Canola Field & Canola Field 2

I used a photo reference and really enjoyed painting this one. The feeling of a large space with a big sky really held my interest.

"Canola Fields"

9" x 12" Oil on board

#20122216A

I enjoyed painting the one above so I thought I would paint it on a larger scale and on canvas this time instead of board. It had a completely different feel as you can see in my colour choices and shapes.I love the lines of the fields with the trees and buildings dividing them. The larger sky was fun to do.

"Canola Fields 2"

16" x 20" Oil on canvas

#20122216B

Open Country

The expansive view of this painting from the grass in front, fields, hills, mountains to the open sky really peaked my interest. I had a hard time starting this one, just couldn't seem to settle down, like I had to much energy for such a calming scene. I finally had to cover the board with Red Iron Oxide to get rid of all the starting/drawing paint marks and start again, that seemed to help. Once I got started it started to flow.

"Open Country"

Oil on board 9" x 19 7/8" in thin silver frame

#20120216 

Urban Sketchers of San Miguel de Allende

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 I had the wonderful experience of joining the Urban Sketchers of San Miguel de Allende for an afternoon of sketching on November 8, 2016. Colleen met me there and we sketched from the Azotea roof top terrace restaurant. There was a wonderful group of about 15 artists all sketching and painting the views, the restaurant/bar and each other, what ever struck their fancy. I was so happy to be included for this week's event and look forward to next week. These are the two sketches I did on regular sketch paper. I wish I had done it on water colour paper so I could have enjoyed some of the paint effects but was more than happy with the afternoon. Many thanks to the wonderful group of Urban Sketches for being so inclusive and welcoming!

Sketching people is not something I usually do because they always move. Jane was so absorbed in her own sketching that she ended up being a great model without knowing it.

Antarctic Series #4 - Icebergs Outside British Base, Rothera

"Icebergs Outside British Base, Rothera Antartica"

Oil on canvas  18" x 20"

#20012616

This view was very serene and still. Our son took the photo reference when he was flying in the Antarctic. It had a real majestic, ancient and cold look to it.

Bebo Grove #2, Fish Creek Park, Calgary

"After The Flood", Fish Creek Park, Calgary

8" x 10" Plein Air, Oil on board

This is the second outdoor painting I did with Deb. There were quite a few trees down due to the Calgary flood.The challenge here was to use fun colours instead of the painting a reality view. I really enjoyed painting this one and it was fun making it evolve. I had bright orange and yellow on the path to the water but it ended up to garish.

Below is the under painting, quite a difference from the finished painting. You can just feel the fun I had with colour!

Here is my painting partner Deb almost finished her first painting.

Antarctic series #3 - Departing British Base Rothera

"Departing British Base Rothera"

Oil on canvas   16" x 20"

#20029516 $300 unframed

The reference photo is a view from the plane just leaving the base in Antarctica taken by our son while working as a pilot for Kenn Borek Air. I loved the colour and shapes as well as the feel of the isolation and lack of human intervention.

Antarctic Series #1 - Antarctic Fall

This is the first painting I did in a series from photo references our son Curtis took while he was working as a pilot in Antarctica over 2 seasons. I tried to capture the majestic size and shape of the mountains and icebergs in this series. I found them very awe inspiring and was so grateful to have his reference photos.

"Antarctic Fall"

16" x 20" Oil on canvas

$300 unframed 

#20023516

Antacrtic Series #2 - "Patagonia"

I painted the first of this series earlier on, you can see it here. The reference for this one was a photo taken by our son on his journey to Antarctica. This is a view from his plane of the Patagonia mountain range. Cerro Torre is the peak on the left with Mt. Fitz Roy on the right. This was a very challenging view as it did not have a foreground, middle ground and back ground. One of Doug Swinton's suggestions was changing the colour of the sky to make it recede into the background and that solved the visual perspective problem. This was challenging as I had never painted anything quite like this top of the mountain view. I really love how this turned out!

"Patagonia"

Oil on canvas 16" x 20"

#20010316

5. Nature's Path

"Nature's Path"

20" x 16"

Oil on canvas framed

#20025216

$350

This was a challenge for me as I wanted the flowers and grass to be loose but not look like I had 2 separate paintings with the mountains behind. With Doug Swinton's help I feel like everything is well balanced and interesting. I am really happy with this one!

"Coming to Shore"

"Coming To Shore"

Oil on board 18 1/2" x 22 1/4" in silver metal frame

#20014116

I initially struggled with trying to figure out how to paint this one. The photo reference also had a bird (crane) in the front. I liked both features but then the painting was confusing... what was the focal point? I decided I would use the same photo reference and paint the bird as the focal point at a later date. I am really happy with this painting and enjoyed painting the larger format.

Sicamous Colours (or lack of), last painting of 2015

This is the view towards the town of Sicamous this morning. It looks like I took it in black and white but that is the view in colour. The painting below was done last fall, quite a contrast! Wishing everyone a celebratory end to 2015 and a happy and healthy start to 2016!

