Deb's Lily Pads - layered with epoxy

Deb's Lily Pad

12`` x 16` Oil on canvas with half inch black painted sides.

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Yes, you may have seen this one before in another posting. I took a workshop with the FCA and learnt how to apply epoxy to paintings. At first I applied it only to the water but it made the leaves look dull. I let that dry and then coated the whole painting and added a few metallic flecks in the water that catch the light. I absolutely love it, the colours really popped with the epoxy coating. It was too reflective to take a photograph of the final painting. I have it up temporarily in our lunch room at work and it is fun to watch people get right up close to have a better look and touch it.

Merry Christmas with a Canadian winter scene

"Dancing Shadows"

Water colour on paper

6 1/2" x 10" double matted in a 8" x 15 1/2" metal frame

Merry Christmas everyone!

 This painting was done from a photograph taken while out cross country skiing. The shadow looked like it was dancing as I was moving past the dead tree stump making it look very lively as well as striking my funny bone.

I hope celebrations are in the order today with friends, loved ones and celebrating relationships we have enjoyed throughout the year.

 

Newton - A commissioned dog portrait

``Newton`` - NFS (Comissioned)

12`` x 16`` Acrylic on canvas

This dog portrait is a Christmas gift for Shelly`s hubby. Newton was posed at the table during some family fun. He looks like he is in the middle of a serious discussion with you and with a cold drink in paw, ready to hear you out. Painting a dog pretty much all one colour was a fun challenge. I thought the old fashioned yellowy-green pop glass fitted the picture better.

Christmas Party Fund Raiser

This framed water colour painting was put in my work Christmas party silent auction. Unfortunately there is a shadow in the upper right!

 Every year we have a silent auction of items coworkers bring in and sell 50/50 tickets with the proceeds going to a different charity. This year was to a charity that provides Christmas presents to youth and teens, a forgotten group at Christmas time. I also put in 2 sets of blank gift cards of some of the pets that I have painted. I figured the cards would sell well as the pets belonged to my co-workers. It was fun to celebrate each other, bid and be outbid for different items all the while adding to a worthy charity.

Deb's Lily Pads

My friend Deb and I took a weekend workshop with Rick Berg through the FCA. I couldn't decide on what to paint so Deb offered me her photographs. I loved this one with all the different shapes and it was perfect for a workshop as I had no idea how to start it! I changed some of the shapes and started with a black gesso thin underpainting to get the shapes down. I then worked on the dark tones, the light tints then the highlights as Rick had done in his demo. Rick helped me with the edges of some of the leaves to help separate and show the leaf folds.

Deb's Lily Pad

12`` x 16` Oil on canvas with half inch black painted sides.

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Happy Tulips

"Happy Tulips"

Oil on canvas 24" x 30 1/2"

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This painting basically started painting itself. I used it to clean my brushes off with all the colours from a  previous painting. I don't usually tone my canvas that way but it was staring at me almost daring me to start a new "large" painting. When I came back to my studio, I could see the tulip shapes on the canvas.

I was quite happy to start painting without having to come up with the idea, design, colours etc, they were already basically there. I have some texture on it as well, but it doesn't show up in my photos. I painted the sides so it can be hung without a frame. A large, nice happy, and bright cheery painting.

Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

Fun on Fraser Island

This painting is from a picture my daughter Kristen took on her holiday to Fraser Island in Australia. She had so much fun camping with new friends and driving all over the island in these jeeps.

"Fun on Fraser Island"

Oil on canvas with 1" painted sides 16" x 20"

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Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

Zebras in Blue, Yellow and Copper

"Zebras in Blue, Yellow and Copper"

30" x 22" Acrylic on Watercolour paper

Framed under glass in a dark brown 33" x 23" frame

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I really had fun with this one. I worked on a full sheet of watercolour paper and used only blue (3), yellow (1) and iridescent copper for paint. It was a challenge to make more colours using only those 5 and with my love of colour, not to add more!

I started this painting by wetting the whole sheet and dropping colours in, letting them mix and mingle. This is what the light stripes on the zebras consist of. I painted the dark stripes with the variety of blues with adding small amounts of the copper. The foreground was done last with all of the colours intermingled. I have now done this painting 3 different ways and 3 different sizes (1/4 sheet, 1/2 sheet and a full sheet of watercolour paper).

I had so much fun with the photograph my friend Joan so graciously let me use, change and add to my satisfy my artist eye.

Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

New Lily

This is a lily and bud from a bouquet of lily's that my daughter Kristen gave to me. It was given as a surprise thank you with gratitude and love. I am going to keep painting it as it warms my heart.

