Final Tweaking

This is my last painting for the feature at the Peninsula Gallery next weekend. The top image is nearly finished and the second image is after the final tweaking. I decided that I didn't like the shape of the foreground rock- too pointy on top. I reshaped a few of the rocks, added more details and reinforced the darks in some areas. The left foreground puddles seemed too dark to me so I made them lighter. Added sparkles in the water. I also put some subtle blue glazes on the distant white cliffs so they would be a cooler value than the white in the foreground rocks.

I will be demonstrating from 1:00 to 4:00 on Saturday, Sept 7th at the Peninsula Gallery in Sidney. Everyone welcome.

I'm back to my favourite spot on the planet for this image. It's on Pender Island where my parents live. I told Alan to scatter my ashes here if I die before him. Just a magic place for me.

I have never painted this particular arbutus before because the setting for it didn't make a perfect composition. However, the advantage of having painted so many arbutus before have led to me being much more confident about inovation. I moved trees and rocks, changed the colours on the main tree and was happy with what I ended up with.

"One Day in August"  30 x 40" acrylic. The painting is now on the wall at Granville Fine Arts Gallery in Vancouver.

Hope Bay finished

Here's the completed painting of Hope Bay, plus a 30 x 40" acrylic that I did of the Salmon river near my house in Fort Langley. These paintings will go with me when I go to Sidney on September 7th.

I'll be doing a demo in the Peninsula Gallery in Sidney in the afternoon of the 7th. Come and see me if you live in the area- everyone welcome.

Last Wednesday was my first annual Paintout and Artist's picnic at Whytecliff Park. We had a great turnout and perfect weather. The consensus was that it's a great location so next year's event will be at the same spot. Hope you can join me next summer.

Hope Bay in stages

I haven't posted any sequential pictures for a while. Here's the stages of today's work- I started this 24 x 36"piece this morning. It's about half way along. I'm really enjoying painting it and looking forward to trying to get those underwater rocks really working. The second half of my paintings take longer but I will post more images as it progresses.

More Arbutus trees

While looking for something new to paint, I went through some old files of photos from Thormanby Island. The reference photo for this painting was taken in 2009. I never recognized it at the time as something interesting to paint but it stopped me in my tracks this time. The trees were smaller and quite hidden by foliage but I've painted enough arbutus trees by now that I know how to create them without much to go by. I love the colour palette in this piece ; " Against the Sky" 30 x 40" acrylic.

I will be doing a painting demonstration at Harmony Arts Festival in West Vancouver this Sunday, August 11th  from 1:00 to 3:00. It's free- come and see me if you are in the area.

Go Big

 I have enjoyed a flurry of sales through several of my galleries lately- thank you, Universe. All of the paintings sold have been big ones. I'm not really sure why but I prefer to do big paintings so this gives me permission to do more of them!

Just put the last strokes on this one minutes ago- "Sand and Surf"  36 x 48" acrylic. Another gift of the trip last year to Calvert Island.

Comings and goings

I'm back in the studio after being in Calgary at the Stampede Art show for 2 weeks. It was quite an experience. Although we had lots of advice from artist friends who have done the Stampede show before, there is nothing to quite prepare you for the experience.

First I must say that the spirit and resolve of the city of Calgary and the many volunteers who work at the Stampede was remarkable. Many said it couldn't be done in the wake of the devastating floods, but the Stampede went off without a hitch. The art show was impressive- beautiful presentation and attention to detail. We were impressed with the caliber of art there and also the spirit of camaraderie amongst the artists. Sales for us could have been better but it was a learning experience and if Alan does it again next year, he will have a much better idea of how to manage everything.

I am so happy to be home now and back in the studio. I launched immediately into a huge oil painting of a waterfall I photographed on the drive home from Calgary. Quickly realized that I had bitten off a bit too much for the first piece after a 2 week absence from painting. I put the piece aside and started a 34 x 48" acrylic beach painting. It's about 1/3 of the way along and is going well so far. I hope to take it to the Adele Campbell Gallery when I go to Whistler to teach at the end of the week.

The piece in this post is from my trip to Italy. I put the final touches on it this morning. "A Road in Puglia" 24 x 30" acrylic.