"Goliath 2" A Pet Portrait

Above is "Goliath 2" in progress. These are some of the wild colours I chose to start this painting. Goliath is a loved member of Mindi and Dave's family, an elderly pet. I wanted to try painting this again (click here for Goliath 1) to catch Goliath enjoying the ocean in Mexico. Below is the finished painting.

"Goliath 2"

8" x 10" Oil on canvas board

$75 unframed

"Chi Chi 2"

This painting was a gift to my sister Shannon. Chi Chi is a rescued pug that is so full of character and facial expressions that make it fun to paint her. Shannon and Jim put up a real Christmas tree this year and Ch iChi loved to sit under it and smell the pine needles. She coveted the Christmas tree skirt as her private blanket. Click here for a view of Chi Chi 1.

"ChiChi"

Oil on gallery wrap canvas with sides painted

8" x 8"

Not For Sale (gift)

Study In Blue

April 7 Painting Challenge

"Study in Blue"

9" x 12" Not for Sale (for my own reference only)

This painting was done in a Rick Berg 3 hour workshop today. It was a study of blue objects and their shadows. It was interesting to paint all the "shadow family" and then the "light family" as Rick describes them. We saw examples, watched him paint and then worked our own from a lit still life set up.

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"Toast to Maui Sunset #3"

Still love playing with this photo but this is the last one for awhile. I increased the size of the painting to a 28" x 36" canvas and again played with different colours! This is larger than I usually do but may put this one in the Brush and Palette Club show and sale this summer. It would be a fun painting to have in a summer home or cabin!

"Toast to Maui Sunset #3"

28" x 36" Oil on canvas unframed

$250

"Toast to Maui Sunset #2"

This version is with "unrealistic" colours and of course a lot of colour. It was fun to go through the colour wheel deciding what I would like to do (love the artistic license!). I also chose a larger format this time to give me more freedom to play with the colours.

"Toast To Maui Sunset #2"

14" x 18" oil on 3/4" panel with black painted sides

$125

Sponge Toffee Meets Terracotta Warriors

 

"Sponge Toffee Meets Terracotta Warriors"

Oil on canvas 16" x 20"

 

I received 3 photographs via email from my friend Joan. She had recently been to Bryce Canyon and aptly had already named her photo. Joan is always very generous and allows me to paint whatever she sends me from her world travels. With a title like this one and the wild colours, it was just what I needed to get into painting again! Thanks Joan, keep 'em coming! The bit of shine is from the still wet painting.

Zhaoming Wu Workshop - Portrait

Oil on canvas board

16" x 20"

an unfinished portrait

This is the portrait that I did in a FCA Zhaoming Wu workshop held in Calgary, Alberta. Zhaoming is a master painter and it was an absolute thrill that I was not only able to watch him paint live, but also receive instruction during this 3 day workshop.

He painted the live model portrait in the morning, explaining his steps and then the artists painted in the afternoon. There were 2 models and the artists were in a semi circle painting so each view was different. It is incredibly hard for the model to be still and try and stay in the same position, that is why the look on her face is somber.

I found it really challenging to paint the portrait with her head view changing after each break. Even a few inches made a difference in whether you could see her far cheek and how much of her nose compared to cheek etc. that could be seen. Zhaoming helped me with her nose and that put it together so much nicer...a few strokes was all he needed to add where I probably would of still been trying. I was happy and exhausted at the end of the day! 

A birthday present for Curtis

 

"Memory of Thailand"

Oil on canvas 16" x 20"

 

This painting is based on a photo that Curtis took on his travels in Thailand. I also painted a couple other paintings that I used his photos as a reference and offered those paintings to him to pick one as a birthday gift. He hasn't decided but I think this is the one.

 

It looked stunning in a large black frame.

 The other choices were "Panama Rest" previously on this blog and a painting of the San Francisco bridge that I haven't posted yet.

"Summer Escape"

"Summer Escape"

16" x 20" Oil on canvas

This painting was done in Rick Berg's class. He brought the photo in and Deb and I both worked on the same reference.Rick wanted us to paint with a black and white underpainting, then cover it all in red iron oxide before starting with colour. I wish I had taken a photo with that start. I found this a very interesting and different way to work. I really like the shadows and light in this painting.

 I wish I had a photo of Deb's finished painting. It is just like penmanship and signatures, each of ours is definitely painted individually.

"At Rest"

"At Rest"

Oil on canvas 12" x 16"

This painting is based on a photo my friend Sue took near Chase, B.C. I loved the softness of the mountains behind the dilapitated barn. It has a peaceful feeling, almost as if the work is done and it is now time to rest. The painting was almost to dull until Deb suggested I add the bold yellow/gold ground...just the pop I needed.

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.

click on picture for a larger view

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"

click on painting for a larger view

Paintings for sale can be found on my website.