"New Lily"

Oil on board 7.5" x 7"

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Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

Contemplating The Next Painting

I painted this abstractly working with colours and shapes that fit my mood at the time. I was initally just going to use it as an underpainting, but the more I worked on it, the better I liked it.  I am really happy with it but unsure which way I like it better. I haven't signed my name yet until I decide which way it goes. I may have to sign my name twice so it could go either way. Which way do you like it better?

"Comtemplating The Next Painting"

Oil on Board 16" x 20" or 20" x 16"?

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Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

Gratitude with Love

"Gratitude with Love"

Oil on board 8" x 10"

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This painting is from a bouquet of lily's that our daughter Kristen gave to me as a token of love and gratitude. The gift is always brighter and shinier when it is given with love. I wanted to preserve a little bit  in a painting, this way I can share it with others. I am hoping to do a few of this bouquet before it is gone.

Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

Art Deco Bottles

"Art Deco Bottles"

Oil on board

8" x 7"

These bottles were really funky and fun to paint. There were so many challenges with all the different shapes and ellipses. My focus was on the shapes to see if the bottles would form. I also had them on a piece of glass so I could see the reflections. The bottles are small, clear, thick glass with a green tint...sometimes I question my sanity!

Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

"Summer's End"

"Summer's End"

Oil on board 8" x 6"

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This hydrangea was painted near the end of it's life, which is why the colours are not bright and bold. The yellow background adds softness to the painting. It was very peaceful painting this one.

Paintings for sale can be found on my website.

A la carte - Zebra style

"A la carte - Zebra style"

Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

20" x 14" double matted in a 30 1/2" x 23" green wood frame

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I have wonderful friends that share their photos with me and Joan is always generous with hers. This is based on a photo she took in Africa. I had so much fun doing a smaller painting (previously on blog) that I wanted to do a large half sheet painting.

I painted the background in a similar way to a watercolour wash and was happy with how it turned out. The stripes are done in a "wet in wet" watercolour style as well.  Of course with my love of colour, black and white would not do. It is hard to see in this picture but the dark stripes actually have purple, red, orange, yellow and blue and the light stripes are red, yellow and orange!

I don't think I am done with this image yet, I will have to do another one as my imagination is still having fun with colour choices!

Check for paintings for sale on my website. 

Spring's Delight

"Spring's Delight"

Oil on board

10" x 8"

We have had snow on the ground for a couple of weeks and already I am looking forward to spring's treasures. I really enjoyed painting this piece as the bright colours felt happy and cheerful.

If interested, paintings are for sale on my website.

Joan's Zebras

I am so lucky and grateful to have friends who share their travels with me in photographs I can paint and adapt any way I like. The picture below is my take on a photo Joan took when traveling to Africa with her family recently.

Of course the zebra's are black and white, just not in my painting world! I did not change the placement of the zebras, they were perfect just the way they were, however the stripes are not the same. I don't paint usually with black so the dark stripes have blue, red and brown and the light stripes are a mix of red, orange and yellow. Oh this girl, is having way to much fun!!!

"Joan's Zebras"

10 1/2" x 8 1/2" acrylic on watercolour paper

double matted in a dark wood 18" x 14 1/2" frame

Please check out my  website for paintings for sale.

Sunny Blue

"Sunny Blue"

Oil on board

8 1/2" x 6 1/2"

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Once again, life got in the way and painting falls behind. These flowers just felt sunny, alive and inspiring, the perfect thing to get back to painting with. I think I am enamoured with the season's orange colour!

Halloween Fun!

We were going for a nice fall bike ride last weekend and I saw this pumpkin at a house we passed by. I just loved the fun look of it..funny shaped, happy and weathered. Now I have my own version to enjoy in the house.

"Orange You Happy"

Oil on board

10" x 8"

I have a website!!

I am still doing a happy dance!!! My sister Shannon helped me start a website for my art. We did an exchange...while I was sewing a quilt with her sky diving t-shirts, she was working on starting a website for me. I was power sewing and answering her questions (not easy using the right and left side of the brain at the same time). Shannon did a website as part of her Masters degree so she knew what she was doing.

The second best part was the funny things she had put on the website that I did not see until I went in to add pictures & information...under pet portraits, her dog Chi Chi was the star!

Chi Chi

Oil on canvas board 11" x 14" NFS

Under "about the artist" she had listed my family members as "a husband named after a vegetable" (Gord) and 2 kids that would rather fly than bike, walk etc (pilot and flight attendant). Loved all the tid bits I found as I was loading pictures etc. We both enjoy humour (sometimes very easily amused) and can tickle each others funny bone. Love that girl!!

If you get a chance to check it out, go to: www.KarenOliversFineArt.com  Oh yeah, happy dance!

