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Here we go again for the 4th time
I joined the 30 Paintings in 30 Day Challenge once again It is actually my fourth time participating. I sort of tell myself when ever I commit to it – it is a huge commitment and the other larger pieces I am working on get neglected for awhile. But the sense of accomplishment that I get from doing it is well worth the effort. So far… So far all of these are oil on panels. The square ones are on cradled panel, the 10 x 8″ are on flat panel and will require frames. I am really unsure how long I will stay with the oils as I prefer to…
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On Watch
It is that time of year when I feel like I disappear. I have secret commissions that I am working on and of course, am unable to share. I can share my most recent acrylic painting of a crow – On Watch From how do I do this – to I got this When exploring in Rockwood Park in Saint John, NB last year, I happened upon this crow perched on a rock framed by two tree trunks. I knew instantly that I planned on painting this scene. I took a few reference photos… until my subject flew away. Only the tree trunks that drew me in felt like brackets…
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Country Garden Favourite
Country Garden Favourite is a traditionally painted watercolour of hollyhocks. Hollyhocks and mallow were a couple of my mother’s favourite flowers. And I guess, seeing them through her eyes as a child helped me to gain an appreciation for them as well. I always associate them with an old fashioned country garden. I truly love these blooms for their beauty and the nostalgia. No wonder I love to paint them. They bring me back to Cape Breton Good memories. Salty air. Sunshine. Wonderful memories of a place that was truly wonderful to be a child in. The beauty of blue There is another flower that takes me back there as…
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Social Climber poured watercolour
Poured watercolour of a purple clematis I just had to call this painting Social Climber as there are so many blossoms growing over top of one another. So many rich shades of blues, pinks and purples. When to say when There are times when I am unsure to call a painting complete or not. I find this challenges me more with poured watercolours than traditional painting styles. The paint stains the paper quite heavily when you pour, often creating sharper edges than you intended during the masking process. Pouring makes it harder to edit the painting while balancing the tone and maintaining transparency of colour. When I removed the masking…
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Magenta Magic
Magenta Magic is a poured watercolour painting of colour rich hollyhocks. Every time I do a poured watercolour I learn something new. Or re-learn something over and over. When you remove the masking compound, it changes the colours beneath it. For some reason the colours dull down. So weird. I would have said it was would only happen to yellow. But no, it is that way with most colours. And I really do know this and yet keep getting surprised by it. And that is why I call pouring process underpainting. Although the finishing brushwork is minimal. Magenta or fuschia? That is the question of the day. These two…
