My Painting Process
My Painting Process presents insights, techniques, materials and behind-the-scenes looks of how my artwork develops and comes to life.
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Thoughts of Spring
I can’t help myself, whenever the sun come out this time of year I get spring fever! The days are noticeably longer and I imagine the sun is actually warmer. So much so that I started a painting of Rockwood Park in the spring. I needed a change of colour…just kidding. Fresh off the Easel Spring Promises 24 x 20” oil on gallery wrap canvas I’m so pleased with this painting. You may recall that I have been focusing much of my Plein Air work on painting skies. What I have learned from all this is that the sky needs to be painted in one session. It is so important…
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My Journey into Plein Air…so far
This is a Learning Journey Initially my goal was to focus on sea and sky, and in particular, skies. For years I painted with watercolours mainly because I was confident with the media and it’s portability. To be fair, when I started Plein Air painting I was pretty much an accomplished studio watercolour painter. I thought the transition to Plein Air would be easy for me. For the most part it was. My first attempt with water mixable oils was another story altogether. I was attempting to paint in a high altitude desert in Wyoming. I certainly didn’t know my materials and certainly was unprepared for the dry mountain air. …
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My Painting Process
Phase 1: Exploring the concept Often I will have an idea of something I would like to explore as a subject to paint. My first step is to scan through thousands of my reference photos looking for that aha moment. Should that moment of inspiration escape me, I make a plan for how to get there, thumbnail sketches, wishful thinking, researching etc. Most often this will include a photography road trip or several. Quite often it will include my favourite – a Plein Air painting session. I typically work in series so I’m pretty specific with what I am looking for and what I think I want to achieve (mostly). …
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Colours of Ode to Joy
Often when you paint your love of painting shines through. I am so happy with the feeling I captured with this painting – it feels happy and joyful to me. Colours of Ode to Joy It feels like joy. Yesterday, I completed this painting. I felt so happy when I looked up from my palette and realized there was nowhere left to put paint. I stood back to look at it and smiled and signed it. I am so happy with the feeling I captured with with this piece – it feels happy and joyful to me. Within minutes of signing it, I had a friend visit my studio. This…
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Golden Glow and a January update
I really cannot get over how fast time is going! Christmas came and went and it’s now mid-January! I’ve been working primarily on a large oil painting – Golden Glow, along with several poured watercolours. Golden Glow was a labour of love. I found the degree of detail in the treeline to be almost daunting initially. I studied my reference photos for a long time before I actually started. I wanted to ensure the painting was fresh and organic and I tried not to make it too formal. In preparation for this painting, I did a number of Plein Air studies in the Hampton area and also did a study…