Sonya's Bluebird Nest #3

This is the third painting I have completed from the picture Sonya sent when I had asked for pet pictures at work. She doesn't have a pet but does volunteer work, hiking to count bluebird nests, eggs and baby chicks. I had so much fun painting the first two, I wanted to do something even more textural in a mixed media format.

Sonya's Bluebird Nest #3

6" x 6"

Acrylic and mixed media on board

For this painting I used paper, twine, acrylic paint and medium to build up layers very similar to the nest itself. I used dried acrylic paint for the eggs and built up under and over them. It was a very messy but very fun experiment. I also used acrylic liquid metal paint so it really catches the light. Now what to do for a number 4.............

 

Theo - A Dog Portrait

"Theo" NFS

Acrylic on Board

11" x 13.5" in a silver metal frame
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This precious pet belongs to Nicki. He had just been into some beet juice and was doing his best to not look guilty!!! Life with this dog is not dull!

This is the last of the pet portraits from work - 4 dogs and a bluebird nest was sent to me when I asked for pictures of pets to paint over the summer. Most of my summer was fixing up our summer cabin after a lake flood so I did not get much painting done. I need to paint things that have meaning to me, so while I was painting the pets, I could think of the owners and the stories that were supplied. This portrait of Theo will be happily gifted to Nicki

Sonya's Bluebird Nest #2

Sonya's Bluebird Nest #2

Acrylic on Board 6" x 6"

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I had so much fun painting the first painting of the Bluebird nest and eggs that Sonya sent me, I needed to play some more. This picture is very textural with layers of colourful paint. I really had fun with this one and let loose with the paint, weaving in some of the colours with dried pieces of acrylic paint.

Leila - A Dog Portrait

Leila 

14" x 11" Acrylic on Board
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I wanted to do pet portraits but painting is a heartful experience for me so I asked my co-workers for pictures. As I paint, I happily think of them, their pet stories and their pet so it is a relatable experience. Leila passed away recently and I am happy to gift this portrait to Tammy! The interesting thing about this painting experience, was the hard time I had aging this dog, she kept coming out as a puppy, it made me think perhaps she had the spirit or personality of a puppy. Tammy said Leila was playful until the end of her life. 

Sonya's Bluebird Nest #1

Sonya's Bluebird Nest #1

8" x 8" Acrylic on canvas board

click on picture to enlarge

When I asked for pet pictures at work, Sonya sent me a picture of a bluebird nest, what a delightful idea!. She does volunteer work by hiking and counting bluebird nests, eggs (full and partial) and baby bluebirds. I loved the texture and colour in the nest and eggs. This painting (or a choice of one of the bluebird nest paintings) will be gifted to Sonya. This was so much fun, there are more in the works!

Fergus

Fergus

Acrylic on canvas 20" x 16"
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Helena's Fergus is quite a character. Her stories about Fergus make us both laugh hysterically. Fergus was fun to paint but also a challenge being pretty much all white. You can't see it in this picture but I have used white, blue, purple, pink, red, yellow, and brown - all to make him look white!

Rufus - a pet portrait

Rufus      NFS

11" x 14" Acrylic on board

I asked at work if anyone had a pet photograph that I could paint over the summer. Well the summer was not what I expected and did not get a chance to paint very much. I wanted to paint pictures of pets that I could relate to through their owners, (painting is a heartful experience for me).Rufus was a extremely good protector and friend as well as left the gift of wonderful memories for Sandra and her family.

It was a challenge for me to leave the background white as I love colour so much! In a dark brown frame, I am really happy with the white background. This painting is framed and now hangs in our lunch room at  work. It will be gifted to Sandra when I take it down.

Early Morning Flower Series #49 and #50

Early Morning Flower Series #49

Oil on Board 6" x 6"

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Below is a picture my friend Karen took of me painting the last of the series...#50!  My goal was to paint 50 in the 6" x 6" format and as varied as possible.The flower is just out of view on the window pane. I really enjoyed painting these and loved the freedom a small painting provided. I used whatever flowers I could find and sometimes the same one(s) for various paintings, even as they wilted or petals fell off. It made me really look at it instead of "filling in the blank spaces" to make a pretty picture. Backgrounds were fun and creatively invented, a real trial and error with textures and colours.

Early Morning Flower Series #50

Oil on Board 6" x 6"
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Swinton's Meet Up - Leighton Centre #2

Fall view from Leighton Centre

8" x 10" Oil on board

This is the second painting I did on the Swinton's Meet Up that my friend Deb arranged. Two other artists joined Deb and I at the Leighton Centre just out of Calgary for a spectacular windy and sunny afternoon. It was hard to paint and hang onto everything at once. My palette did a little flying itself hitting my back as I bent over to pick something up and fortunately landed right side up on the ground. Next time, I will wear linen and have an abstract painting when I am done. My shirt was very brightly coloured when I left! The little white dots are the wet oil reflecting, not white on the painting.

