"River of Gold" 24 x 36" acrylic

This is the final piece for my group show opening November 14th at the Langley Centennial Museum here in Fort Langley.

Figure & Ground show

This show is what I've been working toward in the past few months. We are four women painters, with very different approaches- I think it will make for a very interesting and diverse show. Our common theme is landscape and figures.

Most fun for me is that my sister, Suzanne, is among the group. She is producing some beautiful pieces for the show. The show opens Thursday, November 14th and everyone is welcome. It will hang until January 8th so there's lots of time to see it if you can't make the opening.

All the artists will be demonstrating at the museum on Sunday, November 24th from 1:00 to 4:00.

problems with purple

Purple is an interesting colour to work with. This painting was under-painted in purple and the top photo shows what it looked like when I first finished it. When I looked at the photo, I realized that I didn't like the purple-ish cast of the sand in the foreground. I repainted it with a warmer colour.

Purple doesn't always show up until you put the painting in daylight. Something about my studio lights makes it look less noticeable. I photograph my paintings outdoors so that's when the dreaded purple sometimes shows up too strong.

The painting is called "Soft Sea Breezes" 24 x 36" acrylic.

Painting with a limited palette

One Mile Lake, Pemberton

Last week Alan and I were at Whistler at the Federation of Canadian Artist's annual Plien Air painting workshop. We had a wonderful time. Hanging out with fellow artists in a spectacular natural setting is my favourite thing to do. Despite a poor weather forecast, we managed to stay dry most of the time.

One of the new features of the workshop this year were goodie bags for every participating artist. We got magazines, brushes, gift certificates and lots of other stuff- pretty fun. Kind of like opening your stocking at Christmas.

One of the gifts in the goodie bag was a set of 3 tubes of Golden slow drying acrylics. I had never tried them before so I decided to do this 16 x 20 painting with just those colours, plus white. I found the paint to have a bit of a scratchy feel, but the three pigments made some lovely colours. I will try them again in another painting. The pigments are; quinacridone magenta, pthalo blue [green shade], and bismuth vanadate yellow.

A big thanks to Susie Cipolla, Lianne Gulka and the rest of the team that created such a great experience for us all. The workshop will happen again next year in Whistler so try to make it if you can- you will learn so much and have fun while you're doing it.

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.