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.

Struggling

On the Rocks, 40x30, acrylic

I have really struggled with this piece, and  I am still not sure about it. First try I thought I had tightened everything up, it didn't have any panache. I went back in with a bigger brush and loosened up the trees and sky. I added texture to the rocks with gel medium, and dry brushed over it. It made for an interesting ground to paint over. I will leave it for awhile and try to come back to it with a fresh eye later. It amazes me how often I can look at a piece I was quite happy with and see all kinds of things I want to change.

Changes

Mountain Ridge, Whistler, 30x30, acrylic

I gave this one a hard look because I was taking it to the  Rendezvous gallery last week. I decided it needed a bit of a rework. I posted it before but I felt that I needed to redesign the area around the central trees. I took some of them out and tried to open it up a bit so that the eye could move around more easily. There is always so much to consider in creating a painting. I must take the time to lay a good foundation and do those value sketches, I am always in such a hurry to start a new piece and then I end up going back to fix things. Wouldn't it be nice if each piece just flowed off the brush with no need for revisions.

Trees

Twist and Shout, 30x30, acrylic

I just love to paint trees, they have such wonderful character. These are arbutus trees, they have great colour, rusts, mauves, oranges, ochres and greys, and their trunks and branches twist and turn all over the place. The bark peels back and reveals even more colour beneath. I enjoy stylizing the shapes and colours. This piece was inspired by a trip to Hornby Island a couple of years ago.

Acrylic

Shallow Waters, 24x48, acrylic
In my last post, I had a comment that asked why I didn't paint in oils. When I first started to paint I used oils, it is a beautiful medium. I then worked for years in watercolour, another wonderful medium, each had its own unique qualities. I enjoy acrylics, I am able to glaze and work the paint in layers without long drying times. I can work transparently or in impasto I find it very versatile. I am constantly learning different ways of applying the paint and I enjoy the process. This piece is new, I started on a white canvas and underpainted each area as I went along. I also used round brushes instead of the flats I usually use, fun to mix it up and see the results.

Edges

Sunlit Shore, 22x28, acrylic

I find that working in acrylics I tend to get a lot of hard edges. I am trying different brushes and strokes to help me with softer edges, especially with my tree shapes. This piece is actually a rework of a much older painting that I felt was not working. I am much happier with this one. I tried not to overwork the trees and to leave them with an airy feeling. I find I like to mix it up once in awhile and I try to apply the paint in a new way. I also played with some texture by patting gel medium on the canvas where the rocks would be.

Titles

Shoreline Reflections, Schooner Cove, 36x48, acrylic

.

Does anyone else have the same problem with titles that I do. It is something I never look forward to. Much of my subject matter comes from the same source, and I find it such a struggle to come up with creative titles

I prefer to use something descriptive and not too flowery. I read once that if you don't have some idea for the title at the start then you probably shouldn't paint the piece. Maybe there is some truth in that, you need to understand the focus of the piece and be able to express that in a few simple words. Easier said than done I have found.

Happy New Year!

Shades of Blue, 36x48, acrylic

I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to look at my postings and leave a comment or two. It has been such fun to blog with you all. Here's to a new year with wonderful painting possibilities. One of my resolutions is to try some plein air, when it gets warmer of course! I still don't have anything new to post. This piece is one I really enjoyed doing. The subject is something I love and I had fun with the shapes. I often like to stylize a piece it allows for so much creativity. There is nothing worse than being slavishly tied to a subject. To express yourself with brushwork and colour and shape is what makes the work original. The goal for me is to capture the feel and atmosphere of the place, and to capture some of the joy I felt in being there.