holding supplies and a heavy jug of water. I was painting in acrylics, and with each gust of wind, my paint dried at high speed. It made covering a large canvas a bit of challenge, but I got around it with acrylic medium and mixing the colour inside a yogurt container.





I'm posing for my girlfriend Kerry, who came down expressly to capture these photos for my blog. Thanks Kerry!




Chatting to some interested art enthusiasts, who just happen to be locals. We have a vibrant arts scene in Victoria and many dedicated show goers. I'm almost finished the painting, and will most likely post it in a few days. This upcoming long weekend, Sunday July 3rd, from 12 noon - 6pm, we will be out again on the lawn at the Empress Hotel. If you're in the area, we'd love to see you!

Artishow Plein Air Event - Empress Hotel Victoria BC

The Old Farm House

Oil on Canvas 8 x 10 $150 Unframed
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We recently spent a late afternoon painting out at the old farm at Beaver Pond in Saanich. We were hoping for sun so we'd have some long shadows. The sun came and went, but it was out enough that we were able to capture the light effect. It was a beautiful spot with lots of wild rabbits hopping around the field. I don't know the story of the old farm house, but it's definitely old, with a sagging roof. It was a really glorious spot to paint.

This upcoming Sunday, June 26th, is the kick off of the Artishow Summer Plein Air Event at the Empress Hotel in Victoria. I'll be there painting along with a few other Victoria Artists, from 11am - 6 pm. If you're in the area, drop by and say hello, I'd love to see you!

The Old Farm House

Shady Spot

My plein air painting buddies and I headed out to a nearby park the other morning. It's a beautiful spot with gorgeous scenes to paint in every direction, but finally we decided to paint this stand of Arbutus trees. We all love Arbutus trees for their beautiful red peeling bark and often wind twisted trunks. Unfortunately there is a disease striking these trees, and many of them are having to be removed. So in honour of these west coast beauties, we all started painting. A short time later, a photographer arrived and informed us that a wedding party would be arriving soon, and they would need the entire area. We promised we would leave, and started painting with great speed, trying to get down the necessary lights and darks. I think he misinterpreted our zealous painting, and thought we were going to be problem painters, because he kept coming back and giving us a countdown. We were gone before the first of the happy wedding party arrived and we all finished our paintings at home. I had trouble differentiating the tree foliage in the midground with the shrubs and trees in the background. We may just have to go back to that spot again, but never on a Saturday! :-)

Shady Spot

A Bunch of Hotties

Oil on Linen 6 x 6 $85 Unframed SOLD
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These radishes were so much fun to paint! I was focusing on the light and keeping the brushwork loose. The curly tails added a fun and chaotic aspect. Sorry, there's a bit of glare on the photo, otherwise I'm fairly pleased with this one.

I'm really delighted to tell you that this month I have a Solo Exhibit at the Marina Restaurant in Oak Bay. The Marina is one of the leading restaurants in Victoria, and yes it's right on the water, at the Oak Bay Marina. I have 17 of my most recent paintings hanging throughout the dining spaces. If you're from the area and are enjoying a wonderful gourmet meal at the Marina, please take the time to enjoy my art show as well!

A Bunch of Hotties

First Plein Air Painting Day of 2011

This is my first plein air painting of 2011. It's been a long year since I did this, and not only was I very rusty, but I'd forgotten just how challenging painting outdoors is. But first, what a beautiful day it was! My painting buddy Sharon Churchill and I headed to one of our favourite locations - Glencoe Cove. It was the first warm, sunny weekend since the end of September 2010!! If you live in the Pacific Northwest you know that I'm only joking a little bit. In any case we had a glorious day, and some wonderful visitors, and below are some photos of our afternoon.


This cat must belong to an artist. He was so friendly, rubbing up against our legs, then he stretched out on the rocks and watched us for a while.


We were painting away and suddenly this beautiful little deer, came walking down the beach. How great is that?


The deer left the beach, then suddenly she was right beside us, checking us out from between the wild flowers, but by the time I picked up my camera, she had started to walk off.



Sharon with her new plein air painting set up. This was the first day she used her new painting umbrella. (I was very envious).

Sharon's painting was far superiour to mine.....but then I didn't have an umbrella! :-)

Plein air painting really is difficult. But although my painting was seriously lame, I did have a wonderful day and am excited to get out there again.

Here are some things that I should have been thinking about, but was distracted by all the natural beauty.

• First off I needed to simplify the scene. In my desire to have a foreground, midground and background, I ended up with a bit too much going on.

• I had a real problem with values. I don't know if it was because it was so bright, but when I got home and looked at my painting, I had made everything too dark. So this lame painting has actually been touched up a bit. In Michael Albala's book Landscape Painting, he states that "Ultimately, judging values is not a matching exercise between subject and painting; it is a comparative exercise among the values within the painting itself."
• The light kept changing quickly, and I got drawn into changing the water over and over again, even though I know not to. I was sort of caught up in the moment and not really planning the painting all that well. Albala recommends that "plein air painters take their time. A painting that is incomplete but well thought out and organized is ultimately superior to something that is "finished" but rushed and unrealized. An unfinished painting can easily be completed indoors because it has a solid foundation." I think that's a very relevant comment. So for next time, I'll approach it in a more relaxed and thoughtful manner, simplify, plan my composition with simplicity in mind, and make a comparison of my values within the painting. And I'll try not to be so distracted by all that natural beauty!
  

First Plein Air Painting Day of 2011

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