Fields of Green and Gold (8"x10")

The prairies stretch out all around me here in Lloydminster.  The verdant fields of Saskatchewan to the East and the colorful Alberta flatlands to the west.  36 kilometres north we have the beautiful North Saskatchewan river, 47 kilometres south, the Battle river valley.  I'm inspired by these views.  This little painting is a study for a larger piece I'm working on.  Enjoy!

Sand Harbor watercolour sketch

We visited Sand Harbor State Park on the Nevada (east) side of Lake Tahoe yesterday afternoon and I did this little watercolour sitting on a rock looking out onto a gorgeous beach. Ron spent his time wandering the pathways with the camera. It was a very quiet and relaxing time together. Ahhhhh, vacation!

 

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Day's End (9"x12", oil)

This quick sketch is the result of cleaning my oil palette in preparation for our California trip. Oil paint doesn't last forever on a palette and unfortunately, my hand hasn't been cooperating with my plans. Today I painted through the pain. This image was meant to feel relaxed, like an evening after a hot lake day. Everything felt great as I painted...except my right hand, which complained bitterly. I can't get over how much of daily life involves my dominant hand! Amazing!

 

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Athabasca Falls (oil, 16"x20")

Athabasca Falls, in Alberta's Jasper National Park, is stunning all the time. But when we visited in June last year it was thundering even harder than usual after more than a week of steady rain. Awesome doesn't begin to describe the power. I've taken a shot at painting it this week. I'll have one more session to settle a few details but it is close to done. Cheers!

 

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Hakone Fall (WIP, oil, 16x20)

I reoiled this painting from March and attempted to salvage it, or, if that's not doable, to at least learn something from it. Some artists say they struggle with yellows, others greens. Sure, I've had my moments with those colors but RED objects in a landscape just baffle me. I feel that i need to deepen and cool the values of the bottoms of the leaf clumps. What, pray tell, am I doing wrong? Any suggestions most welcome. I love autumn and just have to sort this out. In any case, I do like it better now than I did on my first post March 1st. I will have to adjust the shadows on the pathway eventuallyand, apparently, further dull the colors of the background areas behind the trees. Wish me luck!

This is what it looked like March 1st:

 

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The Gloaming at Sheep River Fall (oil, 24"x24")

I first painted The Gloaming at Sheep River Falls in early 2012 and I hung it in my home in Calgary. I saw it every day and something really bugged me about it. Sometimes it takes me a long time to figure out what I want to change andthat was the case here. Indetermined not to hang it here in Lloydminster until I figured it out. There were just a few minor changes:

• The blue of the sky and water was too warm. I glazed turquoise lightly over the sky and in places on the river.
• The tips of the trees on the left, although lighter, were too warm. These I glazed with an almost grey mix to dull and cool them.
• The foreground rocks were also too warm for this time of day so I toned them with mixes of greens and blues.
• The water spray is in full shadow at this time of day, so my water was far to light and bright. I scumbled the blue and greenish greys into the white water to tone it.

There were a few other tweaks but those were the primary issues. What do you think? I like it much better now than I did before. Have a great day!

 

The Gloaming at Sheep River Falls - before...

 

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Misty Spirit Island (Oil on canvass, 6"x6")

I had a refreshing break from the winter weather when we visited Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico for a week over Easter. This tropical paradise is between Acapulco and Guatamala on the pacific side and has warm, almost guaranteed, weather. We saw one cloud, one day. Mexico moved to develop and protect a large portion of the area as Huatulco National Park in 1998. As a result, the most delicate coastal areas are protected from resort development. Those resorts built south of the national park are limited to just a few of the 18 bays. Although I didn't shop much in Huatulco, I did manage to bring something home from Mexico. However, I'm finally feeling a bit better and I'm back in my studio so - yay! Nothing can make me fall out of love with Mexico. Nothing.

Contrast that with the subject of this little painting...another gorgeous paradise -Jasper National Park. Long snowy winters and short, dry summers, are the norm in Jasper. Spirit Island is an iconic landmark in this area. It's accessible only by tour boat (or canoe/kayak but I don't count that ;-). I visited this gorgeous spot on an overcast day in late September 2007, just days before the end of the tour season. We woke up to a cold, drizzly morning. But, being optimistic about the weather Gregg Johnson, our painting instructor, led us onto the boats. We watched rain stream down the boat windows during our 45 minute ride. But, as we rounded the corner to Spirit Island, a weak sun was attempting to burn off the fog. The color of the water is incredible - more towards emerald than this little painting indicates. Simple put - the place is stunning! A fantastic place for plain air painting and a great reference source as well. Cheers!

