Memories Of The Moment - first solo show

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               I am so excited that I am having my first solo show in the Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Gallery. My work is in the "Freeze" gallery and Return To The Source is in the gallery beside mine. Carolyn and I drove to the opening reception and were surprised by my sister Shannon (from Kelowna) and her friend Bernie. The show has 25 of my plein air paintings (outdoors, painted on location) and runs until November 5. If you are in the area please stop by, the gallery is open 10a.m. until 4p.m. Some of my location photos are below.

Alberta Culture Days

I enjoyed an extended morning/early afternoon at the Leighton Centre outside of Calgary. It was Alberta Culture Days and I had a chance to learn about leather tooling & painting, pottery and made a felting lady bug!

I set my easel up in front of the Leighton Centre to enjoy painting a very small part of a very large view. They had painting demo's going on inside the Leighton Centre and I enjoyed hearing the sounds of talking without hearing actual words. One of the demo/activies was put on by Isabel Porto (Perceptual Drawing on a clear skin put on the windows). People looked out the window and drew what they could see by basically tracing the outline. It was very cool to try, watch and look at when done. The fun part for me is when I went inside, I could see myself drawn by a number of people at different heights. You can see me painting in my blue coat.

Photos courtesy of Isabel Porto (thanks!), drawings courtesy of a lot of people enjoying themselves at the Leighton Centre, Alberta Culture Days.

Leighton View, Alberta Culture Days

10" x 8" plein air

#20104016

Rocky View

Above is the original photo taken by Doug Swinton with the added tape and drawing to get the size and shapes I wanted to add.

This is the point I stopped painting, checked with my resource photo and refined the painting to the finished state below.

Rocky View

9" x 21" oil on board

#20016916 $190 unframed 

DeWitt Barn

DeWitt Barn

8" x 10" plein air oil on canvas panel

#20007916  $150 framed

I was told this barn either belongs or did belong to the DeWitt family of the Sicamous B.C. area. I painted it while standing on the Cambie Solsqua bridge, placing my easel as close to the edge as possible. The locals traveled across the bridge slowly and a few stopped out of interest which added delight to my experience. 

Bulrushes and Across From Raven Trail

I painted both these paintings on the Waterfront Raven Trail which is a boardwalk that runs along a bird sanctuary in Salmon Arm, B.C. It is a marvelous and restful place with a lot of trees shading the board walk and all kinds of birds to see and listen to. The birds were to fleeting to paint in so I focused on the bulrushes in the first painting and the trailers in sharp contrast to nature in the second. I went home feeling my soul had been fed and rested.

"Bulrushes"

plein air oil painting on canvas panel

8" x 10"   $80 unframed

#20005916

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"Across From Raven Trail"

Plein Air Oil Painting 8" x 10"

#20005916A  $125 framed

A Special Place

"A Special Place Within Our Hearts Is Always Kept For You"

Oil en plein air painting on board

12" x 16"   $240 framed

#20003916

I have been trying to do plein air painting (outside, on location) around Sicamous and Salmon Arm this summer. This is a lovely bench left for all to rest and enjoy watching the boats go by in the channel at the end of Main Street in Sicamous. The title of this painting is from the plaque on the back of the bench. There were few dog walkers and people out for a stroll in the early morning so it was very peaceful and inviting.

Rainy Day On The Lake

 June was really rainy in Sicamous B.C. and so the outdoor painting was not colour filled. I stood under the deck tarp at Hyde Mountain Golf Course trying to stay dry while painting the heavy clouds.

"Rainy Day On The Lake"

en plein air oil on canvas board

8" x 10 "  $80 unframed

#20029816

The painting below is of another very blustery and raining morning. I made use of Hyde Mountain Golf Course deck once again.

"Grey and Raining"

Plein Air Oil on canvas panel

10" x 8"  $80 unframed

#20029816A

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Morning Flow

This is a larger painting than I normally do plein air but with all the colours in the water and parts of the wet sand bar showing I felt the larger format necessary. I went to the back of "Joe Schmucks" restaurant and campground to have a look and there was no one camping in one spot so I quietly set up my easel and immersed myself in the view. It was challenging to paint such a large size with the light changing so quickly in the early morning.

"Morning Flow"

Plein air oil on board

16" x 20"   $420 framed

#20028816

Flowers Galore

This plein air floral painting was of flowers in the front yard of my brother and sister-in-law's Sicamous home. They have a very full and vibrant yard so it was hard to focus on one thing. I set my easel up under one of their trees on the boulevard and happily painted away. I was a bit of entertainment for the people walking by and it was interesting to hear their comments about my painting as it was progressing and the yard as they walked behind me. The purple confused some people as I chose to use that colour for the shadow area on the white flowers.

"Flowers Galore"

Plein Air Oil Painting  10" x 8 "

#20023816  $80 unframed

Morning View of Mara Lake

Carolyn came with me up to Hyde Mountain Golf Course to plein air paint for the first time. It was an overcast rainy morning so we huddled under the canopy on the deck and painted away. We were just finishing up as the lunch patrons were arriving to enjoy a delicious lunch on the deck.

"Morning View Of Mara Lake"

Plein Air Oil Painting on canvas panel 12" x 16"

#20022816   $200 unframed