Lucy's gift

This painting was sent to England as a Christmas gift for Lucy. She was up very early one morning walking dogs and took photos of the beautiful sky and the reflection on Mara Lake. She was so excited she wanted to wake everyone to have a look. I know the colours look odd, but that is what they were.

 Lucy posted the photo on her travel blog and I painted it as a surprise. She made many friends, impressed people with her spirit and had a lot of adventures in Sicamous, B.C. She reminded us very much of our daughter.


"Lucy's Gift"
12" x 9" Oil on board framed
#20126216

                                           

Jeneba's Gift - Walking In The Rain

"Walking In The Rain"    

12" x 12" Oil on board
#20125216 - a Christmas gift

This painting is a gift for Jeneba for Christmas. Our son Curtis took a photo of Jeneba walking on a boardwalk in B.C. I loved knowing it was Jeneba but the umbrella shielded the viewer from knowing who it was unless you know her. The walking in the rain, the slipperiness and shininess of the boardwalk, her rubber boots and umbrella were all enticing as an artist.

Bonus for me, this is the first painting she said anyone has done of and for her, she loved it!

Iujuittuq

"Iujuittuq"
8" X 10" Oil on canvas board
#20124216
















The photo reference used for this painting was taken by our son Curtis when he was working in the Arctic as a pilot for Kenn Borek Air. It was summer there so the view was quite different and the frozen water had broken into small chunks of ice. I love the barrenness of this one as well as the contrast with the warm and cools.

He gave me the history and the names this area is called. The Inuit call this area "Aujuittuq" which means "place that never thaws". The name of the area by non-Inuit is called Grise Fiord (which means "Pig Inlet" in Norwegian). It was named by an explorer because of the walruses.

"I'm Not Suppose To Tell Anyone, But..."

"Talk" about fun to do! Wild colours and wild conversations. We have all been at both ends, the speaker of secrets and the receiver of secrets we may not of wanted to hear. Now we are the unwilling keeper of the "secret". When I was painting this one, I was going to call it "Office Politics" but then thought the concept was more general than that. Did you notice the speaker has her fingers crossed?

"I'm Not Suppose To Tell Anyone, But..."

16" x 12" Acrylic on canvas with black painted sides

 #20123216

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 

Paddling The Shuswap

This painting was done with the Eagle Valley Brush and Palette Club in Sicamous. Leanne Spanza taught a workshop for the group awhile back and not all could attend so Betty showed us Leanne's technique and away we went. It was certainly different for me to paint in this style but doing a water scene is always enjoyable in any style. Leanne's technique looks simple enough until you try to do it, enjoyed the learning there.

"Paddling The Shuswap"

16" x 12"

Acrylic on canvas

#20119216

Strutting

This was a very fun rooster painting to do. Apparently strutting his stuff was not very successful with the hens for this little guy, but with a little practice and time I am sure he will do fine.  Michelle Grant had some photos for sale, this reference was well worth the $2. Her photos were beautiful and varied.

"Strutting"

10" x 10" Oil on board

#20118216

Ruby Sunflowers

This painting is from a  photo taken by my friend Sue Bingham of sunflowers in her garden. I love the colouring in them as they reminded me of rubies, not the standard yellow/orange variety.

"Ruby Sunflowers"

9" x 12" Oil on board

#20115216

Country Drive

Country Drive is an oil painting that I had painted awhile ago but was not happy with it. Calgary Sketch Club had a critique night and after hearing some suggestions I took it home and applied a couple of them. It is amazing what someone else can see but you can't until it is pointed out. I am
very happy with it now!
















"Country Drive"
20" x 16" Oil on board
#20114216