Closing In [oil, 8”x6”]

A storm is just rolling into the picture and obscuring most of the sun.  There’s a dark heaviness in the air but the sun is so valiantly shining through. 

I painted for the first part of this with a palette knife…  but I find the paint goes on so thickly and unevenly.  I think it could be a fun way to paint but I should get a lesson in how to do it right first :)  After a while I grabbed my brushes and finished up in my comfort zone. 

Shout out to my art blogging friends – would love to have some tips on how to photograph thickly painted surfaces like this.  It’s nigh on to impossible to get the color without the glare from the peaks!  Please message me if you have ideas…  thanks!

Rudiger’s Ranch [oil on board, 9”x12”]

I vowed that I would paint plein air Thursday if the weather held.  Well, it was touch and go.  I decided on go…  but I didn’t go too far.  This is literally a “hop, skip and a jump” from my house.  I live in the furthest most development in Calgary, Crestmont.  The bottom of this painting runs along the western boundary fence for the city of Calgary.  It’s about 400 yards from my house…  but it’s quite a climb to get this view.  Also, it’s a great week to paint a ranch as the Calgary Stampede is in full swing – YEEHAW! 

I was intrigued by the fence/brush line on the right side of the painting so I made sure I included it.  I love the color of Silverberry/Wolf Willow shrubs and they grow everywhere nearby – they can be small trees or just a tiny shoot.  They add a great texture to our landscape.

The clouds were threatening but in the end I didn’t get soaked – although the folks to the north definitely did.  During the course of my painting session the clouds were flying by at an incredible pace.  I decided to sketch them in quickly and then do the land.  However, by the time I had the land forms in I liked the shadow patterns that didn’t match my clouds – and so it goes.  I changed the clouds… several times.  This is pretty much how it felt out there today.  I had to collapse my umbrella when the wind came up – some pretty serious gusts this afternoon.  Despite that, I saw 5 light planes willing to  take off from Springbank Airport this aft – unwise to say the least IMO. 

I had some company even on the topmost road in Crestmont today.  I’m beginning to enjoy stopping to chat with the passersby.  That’s amazing to me because I was terrified of the “watchers” at the beginning of this process in May.  They love looking at what I’m doing and are always kind.  Cheers!

Foothills Fury (21"x14")

This was the scene a week ago heading west out of Calgary on the TransCanada Highway towards Cochrane. A rare fall thunderstorm blew in quickly over the foothills. Five minutes later it was pouring rain. It lasted only an hour before our beautiful weather returned with the sunshine radiating clear and warm from it's position low over the Rockies. We've had some lovely days this fall... and I've plenty of beautiful photos to show for it. I believe I've got enough photos for a lifetime of painting. The issue now becomes remembering the context and feelings that belong to each - without that they're just photos.
This half sheet painting is larger than I'm used to working. Quarter sheets seemed a bit small for the landscapes lately - this give me a bit more room to play with. I had trouble with the sky on this one. In the small format it looks livid and somewhat foreboding which is exactly the mood I'm going for with these storm clouds. However, I needed several applications of paint to darken the lower part of the clouds. It never ceases to amaze me (and it should) how much lighter watercolor paint dries! A single, dark application may have been more effective close up. That said, I like how the faint mountains turned out - just peeking out of the mist and rain in places. Enjoy!