Family pictures

This 12 x 16" acrylic is of my daughter, Laura. It was challenging because I was trying for a likeness Happy to say, I think it looks just like her. Painting people in acrylics is nerve-wracking- the slightest error and the person looks grotesque. I have learned to just keep plugging away with each little area until I get it right. Usually I would choose to use oils for a figurative piece, because blending is easier,  but this one worked out ok in acrylics.

Italian scene

Rock of Ages, Italia

24 x 30" acrylic

This painting was close to finished for a week and I lost momentum on it. It just didn't feel compelling to me. I usually paint landscapes of familiar places and this image was from a trip to Italy that I took about 5 years ago.

In the photo, the foreground was very dark and I lightened it up considerably. Yesterday, I got the notion to glaze the foreground with black and let the light sit in the sky and distant fields.Then I glazed the clouds with very dilute layers of quin red and hansa yellow. It made a huge difference and suddenly I'm happy with the painting.

pet portrait

This is  20 x 18" acrylic of my beloved dog, Havi. I haven't done many dog portraits but it was really fun to do. Right now there are several artists that I know who have taken the pet portrait to a whole new level- great brushwork and innovative approaches, with backgrounds and colour. I'm inspired to paint more dogs.

Painting Big

                                   

This place is about 7 minutes from my house. I spent a beautiful afternoon painting plien air there a week ago. I took a few shots with my phone and one photo led to this 36 x 48" painting. I love painting big- have resolved to do a few more large scale pieces soon. It feels like being there when I'm working on a big piece.

This will be the final major painting that I'm taking to Calgary for the Stampede Art show. I might get a few more little ones done before I go. I'm getting excited, looking forward to being there again. The camaraderie with the other artists and the chance to talk to people about my work are my favourite things about the experience. It does feel like a marathon at times and the days are very long, but I feel blessed to be able to go.

How now purple cow?

This little 12 x 16" painting is bound for the Western Art show at the Calgary Stampede. It's acrylic on panel and uses a combination of textural techniques with small brushwork and many layers on the cow. Don't have a title yet but maybe "Purple Cow".

Purple Sky

"Purple Sky" 30 x 40" oil

I haven't posted for quite a while so thought I would share a recent large piece. I combined two reference photos for this one- one for the sky and one for the landscape. The challenge was to make the colours harmonious.
This painting will go with me to the Calgary Stampede Western Art show in July.

Aspen grove

Golden Grove 24 x 36" acrylic

This painting is another one on hardboard panel. I painted most of it with a lot of drippy, wet, textural techniques. Scraping occurred for some of the grasses. Then I used more controlled brush strokes where needed for the negative shapes, tree trunks and foliage.

It was the light and pattern of the image that made me want to paint it. Right now we are so starved for sunshine. Nice to experience it in a painting, if not real life....

Mural assistant

Alan and I are busy working on a mural for the BC Farm Museum here in Fort Langley. This is panel #3. When I go to work on it alone, Havi comes along to keep me company. So far I'm really enjoying working on this scale and figuring out how to handle each image. Alan is the mural expert, so it's good to have his guidance. We're doing six 4 x 8 foot panels and they will be revealed on June 17th.