FCA Rex Beanland Workshop - Urban Scenes in Watercolour

Tami and I are the coordinators of the Calgary FCA workshops. We just had a wonderful weekend with Rex Beanland teaching urban scenes in watercolour. If you click on Rex's name, you can see his write up on the workshop. The participants were a vibrant group and full of laughter and fun with a variety of skill levels.

This was our first exercise, learning to work with the wet medium with a range from tons of water to very little. Did you guess which one was mine?

Below is our second learning painting, with actual urban building shapes working with light washes and very dark pigments. 

Perfect paintings for Halloween!

This is the last and is currently unfinished painting of a view of downtown Calgary.

"Mad About Art" Federation of Canadian Artists, Calgary Chapter Show and Sale

If you are in the Calgary area, this is a wonderful way to spend a morning or afternoon, enjoying a feast for your eyes. There will be over 150 juried pieces of art for sale. If you bring cash or food donation for the Food Bank, you can enter your name to win an original painting by renowned Canadian artist Rick Berg. Two of my paintings were juried into the show and "Robin's Pair" was awarded "Honorable Mention"!

"Robin's Pair"

Oil on board 12" x 12" framed $250

Awarded Show "Honorable Mention"

"Sparkling Hill's View" Plein Air

Oil on board 9" x 12" framed $200

I am one of two workshop coordinators and we have a workshop this Saturday and Sunday so I will not be in attendance. There will be many artists in attendance throughout the day if you have any questions or comments you would like to share. Enjoy!!

"Fall Reflections" Plein Air Painting

Yesterday Debbie and I headed back to a spot in a private yard near the Leighton Centre. We left a note on their door and ducked under the barbed wire to find our peaceful spot. It was serene and quiet, a wonderful way to spend some time with a friend!

 The light was changing so quickly, so I added colour that I saw glimmers of. Thanks for taking the photos Debbie! Note the painting outfit: gardening gloves, rubber boots, an apron and paint on my face and clothes, without the paint brush in hand, most people would stay clear!

A little more of my view and set up while the painting was progressing.

"Fall Reflections" Plein Air

12" x 12" Oil on Board $200 unframed

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've traveled from B.C. to Calgary today so thought I would post a painting that I did during a plein air class at Carburn Park in Calgary last May. The top photo is what I was looking at. My finished painting is underneath. It is really hard to narrow your focus down when there is so much to see and it is all similar in colour so I concentrated on the shapes I saw. You can see a fellow artist busy with a different view.

"Carburn Park Reflections" 

Oil 10" x 8"

$100 framed as shown

"A Peaceful Stroll"

"A Peaceful Stroll"

Oil on board 7" x 5"

$50 unframed

I do not usually paint this small, but loved the fresh feeling and vibrant colours. The reference photo was taken after a painting outing and the stroll was so beautiful and peaceful, a great way to finish an afternoon in Lloyd's Park.

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.

Friday at the Sicamous Red Barn

I happily joined the artists from the Brush and Palette Club in Sicamous for their weekly art time. The challenge was to draw a person's face from a magazine UPSIDE DOWN. We were shown the example in "Drawing From the Right Side Of The Brain" art book and then tried it out.

It may seem funny that as an artist, I don't like to draw, I like to paint! This was a wonderful exercise for me as just looking at the lines and shapes of the face upside down seemed to shut my critical brain down and it was just an enjoyable experience. I was really happy and surprised at the result when I finished and turned the picture and my drawing right side up, it was a lot better than I could of done right side up! I did not get the second one finished but the result was still recognizable.

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"