New Stuff

"Fort to Fort Riverbank" 24x36, acrylic

I will be at the Birthplace of BC gallery on the Aug long weekend. This is an annual event with the gallery  artists painting in the gardens, it always draws a good crowd and is lots of fun. This painting is named after the Fort to Fort trail that runs along the river in Fort Langley where the gallery is situated. If you live close by please come by and check it out. I have not posted for awhile and I hope now to get back into the swing of things, always so many distractions.

Fundraiser

Tug on the Fraser, 15x30, acrylic

I am participating in a Fundraiser for our local hospital foundation next Saturday. This will be my third year, the first year I sold 3 large pieces, the second year I took large work and buyers were more into smaller pieces. So this time I am working on stuff around 12x16. More and more I have been painting larger canvases and I really enjoy the energy I can put into bigger brushstrokes etc,  I am finding it a challenge to paint smaller, I seem to get caught up in detail. So this is a good experience for me, I like to have a looser more painterly effect so I will keep at it. This is a familiar scene from the Fraser river where I live, the tugboats pull the large log booms up the river to mills.

A Magical Place

Longbeach, Tofino, 30x30, acrylic

Another painting of one of my favourite places.  The area around Tofino and Ucluelet on the west side of Vancouver Island is just magical. The beaches are long and full of sunbleached driftwood,  the trees are windblown and wild. The rocks are rugged and waves pound the shore. Wonderful trails lead through the rainforest down to the beach. I never seem to tire of it, even after visiting for over 30 years. It feels like the edge of the world and I feel like an explorer. I particularly liked the tree shapes in this piece and the natural opening through the rocks pulls the viewer through and asks you to explore with me.

New Gallery Space.

Standing Tall, 40x30, acrylic

One of the galleries that I am in, the Jenkins Showler, is opening up a brand new space in Morgan Crossing, South Surrey, B.C. I have seen the new space and I think it will be beautiful, the location also seems to be very good. It is always exciting to be part of something new, this is a new piece for them. They hope to have things up and running by early May.

Texture and Colour

Sentinal, 30x24, acrylic

I have been wanting to add more texture and interest to my paintings. I want to enjoy the actual physical quality of the paint and layer and glaze to create more interest in the surface. In this one I toned the canvas with a strong bronzy colour and then built it up using some translucent, opaque and transparent layers. I let a lot of the original colour come through in the rocks. I also built up texture with gel medium. I find that I am excited to try something similar in the next piece, I need to really play around and practice this kind of thing.

I am still here

Distant Shores, 30x40, acrylic

I thought I had better get a post up before everyone starts to think I have quit painting. I seem to have been very distracted lately and also working on some experimental stuff. I would like to get more depth and interest in the paint layers, so I will post anything worthwhile soon. This is a new one, the inspiration came from a hike along the Wild Pacific Trail out of Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. Such powerful stunning wild scenery, a painting could never do it justice. I love to work with a complementary palette, this one being blues and oranges. Unfortunately I just noticed there is some shadowing from the photo in the upper right , oh well you get the idea.

Update

On the Rocks, 40x30, acrylic

Well I couldn't leave the last one alone so I thought I would post the updated version. I am happier with this one. My main aim is to capture a sense of the place and to try to convey the rugged beauty of it. I try to keep in mind the importance of interesting shapes and to keep them as simple as possible. I find it exciting to anticipate the next painting and all the possibilities. This painting on a textured ground was interesting I may play around with it some more.