Wine Art

Merlot Moment    Acrylic   30 x 40    $1350

I was needing some new large format paintings as anchor pieces for my outdoor shows this summer, and this is one of them. I'm really pleased with the outcome, but I went through many challenges in order to complete this one. The original vase was cut porcelain  made by a well know Canadian ceramic artist (whose name I unfortunately forget) and I absolutely love it. It's beauty just didn't transfer onto canvas well, so I painted it out and changed the vase to glass. I think it adds a lot more to the interest and cohesiveness of the painting, with the stems drawing on all the colours in the palette. I was also able to practice my new acrylic painting skills of glazing with glazing fluid, which I learned at Janice Robertson's workshop at the Metchosin Summer School of the Arts. Janice was a great instructor, being very generous with her knowledge, very attentive with her students, respectful and encouraging, not to mention lots of fun! Thank you Janice! I'm enjoying knowing how to properly use glazing fluid.

Wine Art

TD Art Gallery Paint-In

Wasn't that a party! Yesterday, Saturday July 19, was the 27th Annual TD Art Gallery Paint-In, the largest art event on Vancouver Island. What a blast we had!! There were 180 artists demonstrating their art forms in all different mediums and styles. As well 35,000 art enthusiasts came out to watch the creation of art and interact with the artists. Here I am painting my demo piece, a still life of cherries, painted from life. 

I had four wonderful volunteers who came to help me for the day and this is my friend Marilyn. I could not have done it without all your help. Thank you ladies!!

A few of the paintings I had on display. Fortunately the car in the background coordinates. :-)

The Paint-In stretches from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria down 14 blocks to the water, with artists on both sides of the street all the way. It's the most incredible experience to see the sea of heads belonging to all the people of Victoria who love the arts!

And here is the celebration party in the garden of the Art Gallery at the end of the day. What a great way to end such a fabulous day. In the distance is a real party band with many dancers! It was a great time and I'm so happy to be living in a city that supports and loves the arts.

TD Art Gallery Paint-In

Ba-da-Bing!   Acrylic   10 x 10   $225

If you live in Victoria or are visiting this upcoming weekend, come on down to the TD Art Gallery Paint-In! This Saturday July 19, from 11am - 4:30 pm, 180 artists will be bringing their studios to Moss St., between Fort St and Dallas Rd. An expected 35,000 art enthusiasts will be turning up again this year to take in art in all it's forms! I will be near Fort St. and the Art Gallery. Don't miss the biggest art event of the year! Drop by and say hi, I'd love to see you!

This fun little painting is hot, hot, hot with summer colours!

AGGV Summer Small Works Show 2014

Available through the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Available through the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

I'm so pleased to announce that these two paintings Red Grapes and Silver, and More Fiesta have been juried into the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's Summer Small Works Show. If you are in the area this a great opportunity to add art to your home. The show has been beautifully curated, and the opening reception is this Friday, July 11th from 5 - 7 pm. Many of the artists will be attendance. I hope you'll be able to join us!

If you are interested in either of these paintings you can contact the AGGV by clicking here.

AGGV Summer Small Works Show 2014

Radishes - Still Life

A Bunch of Hotties II   Oil  8 x 8   SOLD

This is a commission that I recently completed. My client loves vibrant saturated colours so I placed the radishes on a green striped cloth to make the colours pop. The cloth added that sunny summer feeling and she was very pleased with the feel and the vibrancy of her painting. Which was a relief, because commissions can be a bit stressful, even when they are small... :-)

Radishes - Still Life

Red Pears and Hazel Nuts

Red Pears and Hazel Nuts    8 x 8   Oil   SOLD

This is a small still life I completed a while back, and because I had trouble photographing it, I hadn't posted it yet. The colour of the pears came out much brighter and more saturated than in the painting and when I tried to colour correct, it changed the other areas of the painting too dramatically. In any case, the painting in real life was appreciated by someone who attended my recent Studio Tour and it's gone off to a new home. :-)

Red Pears and Hazel Nuts

Step by Step Landscape in Acrylic - August Afternoon

My main genre is still life, however I really enjoy mixing in a landscape or an architectural painting, just to loosen up a bit. This image is the entrance to the old farm on Hornby Island, British Columbia. It's a beautiful spot. Every time I visit Hornby I photograph the entrance to the farm. There's something so peaceful about it, and the road leading in makes me want to follow it.

