I Miss Biking [oil, 8”x10”]

Lately my daughter Kim has been biking to work along some of the beautiful bike paths here in Calgary.  There are over 1,000 kilometres of paved bike path within Calgary’s city limits.  I enjoyed biking to work until I lost my balance, fell and broke a wrist back in 2004.  The peace of the pathway before and after work was a wonderful contrast to pressured work days.  Since then my health hasn’t allowed me to get back on my bike and I’ve come to terms with that – don’t need any more broken bones, that’s for sure!  But last week I pulled my golf/art cart along a bike pathway in Tuscany and found this little view that pleased my eye.  Enjoy!

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Elbow River Jam [oil, 10”x8”]

I spent a few minutes finishing up this one today…  it’s all done now but, as usual, I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow ;-).  I feel like I captured the peaceful, yet uncontrollable, essence of the scene and I even like my foreground rocks! That’s a first as I usually struggle mightily with them.  It helps to squint down and not think of rocks at all.  There are lots of colors in those Elbow River rocks!

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Lloyd Leaner [oil, 10”x8”]

There are so many scenes available to paint at Lloyd Park [SW of Calgary].  None are quite as tempting as this gnarly spruce tree which imposes itself in the foreground of many views.  It’s an interesting contrast to all the horizontals in the rest of the land/lakescape.  I struggled with the shapes in the background and although this was painted 90% on site last Saturday, I puttered a bit with it at home as well.  I can see that it’s important not to overdo the studio putzing…  the freshness needs to be retained.  Looking forward to more plein air this weekend at Leighton Centre!  Have a great day!

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Falls [acrylic, 11"x14"]

I'm in beautiful British Columbia, more specifically, Fairmont Hot Springs.  I brought this along to putter on and I finally had the right palette to do that today so I took a rest from collage and began fiddling with the bottom right where I had added some texture with plastic wrap.  I started to paint into that area and immediately began to see water trickling between the "rocks".  Never argue with a painting when it's trying to tell you what it wants to be when it grows up!  Consequently, I added a waterfall to the top of the piece.  It's too early to tell whether it will even be a painting when and if it grows up but...  it was fun.  Hopefully by tomorrow I'll know where to go from here.  We're off to the springs for a therapeutic soak.....  enjoy! Retweet this

200th Post!!! Algonquin Hike collage start

Today I made collage paper – lots of it! While it was drying I pilfered through my old collage papers and put together this impression of our hike in Algonquin Park last Wednesday. Happily, I found a sheet of collage paper in a mix of golds and greens that suggested [when I turned it 5 degrees and used my imagination] a maple grove back lit by a sunset. I seized the moment… and began ripping and gluing. I'll decide tomorrow whether or not it is finished.

The Hardwood Lookout Trail in Algonquin Park is just beautiful! There are 12 areas described in the handbook at the trail head. One of the bits of trivia that I learned is that only one out of 3 hundred sugar maple seedlings survive to maturity. Seedlings require direct sunlight to mature beyond a few years. A mature tree must die to provide an opening in the canopy for the growing seedling[s] below.

Tomorrow will be another painting day at home... This rainy spell we are in is not something I want to experience again way up on Sunshine Meadows. I am hoping that they will reschedule so I can still enjoy the paint out with all the artists. It's an amazing place to spend a day painting and soaking in the beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

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Bridge to Apache Lake (14”x10”)

The hills around Apache Lake were lit up by the profusion of yellow from the Palo Verde blooms this April.  This painting doesn’t do the scene justice and I’m way too tired to analyze the problem tonight.  I may be seriously overdue for a good critique – any takers out there?  Feel free to provide it by commenting or emailing me…   Ciao!

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Rock Isle Lake (20x14, watercolor)

A year ago I attended the Sunshine Meadows Plein Air PaintOut near Banff, Alberta.  The area is spectacular – what a gift our beautiful mountain parks are!  I nearly froze solid up there on a day that couldn’t make up it’s mind whether to snow, sleet, rain, or shine.  The overcast conditions made for the most spectacular photography though.  The purpley mountains set off the new, yellowish green growth perfectly.  My favorite spot is the basis for this watercolor painting – Rock Isle Lake.  Spectacular views and the cleanest, purest air I’ve ever breathed.  This year the PaintOut is August 5th so hopefully the weather will be more cooperative.  Regardless, it will be a day of fun and fellowship with other artists and enough photo reference material to last a lifetime! 

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Mountain Lake (22"x15") acrylic

The Canadian Rockies just a few miles to the west of where I live has hundreds of beautiful winter views like this. I've managed to capture the cold feeling from the late afternoon sun on the ice and mountain. However, I'm struggling a bit with these foreground trees. Looking at them this evening I realize the snags and branches are simply too dark - possibly another case of the acrylic paint drying a bit darker. I'm excited about moving on to still life and figures for a while. Cheers!

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Work in Progress...

