In progress

This work in progress was inspired first by a look through an old sketchbook (image below), and then was fuelled by my fury over current affairs (Charlottesville). Stay tuned ...

Westcan Stairway

Here's another work inspired by the view from my studio window.

Westcan Whimsy

Just off the easel - Westcan Whimsy, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. I'm having fun being a little more playful with my imagery. This work is inspired by the view from my studio, the lovely boat sheds belonging to houses on Westcan Road.

Promises of Spring, 2015

Promises of Spring, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 24x24"

This work was created for a charity auction held at the Sunshine Coast Ladies Red Serge Gala, in Sechelt, British Columbia, in September of 2015. It's the first painting I'd done since Moonlit Shed in 2013. Wish me luck as I get back into the studio and create a new series of works!

Moonlit Shed

I made a few changes to Moonlit Shed yesterday, let it sit overnight before looking at it again this morning to decide if it's really finished. Yes, I've decided it's finished, so I must stop tweaking it; the best way to stop is to start a new work. I've got a blank canvas on the easel, ready to go!

Moonlit Shed

Nine hours of working on this piece today - slow progress, but I'm happy with how it's shaping up. Changed the scene from daylight to moonlit; altered every colour; adjusted the height of the awning on the boat (geesh, that was bothering me!); set cooler tones for the water; brightened the shack a bit; and now it's nearly finished. I hope to finish it tomorrow - wish me luck!

Fall 2013 - work in progress

I haven't felt like doing any painting since the mad flurry in March when I was preparing for my debut as April's Artist of the Month at the Watershed Artists Society Show.  Happily, I sold two small mixed media works from that show.  Now, after a lovely summer enjoying the water views on the Sunshine Coast, I'm inspired to try my hand at capturing the essence of some of those views, including the sculptural arbutus trees that dot the coast.  I'm attempting to loosen up my painting style for this, by using much larger brushes than I usually favour, I'm also expanding my colour palette to include toned down hues. Here's a work in progress - I'm struggling to avoid too many details, although I couldn't help myself while working on the boat - it seemed to beg for more - hopefully I haven't overdone it. I'd appreciate any feedback you have to offer.

I'll post an image of the finished painting soon.

New work on the easel

I'm recovering from a shoulder and neck injury, so it's been a couple of months since I've been in the studio. Now I'm working long hong hours again as I'm April's Artist of the Month at the Watershed Artists Society gallery shop in North Delta, . Here's a work in progress, mixed media on wooden cradle panel, masked off for the addition of some dry brushing. This work follows along the same themes and colour palette as Tree of Life and Germinate. Hopefully I'll be able to post an image of the finished piece at the end of this week.

Here's another take on the previous painting.

This one is framed in a simple, narrow black frame and is hanging in The Little Cricket Gift Gallery in Maple Ridge, BC.

A Little Added Detail

After seeing the image from my last post on-line, I decided a little more detail was needed, so added swirls to the male angel's robe. It's funny how a painting often looks finished to me until I photograph it and have a look at it in its new format. I think the swirls improve this image - what do you think? Also, the last image was overexposed - this is a truer image.

Guardian Angels

I think a pair of devoted parents count as guardian angels, and so I added a male figure to the composition of this painting. This one measures 14x11 inches on 3/4 inch wrapped canvas, and like the others in the series, it's painted with acrylics. 

It'll be on view this weekend at Jeanette and Robert Parkes' Friends on the Farm Art Market. If you plan to be in Surrey, BC, this weekend, come on over for a visit.

Guardian Angel with Children

The latest in the series.

When I was painting at the last weekend of the Loafing Shed show, someone inspecting my paintings and watching me work asked if my ancestry was  from the Ukraine - I laughed, knowing what he meant. These guardian angels are rounded and decorative and evocative of Russian icons and nesting Matryoshka dolls. No, I told him, my ancestry is Scottish and French, however, there may have been a Ukrainian peddler wandering through Europe back in the day and ... (just kidding, Nana!)

