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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Nijo Castle Donjon WIP ( oil, 11"x14")

When we visited the Nijo castle (Unesco world heritage site since 1994) in Kyoto, Japan last November the weather was gloomy and wet. With 4 kids in tow (one having a full on meltdown) we were hustling to get inside the castle by the 4 pm cutoff. The castle itself is amazing but I would have loved some photos of all those 17th century murals and gold work. The guides are HARD-CORE about the no camera rule though!

The nightingale floors in the castle are pretty cool. They squeak and make whispery noises by design, allowing guards to protect their masters in feudal Japan.

This painting features the castle donjon, or central keep stone walls. The 5 storey keep itself burned to the ground in 1750. I painted this because I have fond memories of my visit there, a lesson in determination...Doug (my son-in-law) rushed around Kyoto and made sure we got to see this castle. He was initially inhibited by pouring rain and grumpy kids. But it was worth it... We toured the castle in the rain and by the time we got to the gardens the rain had eased up. Suddenly the ancient stones glowed in the light, and the grumpy kid turned up happy. Japan is a fascinating, patient place. I love it!

 

 

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Hakone Fall (oil, 16x20)

This is my latest project as it stands today. The autumn colors were spectacular when I visited Hakone in the fall of 2011. It is a struggle to capture even the tiniest portion of how I felt walking amongst the maple trees and the uber-groomed shrubs lining this pathway. The reflected sky is everywhere on the topmost leaves, giving them a pinkish hue. I'd welcome your suggestions and or comments if you have any! Happy March - spring is just around the corner :-)

 

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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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Hakone Autumn [oil, 16”x20”]

This is the first time I’ve attempted to paint a fall landscape from our trip to Japan last November.  The colors are intimidating blends of the brilliant compliments…  green maple leaves morph from green to red and many leaves retain some of each.  Yet it doesn’t make mud like it would on a painter’s palette!  Creation is amazing that way…

I’m not through with this yet but it has to dry before I can finish off the final few strokes.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Rock Isle Lake Thaw [oil, 16”x20”]

This painting has been reworked since I posted it on February 18th.  Taking a more critical look at this made me realize that I had lost the value pattern [see the previous post for the red and black version] that I was going for.  Those of you that have been up to Sunshine Meadows know that there are many spots to view this lake from.  To get back to my original value pattern and simplify, I replaced a section of the foreground with water.  I also warmed up the bottom of the sky just a bit, showed some warmer and lighter sections on the mountain above the isle, and added more of a bank on the isle.  I hope you like it!

The Gloaming at Sheep River Falls [oil, 24”x24”]

I’ve been preparing for the FCA Spring show and the CCPS juried show, which are both coming up on March 10 here in Calgary.  I will have 4 paintings in the CCPS show at Heritage Park and, hopefully, a few at the FCA “All Things Spring” show in Edgemont .  More to come on this later. 

Yesterday I did some more work on this painting and it’s off to the FCA jury now.  I’m getting the feeling that I was looking for in this painting now; the sense of late light across the foothills behind just hitting the tips of the trees and the bright sky still reflecting lightly on the river and rocks.  This spring day was beautiful!  Enjoy!

The Gloaming at Sheep River Falls WIP [oil, 24”x24”]

I’ve been working on this painting for the past couple of days.  I began it just like the last two and I think this subject is perfect for that method because of it’s distinct areas of lights and darks.  Subjects with lots of patterns of darks and lights would be much more difficult to pull off. 

I find it very useful to post my paintings as work in progress…  it forces me to do some of the critical thinking that may have gone by the wayside as I listen to music and push paint around.  In this case I think the larger shapes are holding together alright.  But, I’m struggling mightily with the trees that are overlapping on the left – one is on the foreground bank and the other is across the falls and below.  I’m pretty sure the far tree is going to be cut down tomorrow…  I’m mulling it’s fate over this evening :)

Cheers!

Baker from Bowness [oil, 9”x12”]

What beautiful weather we are having right now in Calgary!  It’s perfect for plein air painting.  This is the view from Bowness Park looking across the Bow River towards Baker Park.  The light was amazing – it illuminated the tips of the yellow trees and cast beautiful shadows across the ground.  It’s kind of weird that I stood right beside the Bow River yet and it doesn’t show up in the painting but this is the scene that captured my imagination.  Enjoy!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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! 

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!

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!

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!

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...