This is my first painting attempt using fluid acrylics from the outset. I love how they flow almost like watercolors. However, they dry very quickly so I was behind the eight ball as far as edge control goes on this larger format (22x15 inches). Stay tuned as I'm definitely not done with this one... Happy Valentines Day! Retweet this

Red Trees revisited

I've revisited the infamous red tree composition and made another attempt in watercolor. Here is the result. I'm much happier with this painting than I was with the original watercolor. I was able to keep the feeling of the light coming through the trees in this version. Come daylight tomorrow I do plan to make a couple of changes to this painting so, as usual, I'll keep you posted ;o)

As I type this I am sitting at Ron's computer desk and wow, is it ever uncomfortable! My [Dell] laptop (aka "craptop") had the video card wrap up it's ONE year of useful life yesterday. It is on warranty so I will ship it off to Dell tomorrow and I should have it back in about a week. This isn't the first time it's had to go back either. Happy camper?... not me! Buyers be warned! And now I have to move my purple bracelet (why? click here). Have a great evening!

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Red Trees as promised

Well, as I committed yesterday here are my acrylic trees. This is NOT a good photo but I couldn't get the lighting to work for me tonight. I'll give it another try tomorrow.

This is the first time I've attempted to use acrylics like watercolors. I succeeded in some places and failed in others. Acrylics are VERY forgiving - and I made use of that trait several times. I have much to learn about handling this new medium. Color mixing is a real challenge - adding white just seems so strange and color temperature is even more critical. A poor choice results in weird hues that mess up the mood entirely. My mood as well as the painting's ;o)

I still love these colors but the acrylics dry darker so even though I struggled with having the red too dark yesterday in watercolor, I didn't compensate enough for the darker acrylics well enough. As a result, I've gone over some of the branches in a lighter value of red.

I'm not fond of the branch shapes coming in on the right side but otherwise I don't mind the shapes so much anymore.

Curiously, I'm still not tired of this subject! I find that intriguing. I've learned an awful lot from the set up and painting of this subject. In fact the biggest learning is that I still have A LOT to learn! Enjoy...

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Watercolor trees

... on the way to becoming acrylic trees. I started the preliminary work for this painting in class before Christmas - a LONG time to work on one painting, I agree. However, Mexico and Christmas visiting have lengthened the focus on this subject. I think the only reason I'm still interested in this painting is because of the color - RED trees? I love it now... 3 years ago I would have REFUSED to make red trees, lol.

This is the painting as it was last night... after class and after landing face down, unscathed, in the Chinook Bay parking lot. Here's the list of concerns:

• the yellow seemed too dark or bright or something... Sharon suggested that it was too solid, no variety in the yellow hue.
• the value of the red trees is the same as the tree trunks... thanks Joanne for that lesson on values and the color wheel. In my value study the branches are at least 2 values lighter than the trunks...
• the shapes of the right hand foreground tree are too similar and spaced equally. Big bad!

So, these issues in combination with my burning desire to play with my Golden fluid acrylics gave me an idea. Why not glaze the entire painting with gesso (basically white acrylic)? That will knock the value of the red down. Adding a slight yellow tint to some of that gesso might help vary the yellow background a bit too. Of course that will give me an opportunity to change shapes as well. To a previously die-hard watercolorist this seems like a cheat. I'm fighting that instinct and it's actually kind of freeing!!! Tomorrow I'll post on the results of this little experiment... stay tuned!

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Marina View Sketch

Ron and I arrived in Mexico November 29 and this was the busy view from our deck. Between the trees we could watch folks taking their meals at the BBQ palapa. Immediately behind that was the marina... a red and white sailboat is passing in this view. More on Mexico coming.... Enjoy!

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Tea Party Monoprint

I worked on this monoprint over the weekend using Yupo for a printing plate. I missed taking a photo of the plate prior to printing because I was in a hurry. This first picture is the Yupo plate after I printed it - not much paint left so I would call the printing process fairly successful.
I began this project with a farm theme in mind. The trees and barn were cut out of drywall mesh and stuck on as a resist. I expected that some paint would seep down into the grid pattern as I applied it with the brayer but the paint mix must have been too dry. The sky started out blue with just a bit of purple but the dioxazine purple is so strong it overpowered the blue. So, I just went with it and played the yellow /purple compliment game. I rolled gamboge on top of the tree area. The dish pattern was done by dampening cotton lace, laying it over the painted yupo, covering with wax paper, brayering over and then lifting the wetted area with a kleenex.
This second picture shows the resulting monoprint. I left myself a decent sized light value area thinking I would do an image transfer there.
Tomorrow's post - how to nearly wreck and [hopefully] rescue a painting from disaster... stay tuned! Retweet this

Christmas Monoprint (6"x4")

This is an monoprint plate ready for printing. I'd like a lighthearted singing snowman like this to send to my friends. I hope that this will turn out well enough to use as a Christmas card this year. Can I just say that there is no method more fun than spritzing drops of water on to a painting and then lifting them up to get an instant snow storm. We'll soon see.