First Weekend of Langley Art Studio Tour

Here's my corner in the Loafing Shed Glass Studio

Reproductions and beaded jewelry on the left; original artwork on the right; beading and painting demos going on in the front.

Below is a close up featuring my Guardian Angel paintings, and on the very far right you can see part of the crowd gathered to watch Robert's glass blowing demonstration.

There was a steady flow of visitors all day, both days, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; we calculated just over 40 people came by each day. A lot of Robert's glass left the studio and I sold a reproduction of Tree of Life, several pair of earrings, and a bracelet, so I was pleased to have more than covered my participation fee and still have another two days to go, next weekend. Best of all, though, was the contacts I made with folks interested in seeing more of my work. Also, I was asked if I would be interested in demonstrating my painting techniques to a painting group sometime in November or the new year - a paying gig - yes! 

Nine Guardian Angel Paintings Completed ... so far ...

At first I wasn't so sure about these folk art angels - they're fun to paint, but seem rather trite as far as serious painting is concerned. However, I've had a very positive response to my postings on Facebook, and after creating one finished painting a day for the past nine days, trite or not, they've reactivated my creative muse and that can only be a good thing!

Combined with other recent works, I now have enough new paintings to fill my exhibition space for the 2012 Langley Art Studio Tour at The Loafing Shed Glass Studio on the weekends of September 22-23 and 29-30. Hurray!

To see more of these wee paintings, check out my website.

Now it's time to get back to that mermaid on the easel ... hopefully she'll be completed in time for the art studio tour as well.

Guardian Angel with Violet Eyes

Of the four completed so far, this is my favourite angel. I think it's her expression that appeals most to me.

Folk Art Angel with Spirals

Guardian Angels on the Easel

I'm having fun with these folk art angels - this is the second of six I hope to finish in the next couple of weeks.  I begin with an 8x8" black gessoed canvas and use a white conte crayon to sketch the image, then I add thin layers of acrylic paint - at that stage, the whole thing looks decidedly ugly, but as additional layers of paint are added, the images come to life. You can't tell by this photo, but the canvas is wrapped around to the back and I've painted the edges as well.

A departure in style

Why is is that when I have months yawning in front of me before a show, my mind draws a complete blank and I'm unable to get my ever-widening butt into the studio until the pressure of the deadline looms dangerously close?

If you've been following my posts for the last month or so, you know I've been struggling for inspiration to create new works. With the double weekend Langley Studio Tour now only a few weeks away, the ideas are finally rolling in one atop another at a rate that's taxing my wee brain. I began sketching guardian angels in a folk art style over the weekend and now that I've begun painting them, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. Here's the first of what I hope to be a series of six 8x8" paintings. It's a departure in style for me, but the nurturing theme continues. Watduyathink?

Mermaid on the easel

I've given up on landscapes for now and am having fun with a new woman as vessel piece - Mermaid. After several disastrous attempts at landscapes, I complained about my failure to a wise woman I've recently met. She asked me many questions about my work, my motivations, what I like best about painting and as I answered her questions, so many things became clear to me and I was inspired to take up my brush again and give painting in my new studio one more try: I'm pleased with the progress I'm making and shall keep you posted. Cheerio!

Looking for inspiration

I've decided to try something new in the studio - inspired by the gorgeous vistas surrounding me at our summer place in Secret Cove, I want to attempt some landscape painting. So, a couple of days ago, I spent an afternoon in a kayak, snapping photos of arbutus trees and other lovely elements in the landscape. When I reviewed the pictures on my computer screen, it was the photo above, sans arbutus trees, that inspired me most. 

I played around in iPhoto until I came up with the image above and set up in the studio to create a study on a cheap canvas for my masterpiece. I created some beautiful textures and colours for the sky; lovely hues for the rocks and background trees; however, I stumbled trying to simplify shapes. Despite much squinting to try to blur detail, eight hours and two valiant attempts later this was the end result:

Nothing like a little black gesso to permanently erase failure. 

Today I try again.