Mount Seymour, BC

Both times that I have been in BC, I hiked Mount Seymour. Both times it was a highlight of my visit. I really enjoy being in the midst of the lofty mountain grandeur. This painting brings back all the memories of having been there: the cold air, the awe, the tired muscles from climbing ....

Winter Blues

Winter Blues is a painting that I started several years ago and never finished. My son actually had the unfinished painting hanging on his wall for a year or so until I decided that it was time to finish it. 
I challenged myself with a limited palette for  this one. I wanted to do a relatively monochromatic painting so to this end I used a blue, a complimentary orange and white. The orange was used mainly to darken and neutralize the blue.
This is a scene that I photographed at Mer Bleue in Ottawa during late afternoon a day or so after we had some freezing rain. With the low sun and the ice on the trees it was a magical moment. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the glittering ice in my painting but I am still pleased with the lighting and the painting as a whole. I feel that there is still something magical about the scene.

Algonquin Colours

Algonquin Colours was inspired, in more ways than one, by the workshop that I took this past fall at Killbear Provincial Park. First, the style of the painting is what I learned at the workshop. Secondly, I took the photo from which this was painted on my way home from the workshop as we drove through Algonquin Provincial Park. The fall colours that day were spectacular!

BC Reflections

BC Reflections was painted as a commission for my sister and brother-in-law who celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in 2014. They celebrated the occasion on Saturna Island in BC with their children and their spouses. Their children then commissioned me to do this painting which was taken at that time.

Painting Workshop

This past summer I had the opportunity to participate in a four-day outdoor painting workshop at one of  my all time  favourite places - Killbear Provincial Park - on the Georgian Bay. One thing that made this workshop extra special was that I was able to introduce one of my good painting friends to the park.
Each morning we would leave the lodge in which we were staying to spend the day painting on location. In the evenings, after our day of painting, in which we usually completed two paintings, we would have a time of group critique. Our instructors of the week encouraged us to try painting in this 'group of seven / folk art' style of painting. I really enjoyed this since I had been trying to push my boundaries in painting this summer.  Included here are what I consider three of my more successful paintings of the week.
This workshop was a very enjoyable and inspiring experience.

The Wild Side

The Wild Side is an example of a plein air painting that did not work on location but I saw some good elements happening that inspired me to do a painting in the studio.
There were several things that happened with this painting that are so 'not me'. First, I decided that I wanted to go big! All that I had when the urge came upon me to paint this painting was several 16" X 20" canvases so I decided to use two of them side by side. The other thing that I decided was that I wanted to deviate from actual colours and that I wanted a yellow sky. I also experimented with mixing the colours directly on the canvas which I feel gives it more depth. The original plein air painting was done in early June but I ended up with fall colours instead and I like it!!!
So why the deviations? I think that I was influenced by a couple of factors: This painting was done soon after participating in an art show where several people suggested that I do some bigger paintings. Also, at the time I had been looking at other artist's blogs and books which were a great inspiration to me to do something different from my usual.

North Channel - Geogian Bay

These are three paintings done while sailing in the North Channel this past summer. The two 'tree-ones' are watercolour and ink while the one with the boats is an Acrylic. They are all rather small - approx 5" X 7" since I don't want to take large canvases on our 25' - sailboat and I don't have much time in which to paint. The North Channel - Georgian Bay is definitely worthy of painting; I am sure the Group of Seven did some of their paintings in this area.

Water Reflections

A lot of our plein air sites have been by the water this summer. It has been a challenge to make my reflections both realistic and interesting. I have enjoyed this challenge.

Plein Air Paintings

These three plein air paintings are 6" X 12" . I enjoy using this 'long and skinny' format for my paintings. I will eventually redo the top and bottom painting on a 18" X 36" canvas.