Elaine’s Rock Garden [watercolor, 12”x16”]

The weather here in BC has been spectacular since we arrived Thursday.  The lighting was particularly spectacular yesterday afternoon in the garden.  I loved how the cedars and the hydrangeas were catching the sun.  The hard light on the steps and the rocks was a nice contrast with all that soft foliage.

Today we drove over to Eagle Bay for a visit with Joanne & Don Edie.  They took us on a lovely boat ride eastward to the Cinnemouson Narrows and then a bit north where we cooled off with a swim.  There were eagles flying above us and a small waterfall for music – heavenly.  Ron took lots of great pics as usual :-) 

Tomorrow we celebrate 35 years of marriage!  I’m very thankful for Ron but the time sure has flown since 1975.  We’ve lived in Saskatchewan [3 towns], BC, Alberta [2 towns], and Illinois [2 towns].  We have 3 lovely children, all married, and 8 beautiful grandchildren.  It’s been quite a run. 

Going [acrylic, 12”x9”]

There are lots of these around the neighbourhood in BC’s lake country.  This one happens to be directly in front of the cabin and struck me as quite an interesting subject, particularly the reflections.  This side seems to face shore and departing boats would be going out…  thus the name.  More tomorrow! 

Sun on Copper Island [acrylic on board, 8”x10”]

I’m visiting Sorrento, BC right now and we are having a lovely, relaxing time.  For me that means painting.  I used Golden heavy body acrylics in my little [about 6”x8”] palette with Sta Wet sponge and paper for this one…  it’s working well but very little space to mix, etc.  When I get home again I’m going to set up a much larger one…  I need more room!  It’s nice and small though and that’s a great thing when you’re working outside.  Also, the sides are about 2” deep and that keeps the moisture in longer – critical for success with acrylic paints.

The subject is Copper Island of course…  but the shadows on the distant hill were SO cool as they clung to the form of the mountain!  The boat is NOT well done.  Anybody that’s seen the real Malibu will know that immediately – sorry Chuck!.  I’ll try to fix it later…  cheers!

Bored [ink on westjet airsick bag]

I’ve been in Ottawa for the past 5 days – what fun!  But yesterday I packed in such a hurry that I had nothing but a pen and the airsick bag to doodle on.  About the only thing I could draw from life was my own hand.  hmmm…  good practice anyway!  I have lots of lovely photos from my trip to use for painting reference.  Should be fun! 

Alone on the Ottawa [watercolour, 12”x9”]

This is the view out the kitchen window of Matthew and Christina’s home in Petawawa, Ontario.  Framed by backyard shrubs and towering blue spruce, the view of the wide Ottawa River is spectacular.  The water level is quite low this week and I noticed this tiny island with a small, tenacious white pine tree growing on it.  This little tree looks much like The White Pine in A J Casson’s painting, a copy of which hangs in their living room. 

It feels like I’ve had a long break from painting and I’m looking forward to getting back into the routine and discipline…   soon.  Just now I am enjoying my visit in Ottawa. 

C’mon In! [12”x9”, acrylic on birch panel]

Vicky loves the water… I used a photo taken July 2009 as the basis for this painting.  In that photo, her left arm was waving around like a cowboy’s so I had to do some adlibbing and decided I didn’t need to do much, just suggest that her arm is behind her.  I think it’s fairly convincing.  I really, really struggled with her facial features, particularly her mouth.  I found myself smiling while doing this painting…  the expression on her face is so cute and she’s a bold little gal.  What fun!

For those of you that paint, I thought I would share a few “in process” photos.  The support is a birch panel [1/4” prepared with GAC100 isolation coat].  You can see the warmth of the natural birch glowing through the painting and it pulls the whole thing together with a “warm day” look.

1.  Drawing and highlights…  Left photo below: I increased the contrast on my photo reference and collaged over her left arm as a test.  Right photo below:  After sketching her features on the panel, I painted the lights in her features and reflection with titanium white. 

   

2.  After glazing some hair [quin gold] and skin tones [yellow/red] as a base, I struggled to find the right colors for her facial shadows. The reflections from the water looked to be blue.  Blue, yellow, and red…  all side by side.  At times she looked like she’d been given a serious beating – bruised!  I persisted with what I saw rather than what I think her skin color should be.  Difficult and patchy!