I started by cropping the image for compositional purposes. I wanted the two trees to fall at the 'law of thirds' intersection. For those of you who may not know, if you divide your canvas into thirds horizontally and vertically, the intersection of the lines in four places, offer good locations to position the focal point.

Using Transparent Red Iron Oxide, I warmly coloured the ground on the canvas, and to blocked in the basic shapes. A warm red tone is a nice counterbalance to the greens in the trees. 

I started to block in the colour in each shape and to develop the foreground a bit. The darker shade area in the foreground and the light of the sky, helped to gauge the values of the rest of the painting.

I continued developing the painting adding a bit more red tone with burnt sienna mixed with some napthol red, creating branches in the trees. I removed the barn because it was distracting from the focal point.

I broke up the solid tree branch shapes with more variety in value and colour,  strengthened the colour of the sky, and cooled down and lightened the background trees so they moved back in space. The foreground was developed a bit more as well. I used acrylic medium to blend the grass shapes and added some more darks.

The name chosen for this painting is August Afternoon, and I felt the colour of the field wasn't reflecting the impression of a hot summer afternoon. I used glazing fluid and glazed a warm golden colour of hanza yellow deep broken with a bit of ultramarine and alizarin crimson. I added some grass in the field, and developed some lights in the trees to finish it off. 

On a hot August afternoon the entrance to the farm is so still and peaceful. You can hear a few crickets and the breeze moving the branches and it's all about sun and shade. Truly idyllic.

August Afternoon   16 x 16  Acrylic  $650

Step by Step Landscape in Acrylic - August Afternoon

Mexican Still Lifes

 Vine Ripened  Oil   8 x 8  SOLD

 From the Garden  Acrylic 24 x 24 

Ole  Acrylic  36 x 24

Here is the last of my new Mexican small works, along with two larger Mexican themed paintings. I'm excited that I have a presale for the Studio Tour coming up this weekend! If you are in the area, do drop by and say hi, I'd love to see you! For the printable online brochure click here.

Mexican Still Lifes

Mexican Still Life

More Fiesta    Oil    8 x 8   $175

I just can't stop stacking these colourful little Mexican bowls.  This is another of my small works Mexcian series, which will be showing at my studio in the Oak Bay Artists' Spring Studio Tour this upcoming weekend. If you're in the area do drop by I'd love to see you! For the tour brochure click here.

Mexican Still Life

Mexican Still Life

Aguacate   8 x 8   Oil    $175

These hand painted Mexican tiles that I picked up at a garage sale, were perfect as a background to the beautiful colour and shape of the avocado, or aguacate in Spanish, so my son tells me. Avocados are a favourite in my family so they turn up in my small paintings fairly often. And of course it went perfectly with the Mexican theme that I'm on. 

Mexican Still Life

Fiesta - Mexican Still Life

Fiesta   Oil  8 x 8   $175

Hi everyone! I've been focusing on trying to paint regularly, and therefore, I painted but didn't post! So now I'm going to do a bit of catch up. I've been on a Mexican bender! I love my little brightly coloured Mexican bowls and when they are stacked I like them best. My girlfriend loaned me a beautiful piece of hand embroidered fabric from Guatemala, and the combination was just too exciting! A few tomatoes and a Mexican green background brought it all together. This one painted itself! 

Fiesta - Mexican Still Life

Winter Warmth   Oil   16 x 16

Pomegranates are in season and I can't resist these rich red fruits, both inside and out. They are one of those fruits that everyone loves to paint. These ones seemed like the perfect accompaniment to some red wine. I wanted to create a rich, warm and inviting atmosphere. The lighting was important in creating the atmosphere, by suggesting evening with a low or candlelight type of lighting effect. I've been working in a lot of detail in my most recent paintings and decided to try to limit the detail and just suggest the fabric pattern. I used a palette knife for the leaves, again just suggesting rather that forming each leaf. I'm drawn to patterns and detail, so I had to really fight the urge not to say more with the paint.