"Sicamous Colours"

8" x 10" en plein air, oil on board

#20117015  $75 unframed

This is an evening view towards town that I painted outside on our deck last fall. I painted this with a brush and palette knife.

Elaine's View

 "Elaine's View"

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas painted on all edges  10" x 48"

#20024215 A Gift

This painting was based on a photo my cousin Elaine posted on Facebook. The photo was taken from her deck of the Kelowna bridge and the dancing colours in the sky and on Okanagan Lake. It was an absolutely stunning photo.

I have been in Kelowna looking after my Mom after her back surgery and painted this a little bit at a time while she slept. It was a pleasure to have the photo view while I was pretty much confined to the house. "Elaine's View" was still wet when I gifted it to her. This was an odd sized canvas for me but perfect for this painting.

"Nature's Art"

"Nature's Art"

5" x 7" Oil on board

 $50  unframed
#20024115

This painting is based on a photograph I took quite awhile back. I loved the colours and shapes of the rocks and hints of water in between. I hadn't tried to paint it before as I wasn't sure how to give the sense of depth. My brother and sister passed the "What is this?" test, which made me even happier with it!

"Golfer's View"

I painted Golfer's View last September plein air at the Hyde Mountain Golf Course in Sicamous B.C. The day got to hot so I had to go back and finish it later. You can look at the unfinished painting I posted here. I realized I never put the finished painting on my blog. It was so much easier not trying to photograph a wet painting!

"Golfer's View"

20" x 27" Oil on board, Plein Air

$500 unframed

#20128214

"Sparkling Hills"

I painted this on site at the Sparkling Hills Spa near Vernon B.C. this past summer. It was so peaceful and warm. I found a shady spot and painted to my heart's content. This is the second of 2 painted that day. The other painting can be seen if you click here.

"Sparkling Hills"

9" x 12"

Oil on board, plein air 

$150 unframed

Plein Air Event & Wet Paint Auction Alberta Culture Days

"Autumn at Leighton Centre"

Plein Air (Outdoor on location) Oil on board

9" x 12"

This was painted on a very grey and rainy day at the Leighton Centre during their Plein Air Event and Wet Paint Auction during Alberta Culture Days. I love, love, love this painting! It was rainy then cold most of the day but Debbie and I painted until we couldn't feel our fingers and wet toes anymore.

The challenge was to (speed) paint for 2 hours then pop the paintings into a frame and a live auction would follow. There were about 30 artists but everyone (artists and buyers) were to wet and cold to stay so I am happy to report that I get to enjoy this painting!! This is a first time annual event and Debbie and I agreed that next year is a must.

"Study with Green" and "Study with Orange``

An afternoon last spring was spent with mixing Sap Green into every colour put on this painting. The idea was to make the painting uniform using quite a few colours. Rick Berg brought in one of his paintings and we followed his direction to paint our own version.

"Study with Sap Green"

12" x 12" Oil on canvas

The painting below was another interesting afternoon with artist Rick Berg. He brought in a painting that we looked at and then painted our own version. The interesting part of this study was that every colour used also had a touch of orange in it. This helped to keep the painting uniform with all the colours. I also found it a challenge to paint something back lit.

"Study with Orange"
12" x 12" oil on board

"Golfer's View"

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a wonderful morning at Hyde Mountain Golf Course painting the beautiful view of Mara Lake. My spot was in the corner of the parking lot using the shade of a truck. The owner came and went and then I had to quit as it was to hot in the sun. The sky and water colours were continually changing. The board had to sit on my palette as it was to big. I have never tried such a large painting plein air (20" x 27"). I will post a photo of the final painting later.

Plein Air Painting Challenge, painting #3

As my time was running out and the noon deadline to have all paintings handed in, I used the paints on my palette and quickly laid down the shapes I saw in a completely different direction. This one had a small lake, tree groves and farmer's crops in view. This painting was really fun and with time running out there was no getting into any details. It was fresh and the sun reflected on the top left corner so the colour is off in the photo.

I was only allowed to put one painting in the judging so I put in the second one. I did not win the challenge but enjoyed the wonderful views, friends, being with like minded people, a delicious lunch and a fabulous day! I will certainly go again next year!! A big thank you to Reflections West Art and the Leighton Art Centre for all their hard work!

"Plein Air Painting Challenge, painting #3"

Oil on canvas board 12" x 9"

Painting #2 at the Plein Air Painting Challenge

On August 17, Debbie and I enjoyed the Plein Air Painting Challenge presented by Reflections West Art and Leighton Art Centre. As we had time to paint from 7am until noon, I worked on a second painting with a completely different view, just by picking up my easel and turning slightly. This view had the rolling hills, lit up wild grasses and flowers and a farm house in the background. The Leighton Centre also had a wood art instillation of thin tree trunks that intrigued me.

"Plein Air Painting Challenge, painting #2"

Oil on gesso board 12" x 12"

The farm house is in the middle of the picture, just barely visible. This is a picture of my painting in progress as well as my set up.