This is just a taste of the view, how do you limit what you paint????!

Swinton's Meet Up - Paint out at Leighton Centre

This is a picture Deborah took of Debbie and I painting at the Leighton Centre. The view is awe inspiring and breath taking! It is extremely beautiful and peaceful but very hard to paint as there is so much to take in it is hard to not try and paint it all. This picture does not show the beautiful Rocky Mountains in the background as it is focusing on us, but I did manage to get them into my painting below.

Leighton Centre View - SOLD

5" x 19.5" Oil on gessoed picture board, framed

I had bought a framed kitchen picture (all in one), gessoed the picture, taped the frame and painted the picture en plein air. The size was perfect for the panaoramic view.

Carburn Park, Calgary

Carburn Park, Calgary

8" x 10" Oil on Board, Plein Air

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This painting and experience warmed my heart. I went painting one evening after work with 2 of my Creative Path group, Deb and Joan. I hadn't seen them all summer and it was wonderful (as always) to spend time with them especially painting. This painting was fluid and I did not struggle with what I wanted to paint. I loved the looseness of it as that is also how I felt, unencumbered and in the moment!

Early Morning Flower Series #47 & #48

Early Morning Flower Series #47

Oil on Board 6" x 6"

These two paintings were done because I was interested in their petal shapes. It is usually colour that interests me, but the shapes were so different on these. It was quite a contrast painting a flower with very few petals, then one with many petals that overlap.

Early Morning Flower Series #48

Oil on Board 6" x 6"

The Pretty Ones Get Picked First

The Pretty Ones Get Picked First

5"x7" Oil on board

This tomato was a little funny shaped with a flat bottom and not quite ripe. The shape and spiky vine is what caught my interest to paint, the others had caught my interest tastebud wise. 

Early Morning Flower Series #45 & #46

Early Morning Flower Series #45

Oil on Board 6" x 6"

I really enjoyed working on these flower paintings. Keeping an orange background, I wanted to see how two different flowers would look and if I could keep the bold background from taking over. I really enjoy the vibrancy and looseness of the both of these.

Early Morning Flower Series #46

Oil on Board 6" x 6"
click on pictures for a larger view

I changed the position of the 9 flower paintings in my office (3 across by 3 down) and it looks like a whole new set! As I have sold some, putting the new ones up make the variations feel endless.

Sue's Hydrangea

The picture above shows the Hydrangea on the window sill and the painting I had just completed. I went to stay at Sue and Ross's cabin in Chase, B.C. for a well needed break from all the work in Sicamous. After my overnight stay of being totally spoiled, I took a sampling of some of the beautiful flowers in Sue's garden. The poor flower had wilted in the sun by the time I finished, but I love the end result....restful and full of life.

Sue's Hydrangea

12" x 16" oil on panel

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Early Morning Flower Series #43 & #44

Early Morning Flower Series #43  SOLD
Oil on Board 6" x 6"

The two morning challenges was to use the same flowers with completely different coloured backgrounds.It is amazing how differently we respond to different colours. The flowers were starting to get a little old in the one below and I think the background made it feel even more so.

Early Morning Flower Series #44

Oil on Board 6" x 6"



Eagle Valley Brush and Palette Club Art Show and Sale

The Sicmous, B.C. summer art show and sale was postponed due to flooding. Instead of the sale and celebrations over the July long weekend, it was held over the August long weekend. Artists were allowed to put in 4 paintings as well as tables with handmade crafts. On this table I had hand painted wine glasses, cards as well as some of my 6"x6" flower series oil painting. Happlily some of each sold, but the attendance was down about 1/3. I had to come back to Calgary to work before the art show was over, but gratefully Mary picked up what did not sell.

The picture on the top left is mine "After The Tourist Season" 16"x 20" Oil on canvas. The art was all local with a variety of oil, acrylic, and watercolour paintings as well as jewelry, glass, intarsia, wood work and wire work. 

Early Morning Flower Series #41 & #42

Early Morning Flower Series #41

Oil on Board 6" x 6"

I have enjoyed this series of small flower paintings. My goal was to paint 50 very different paintings. I had not painted in a small square format before. They certainly have been fun and challenging to try and do something different each time. Using the same flower (a couple of days apart) with different backgrounds really changes the whole feel.

Early Morning Flower Series #42  SOLD

Oil on Board 6" x 6"

Early Morning Flower Series #39 & #40

Early Morning Flower Series #39   SOLD

Oil on Board 6" x 6"

These are two of my favorites...bright, cheery, full of colour and fun! The one below is a little over exposed, as you can't quite see the detail in the blue flower. The essence is still fun and bold.

Early Morning Flower Series #40

Oil on Board 6" x 6"