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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Special Supper
I choose to paint Special Supper because I felt I needed a challenge! Jeepers! Designing a poured watercolour around lobsters sitting on a lobster platter may not have been my smartest move. Wing and a prayer The thing is, I could see the finished painting in my mind. Which when you start a painting I think you you should be able to do. Breaking the colours out into layers in this case was very complex especially since the painting is basically monochromatic. And red. Once the values started to get deeper, I actually lost my roadmap. I was unable to distinguish between critter and platter. You see, both the real…
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Early wrap to this years challenge
Although this challenge is still ongoing, I am quite done for this year. I managed to complete 17 paintings since it began, but you see a surprise early arrival had me packing up my bags and flying off to Calgary! My beautiful new grandson Henry was born a few weeks early! And so I said to heck with the challenge and hopped on the first available flight. And I do have a few more on the easel waiting for my return. This is the fifth time that I have participated in a 30 Day Challenge. You can see my previous efforts here. With each challenge I like to have a…
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Week 3 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge
I have learned so much with this challenge. It was not enough to commit to a painting a day – I felt the need to add a layer of complexity by adding in a medium that I feel that I am just beginning to understand. I am an oil painter that needs to allow for dry time for glazing. Alla prima is really maybe not my thing – but feel i have been successful with my attempt. Day 11 – Lunch on the Bar The photo does not do this painting justine. The feathers on the bird are quire detailed. What I am finding is that it is difficult 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…
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Sunshine and Shadows floral painting
This sunshine filled floral painting makes me happy. It’s funny, whenever I think I am finished a painting I will often have self doubt. That was the case with this one. I decided to set it aside for awhile and went upstairs to start supper. When I went back into the studio it stopped me in my tracks. It was glowing as luminous as I had hoped it would be! The yellows so sunny and yummy. Poured or sprayed paintings I approached this painting slightly differently by spraying the paint onto the wet surface. I actually thought that it may be less messy. Boy, was I wrong. The coloured mist…
