Fall Colours

After doing my last painting which was a snow scene in a study of grays during the peak days of Autumn, I desperately wanted to paint something with fall colours.

Pen and Ink Trees

These images are two different views of the same tree. They were inspired by photos that I took at Killbear Park in the Georgian Bay area.

Pen and Ink Trees

I have been getting back into my pen and ink drawing again since doing my friend's house sketch this summer. The trees in these drawings are inspired by photos I took at Killbear Park this past summer.

Condemned

Condemned is a copy of a photo that I took of a barn close to where I live. This barn has always drawn my eye as a possible art subject. I was fortunate to get the photo since soon after I took the picture the barn was torn down. I painted this piece using mostly mixed grays since I wanted the practice in mixing different tints of grays. This is also a mixed-media painting since I went into the painting with pen and ink to accent some textures.

Hay Bales in Field - SOLD

Hay Bales in Field is inspired by some photos that a friend of mine took. I do like the depth that I captured in this painting however, ultimately, I am not sure that I really like this painting for several reasons: I am disappointed with my trees and bushes since I ended up using too many different techniques to achieve the elusive desired effect. Also, topographically the picture doesn't really work. Finally, it is just a pretty picture that doesn't really have any 'punch(?)', 'Wow effect(?)', 'atmosphere', 'focal point'. Any suggestions? I think I will revisit this subject down the road at some time.

Pen and Ink

Pen and Ink is a drawing that I did of my friend's house for their farewell party. Again, I had all the guests sign the mat with short notes of farewell. Doing this pen and ink drawing brought me back a few years since I used to do similar drawings for real estate agents to give as gifts to their clients. Back then I did not have a digital camera as I do now which certainly made the whole process easier since I went back several times to take photos of the house in order to do a fair rendering.

Guest Book

This drawing of my nephew and his bride was used as their wedding day guest book. All the guests that attended the ceremony and reception signed the mat. The finished product was then framed and given to the couple. Viewed here are both the drawing before matting and the drawing with all the signatures.

Bastian Family Tree

Bastian Family Tree was done as a gift for my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary. I copied the idea from a similar family tree that my siblings and I gave to my parents about 19 years ago.

The Red Barn

The Red Barn is meant to mimic style, colour and composition of Church Steeple since I wanted the two paintings to be a series. Both paintings are local scenes.

Old Lady

My in-laws have a painting of an old woman hanging in their house which I have always admired very much so I decided I would try to make my own 'Old Lady' painting using Acrylics. I found a picture of an old woman in a magazine and did this black and white sketch to get the values down on paper before starting with paint. I think what I admire the most in my in-law's painting are the very dark darks and the glowing highlights - something I hope to capture in my eventual painting.

Church Steeple

Church Steeple is a painting of a photo I took in my town. I was able to use various techniques that I learned on my Watercolour Secrets DVD course. I was very pleased with the outcome of this painting.