Again, I found the acrylic paint [both fluid and heavy body Golden] dried very, very quickly.  That left brush strokes and bit’s of paint raised.  In this shot I was still struggling with the shape her mouth and just that one little issue and she looked like…  a blonde Rachel [a cousin].

3.  I’ve darkened the water, puttered a bit with her mouth/chin shape,and darkened highlights in her hair.  I’m happier with her facial expression now.  I mixed up a very light skin tone [zinc white, yellow, and red] with glazing fluid.  I glazed all of her skin with this mixture.  The glazing fluid extends drying time, thus giving me more time to change the color up a bit and time for the brush strokes to flatten out.  I think it worked well to unify all her skin tones!   

Onward to the next painting…  Cheers!

Clearing Tomorrow [9”x12”, acrylic on birch panel]

We’ve had some big skies lately here in Alberta.  I love to watch the changes that happen so quickly.  This particular sky was roiling and the winds were high.  But, coming in behind the storm was what looked to be a clear sky, for the morrow.  This is my attempt to capture it in acrylic.  Cheers!

Whirl [acrylic, 9”x12”]

Here’s a happy little painting based on a photo I took of my granddaughter Kiera on the tire swing in Bowness Park last year.  I chose to do this on a baltic birch panel.  This is the first painting I’ve done on wood. This panel had been primed with GAC100 & Golden Transparent Red Iron Oxide both to seal and to tone the wood.  I hoped the toned background would provide the warmth I wanted to convey, particularly in the skin tones. 

It’s been a long time since I used a photo as closely as I did on this painting.  I wanted to work on the paint application and color selection rather than drawing skills.  After I selected the right spot for the focal point [her face], I traced the tire and figure onto the birch panel.  The only changes I made were cropping and adding a few inches on to her swinging dress to emphasize the movement.

 Next, I blocked in the main shapes paying particular attention to the highlights.  You can see the warm color of the panel on this first photo…  the orange/red.  

I continued to develop the painting going back and forth between highlights and dark areas several times.  I used my fan brush for the first time in ages…  worked great for the grass.  Her hair was a challenge.  It’s almost white in the summer and with the sun shining on it in this setting, the top of her head was a halo of warm white.  I added the foreground grasses at the end.  I’m starting to get the hang of this new [to me] technique with heavy body acrylics. Lots of fun…  Enjoy!

Poppies [watercolor, 9”x12”]

Here’s the second of the paintings I did at Reader Rock Garden on Wednesday.  The oriental poppies were just past their prime but I found a few that inspired with their incredibly rich colors. 

We had another gorgeous day today.  It would have been incredible for painting outdoors but I trekked over to Michael’s for an hour and shopped for my art time today…  scored 14 sheets of Strathmore 140lb watercolor paper for 40 cents each!!!  Sweet!

I continue to marvel at how much enjoyment and fulfillment I find in my artistic pursuits.  I had so much fun on Wednesday’s paint out!  I’d love to do that twice per week.  BUT, I must find a way to do it smarter or shorter, or something…  Wednesday was lovely but I can’t have too many Thursdays like yesterday.  Today is much better pain-wise but…  Anyway, to state it in a positive light – I’m thankful  that I have friends to paint with, I live in a beautiful part of the world, and I WILL figure out how to get outdoors and paint somehow without a pain flare!  I WILL.  Anybody with ideas about how I can do this please step forward.

Matthew, our soldier son, arrived back to his home in Ontario for his mid-mission break today.  He’s been in Afghanistan since April.  He has 2 weeks off and then he’s back there until November…  Welcome home Matthew – I am so proud to be your mom!  Enjoy your well deserved time off! 

Indian Paintbrushes [acrylic ~8”x10”]

I’ve used some heavy gel medium with the paint to play with the texture of the flowers.  This is one of the little paintings in acrylic that I’ve really been struggling with.  I’ve concluded that I must simply persevere and my paintings will improve as I go along.  Let us sincerely hope so!!!  Cheers!