 

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Kiyosumi Garden (oil, 16"x20")

I've done a bit of rework on this painting (previous post here) and I think the bridge shape and the colours are working better for me. I've also concluded that my paintings must be taken upstairs into natural light for proper photos... Which means I need better lighting in my basement studio - I'm still getting used to the new setup.

Enjoy your day!

 

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Kiyosumi Garden (oil, 16"x20")

I loved my visit to Kiyosumi Garden in Tokyo in 2011. This garden has a interesting story. It's peaceful and calming in the midst of hyper-active Tokyo. I was there in the fall when the maples were just into their turning. The leaves are a rusty red, really a green-red composite. Beautiful! I feel I've captured a peaceful scene and I'll leave it to dry before deciding whether or not to tweak it. Blessings!

 

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Mount Fuji (oil, 8"x10")

I got back to painting some of my views from Japan today. It was fun. This view is half my photo reference and half imagination... This viewpoint over Lake Ashi was rather dull in the foreground of my photo. So, I added a spring foreground of blossoms. Oil is just so much fun to paint with! Cheers!

 

 

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Misty Matsushima (oil, 10"x10")

Today I spent half an hour puttering on Misty Matsushima again. In addition to adjusting the values in the island forms, I painted the lightest water and sky areas. Since the lightest values are very thin at this point, I may still go back in with thicker paint once this layer is dry. For a few days I will think it over.

Cheers!

 

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Sacred Hill (oil, 8"x10")

I found this painting in my pochade box storage after we unpacked here in our new home in Lloydminster. I painted it on September 24 last year on a hill in a pasture near Sundre, Alberta. Not much has changed in this spot since September 24, 2010, but there's a sense of peace in my heart now that certainly wasn't there on my two prior visits. I still miss my brother so much, but knowing he embraced his Lord for the first time here makes me so happy for him!

 

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Rocky Tak Coast (oil, 10"x10")

Here's the second instalment of Rocky Tak Coast (started on January 15). Today I added the water and I think I like it so far.

 

Here's where it was this morning when I began painting...

I'm off to paint some more!!! Cheers!

 

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WIP Misty Matsushima (oil, 10"x10")

This one started out on mat board as a light, watery layer of acrylic, much like I did with Rocky Tak Coast. Thieves islands are just a bit north of rocky Tak in Matsushima Bay.

 

Once the initial wash dried, I followed up with 2 coats of GAC100 on both sides to seal it. (Apologies, this photo is too dark)!

I blocked in the land masses today with oil paint, covering most of the underpainting. Once this dries to touch, I will go back in and do the water..... blessings!

 

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Western Blaze (8"x10", Watercolor/Gouache)

I absolutely love sunsets, and love painting them too. Somehow I see watercolour as a more appropriate medium, since the sky is affected so much by water. Haha, yes, I do realize how crazy that sounds all you oil paint lovers!

Happy weekend!

 

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Deep Falls (8"x10", w/c and gouache)

This waterfall produces some cool photo opportunities, as I discovered in 2000 on our anniversary trip to Hawaii. At that time I hadn't taken up painting. The photo was unearthed during our recent move and I thought I'd give it a go. I wish I could recall where the water falls is located! Any ideas?

 

For a watercolour, I sure got my darks DARK! However, I really like how the colours in the pool at the base of the falls turned out.

Enjoy!

 

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Bow Lake Sentinels (oil, 9"x12")

I loved my painting time yesterday and today and I can't wait to do more. I've missed mucking about in my paint. This was fun, most of the marks made today were done with palette knives. That's so much fun - it makes such surprising ( and sometimes alarming) marks. It requires wholesale scraping off at times, it's MESSY! If you wait too long, it's harder, sometimes impossible, to scrape down and rework. Sounds somewhat like life doesn't it? However, since oil paint takes quite a long time to dry to the touch, never lose hope :-). I'm not sure if this one is done but I'll let it dry for several days before I mess with it further.

Cheers!

 

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Out to Sea (oil, 6"x6")

Just across the sandbar is the open sea... Somewhere. I've been tinting a few of these little 6"x6" deep canvasses when I've had landscape friendly paint left on my palette. This canvas suggested a cloudy scene and this came from that suggestion. Cheers!

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Monday (oil, 8"x10")

Monday was always the day for laundry where I grew up. How about you? Have a great day!

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Evening Farewell [oil, 8”x10”]

This is a gorgeous time of year when the sun sets in the northwest and we have the softest evening light.  The swells are gentle and the sun sparkles before it slips behind the surrounding hills.  I took the reference photo for this painting in August 2010 when Ron and I visited Chuck and Elaine’s lake home in Sorrento, BC.  What a gorgeous, special place it is!  Wonderful memories to cherish forever.