The Colour of Light

The Colour of Light
36" x 48"  acrylic on canvas  SOLD

I finished this painting in December and have been mulling over what to title it. It is loosely based on a photo of trees that I took when in British Columbia a few years ago. I love the colours and the painterly brushstrokes. In trying to find an appropriate title I came across of poem by Australian poet Dorothea MacKellar called The Colours of Light. Her use of language in describing colour resonated with me and I think illustrates much of what I was trying to do with a paint brush. If you would like to read her poem - you can here. In order to avoid copyright problemos I altered her title, slightly. Enjoy the Easter weekend! 

  

Life Drawings and Distortion

one

Every once in awhile I have the opportunity to attend an open studio session and draw the figure, from life. It's a wonderful way to spend three hours, slow down one's mind, and practice the art of perception (drawing what you see), not conception (what you know). I am at a stage in my art and life where creative interpretation is more important to me than photographic perfection, and so I like to do partial blind contour drawings of the posed model. This means that once I place my pen on the paper and begin to draw, I look mostly (hence 'partial' - 90% of the time) at the model, and almost never at the drawing on the paper. I don't worry about making a 'good' drawing, or accuracy in proportions, or modeling to make it look three dimensional and real. What I do work at is seeing and drawing what I really see in front of me. This is a great exercise in concentration and over time drawing skills do improve. However, my drawings are always somewhat distorted - and that's what I like. The degree of distortion is determined by how much I look at my drawing during the 5-10 minute poses, and how often I take my pen off the page and look at the drawing to re-position it in order to 'correct' or exaggerate proportions. 

two

These three drawings (approximately 17" x 14") were each completed in less than 10 minutes in this manner. At the end of the pose I looked at the drawing, and added arbitrary lines - to the figure, and to define the negative space, and to create shapes rather than allow lines to dangle. I quite liked the overall effect of that technique and will try it when drawing other subjects.

three

Green Grow the Rushes

Green Grow the Rushes
10" x 10"  acrylic on canvas  SOLD

Not sure that these are rushes (bull rushes??), but it was spring when I took the photo on which this little painting is based - and to me those yellow-greens suggest that season better than anything. It's what we need right now, I think.

Summer in Provence

Summer in Provence
24" x 24"  acrylic on canvas  SOLD

If you have ever driven along country roads in France - you have seen this kind of landscape - yellows fields on either side of a route bordered by tall platane (or plane) trees. I have painted this kind of view before but really wanted to do a larger version. This painting is based on one of my photos from last year's trip to Provence, after my painting course, when I visited my friend Josiane.  I have become enamored with the element of shape in recent paintings - and wanted to emphasized them here - in the cast shadows, foliage mass and sky holes.  I restricted my palette to more 'natural' landscape colours - cranked up just a notch. I love this subject so much I might just do it again, using a more fauve palette - what do you think?

The Not-So-Plane Tree

The Not-So-Plane Tree
30" x 40"  acrylic on canvas  
This is for sale - contact me for price if interested.

This painting was inspired by the plane tree or platane, found throughout Provence,  providing welcome shade in town squares, and along country roads.  I saw these majestic trees everywhere in France last summer, took lots of photos and have been thinking about painting them ever since.

What attracted me to them was their distinctive bark and the shape of the branches as they split and divided at the top of the trunk. The mature bark peels off in irregularly shaped patches exposing the inner bark – white, gray, green and yellow patches giving the tree its mottled appearance.

If you want to learn more about this tree go here, and if you want to hear about the unfortunate plight of the platane along the famed Canal du Midi, go here.

As for the painting - well of course I introduced lots of colour into the bark, and then stylized the canopy of leaves against a sun filled sky.  I am very happy with the finished painting - in fact I love it!

Down River

Down River
20" x 16"  acrylic on canvas  
This is for sale - contact me for price if interested.

This is one of the paintings I have been working on over the last two weeks - actually a re-working of one I posted a few months ago. I just felt it needed more.

Molly with Attitude

Molly with Attitude
20" x 16  acrylic on canvas  NFS

My black lab Molly has, once again insinuated herself into a painting. She sat nicely because she knew she would get a few pieces of kibble after I took her photo. She will do anything for kibble. As always she was fun to paint.

Eramosa River View

Eramosa River View
24" x 20" - acrylic in canvas - SOLD

I have been working on four different paintings over the last week and each is starting to come together.  I finished this one yesterday - a view based on a photo (see below) that I took last October when walking with my husband and dog. What attracted me to this scene (and most scenes I paint) were the elements of 'water, land and sky'.  As I am not a plein air painter I feel quite free to interpret the chosen view in a creative, personal way - and begin with simplifying and abstracting the shapes of the elements, refining and recomposing. Colour and palette is determined through experimentation until harmony is achieved and expresses my visual experience of time and place.  Though it was not a sunny day when I took this photo, the air was crisp and pleasant and the place was peaceful save for the sounds of nature.

 Eramosa River at Rockwood Conservation Area,
near Guelph ON, 

Pink Florida Cottage

Pink Florida Cottage
16" x 16"- acrylic on canvas - SOLD

I am currently in sunny southwest Florida where there are many charming little houses, surrounded by tropical vegetation including sea grapes. The latter grow as trees with wildly curving trunks, or are manicured into hedges. I just love this tree and its organic, almost art nouveau character.

Blue Water

Blue Water
14" x 18"  acrylic on canvas  
This is for sale - contact me for price if interested.

Another painting based on a detail from a photo I took at Rockwood Conservation area, near where we live in Ontario. This is a favorite place to walk in the late fall, winter and early spring when the area is closed to campers, but walkers and their dogs are still allowed to roam through. Below is the photo taken from the lookout over the lake - can you find the detail I used? I took a break from colour intensity with this one - and am quite pleased with the muted palette that lends a serenity to the scene.

Red Hot

Red Hot
    10" x 10" -  acrylic on canvas  - SOLD

As you can see I like colour - and lots of it! This is a small painting based on a 'drive-by shot through the car window' on the way to my cottage. I started with a cad red underpainting and decided to just let it shine through.