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

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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!