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Bay of Fundy Blues
Bay of Fundy Blues is my first completed oil painting for 2020! Mussel shells have always been one of my favourite subjects to paint and I always come back to them. It seems like a rather long time since i posted last. I’ve been quite busy. I completed a few Christmas commissions along the way – which I am unable to share, then the holidays with lots of family and we don’t have to get into the never ending sinus cold/infection fiasco. So many reasons! But I am back at it once again. Mussel shells revisited It is interesting how I keep coming back to subjects that I thought I…
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Autumn poured watercolour painting
Autumn. There is something about the changing seasons and the arrival of the clean, fresh autumn air that inspires me to pull out all the colours. Not to ever attempt to compete with Mother Nature, but to work in harmony and try to capture the essence of the season. Pouring with watercolours There are so many reasons why I love the process of pouring with watercolours. Often I will start a painting after I have completed a few detailed larger pieces. It almost feels like therapy for me. I get to splash and splatter paint in a much freer manner than usual and there is an element of tension or…
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Snack Attack
While sitting on the beach with my daughter and two grandsons, patiently waiting for the arrival of baby boy #3, we were entertained by crows swiping food from the strollers and picnic basket of unsuspecting beaching people. A Tale Unfolds – Snack Attack Sneak thieves What was most interesting with their behaviour is that they watched the people to ensure they were distracted and not watching their stuff. I had my camera trained on them for a long time happily taking photos. One crow in particular perched on the back of a stroller and picked it’s way through the treasure in the back. Only after taking many photos and marvelling…
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Memories of Addo National Park
Last year we had the wonderful opportunity to travel to South Africa. And what would a trip to SA be without going on a safari? We were very fortunate to be able to go to Addo Elephant National Park and spend a couple of days there. I think this needs experience needs to be captured in a series of painting – both with poured watercolour and large oils. Safari We were so excited to be on safari in an open jeep that for the first few hours we did not even mind the rain! We knew South Africa had been in a long draught so we would not dare to…
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Striking Visitor
Almost always when I am working on a painting the title just comes to me. They literally name themselves. This painting was no exception however, I did’t feel right about using it as it was on the naughty side. It took me a long the time to come up with the alternative Striking Visitor. Yet, that is exactly the type of title I wanted. Draws attention to the pileated woodpecker and sound a bit regal or impressive. When you are fortunate enough to see one – it is is a big deal. They stop you in your tracks. The winding painting process This painting was a long time in the…
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A nice story
I love a nice story. And I have one to share with you. Awhile back I offered to donate a pet portrait as a fundraiser for a group (Red Head Strays helping cats strut) that works tirelessly to rescue and foster cats. I thought I would have completed the painting in January,but Mother Nature had other ideas. I think you know the story. Snow. Rain. Flash freezing. Flash flooding! inside my studio unfortunately. And of course, pretty sure you know how this went – the basement and studio mess as a result. Back to the story Once upon a time there were two little girls who liked to swing on…
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Nut Case
Once upon a rainy day this Eastern Grey Squirrel was perched on our deck railing under our bird feeders. Happy and proud. Perching just for me waiting to be photographed. Earlier we had decided we wanted to feed the blue jays…but the squirrels had a different idea. Omigoodness the melie Blue jays tend to loudly announce their arrival. Shrieking in their arrival. The squirrels are aggressively willing to defend their stash. There were a number of interesting clashes of wit and will of feathers VS fur that provided us with endless hours of entertainment. It may be a rather selfish thing to feed the birds. This fella was perched just…
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Spring Scentsation
Spring Scentsation is a relatively large oil painting of a soft and fragrant while lilac that grows on our property line in the back yard. There is quite a story getting the painting to this point. Inspiration is everywhere A few years back when visiting my daughter, we went for many walks around her area in Vancouver. It seemed to me that almost every property we walked by had a tree line border framing in their yard. They were really well designed. Tall trees with shrubs at their base. There really was no need for weeding as the growth from the shrubs kept them in check. Everything grows uber…