I have a lot of work in the hopper and slowly but surely I'm making progress on each of them. I'm also having a blast trying various image transfer methods. Hopefully I'll become proficient enough to use them in my art.

Enjoy!

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Composition 101 - Monday Morning (20"x14")

Monday morning wash hangs in a gentle breeze in this painting I completed yesterday. I wanted to capture some of the sense of home that a scene like this gives me. Think of those wonderfully scented sheets on your Saturday night bed - relaxing isn't it? Anyhow, that's what I was trying to capture in this painting.I took the photo reference for this painting while visiting Matthew and Christina (our son and DIL) where they lived near Finch, Ontario in fall 2006. Something always bugged me about this photo reference so I tucked it away for a time when I could identify what that was... and fix it.
When Sharon asked the class to bring photo reference I grabbed this photo. As I worked through the process Sharon outlined (see below) I identified the issue that I needed to address - the clothes hung straight down from the line and looked HEAVY! What? Most of the time the sheets practically dried in the time it took to hang them on the line where I grew up in Saskatchewan (Eston specifically). Once I figured that out in my sketches I really wanted to paint this scene. I'm mostly satisfied with it as is but now that I see it condensed down to such a small scale I believe I will put one more wash over the front of the house - it should be darker than the side because it's in full shade in this early morning scene.
For those of you that are interested in such stuff, here is the photo reference I used for this painting followed by photos of the steps I took to work out my composition and values. Enjoy!
Photo reference
Composition - Identify interesting shapes both positive and negative







Value Study Thumbnails
Larger Sketch and Value Study for transfer to watercolor painting Retweet this

North Glenmore Park - work in progress

I began this today and I have some bits to complete. However, I want to share it with you here tonight. I'm very excited about the mixed media class that I started today. It's quite freeing to be able to get back lights and whites in a variety of ways. I'm still waiting for the remainder of my supplies to arrive soon from Curry's. Have a look at this painting in progress and check back for future updates. Have a great Tuesday! Retweet this

Tia's Wedding Day (10"x14")

September 20th was a beautiful day here in Alberta. I enjoyed Tia and Matt Hand's wedding out at Crystal Ridge Golf Club. I thought an outdoor wedding was pretty risky any day in Alberta... but Matt and Tia got a stunner - 26 degrees Celsius and sunny. Just before the sun set I caught this photo looking out over the golf course from the clubhouse. My first painting class was yesterday and we were asked to bring a landscape reference photo and I took this one. What a struggle! I think I had performance anxiety painting in a group after so much painting alone time over the summer. It started to come around towards the end of class and I worked at it a couple more hours today. It's not a favourite but I hope you can see the beautiful fall scene. Enjoy! Retweet this

Foothills Fury (21"x14")

This was the scene a week ago heading west out of Calgary on the TransCanada Highway towards Cochrane. A rare fall thunderstorm blew in quickly over the foothills. Five minutes later it was pouring rain. It lasted only an hour before our beautiful weather returned with the sunshine radiating clear and warm from it's position low over the Rockies. We've had some lovely days this fall... and I've plenty of beautiful photos to show for it. I believe I've got enough photos for a lifetime of painting. The issue now becomes remembering the context and feelings that belong to each - without that they're just photos.
This half sheet painting is larger than I'm used to working. Quarter sheets seemed a bit small for the landscapes lately - this give me a bit more room to play with. I had trouble with the sky on this one. In the small format it looks livid and somewhat foreboding which is exactly the mood I'm going for with these storm clouds. However, I needed several applications of paint to darken the lower part of the clouds. It never ceases to amaze me (and it should) how much lighter watercolor paint dries! A single, dark application may have been more effective close up. That said, I like how the faint mountains turned out - just peeking out of the mist and rain in places. Enjoy! Retweet this

Rowan Berries (14"x10")

One of the most beautiful fall sights is a flaming "Mountain Ash" or Rowan tree. It's clumps of red berries coupled with the gorgeous multi-colored leaves is hard to resist. Some leaves were an interesting combination of red and green - tough to paint that's for sure. Others were orange-red, deep burgundy, golden, pink... an amazing variety for a single branch. Such a treat to look at and to paint.

I began by painting directly (no pencil lines) thinking that I'd have a fresher look and impression. I sprinkled a bit of salt over the area I intended for the berries and let it all dry. Yesterday I pencilled in various shapes and puttered at it off and on... defining a leaf here, a berry clump there, and generally making a variety of leaf and branch shapes. I added some darks behind the leaves and defined some veins by wetting and lifting out with a towel (an old cotton tea towel works great for this). I lifted out some negative leaf shapes the same way. Adding a few dark tips on the berries and glazing a few small berry clumps with blue to push them back a bit finished it off.

I had fun signing this painting. The right bottom was quite dark so I decided to lift out the signature. I used my rigger to paint my name with clear water and rubbed it with the towel to lift off the dark paint and reveal the letters. Enjoy!

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