Nova Scotia South Shore

Nova Scotia South Shore

16" x 16" - acrylic on canvas - $150

Trees, water, shoreline are the quintessential Canadian landscape elements that continue to inspire painters, myself included. This work is based on a detail from a photo I took last summer while driving along the South Shore of Nova Scotia. I was in the province visiting good friends and family and enjoying the sights of Canada's Ocean Playground. It's always a challenge to work from a photo reference as they never provide as much clear detail as you can see when in front of the scene. But that also allows for a level of freedom to create, and I guess that's what I like. 

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And now for something completely different.....

Hornucopia
20" x 24"  - acrylic on canvas

I needed a break from painting landscapes! So I trolled through my collection of animal photos and found this gorgeous fellow. I love painting (unshorn) sheep because of their big fluffy bodies and the opportunities they suggest for expressive painting. And the horns are so fabulous. 

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Sand Dunes on the Iles de la Madeleines

Sand Dunes on the Iles de la Madeleine

20" x 24" - acrylic on canvas - $250

At the end of July, I painted a landscape by layering acrylic washes on a primed white canvas, allowing the colours to intermingle with each other, much like painting a 'wet into wet' watercolour. It is a process involving restraint and patience waiting for paint and canvas to dry between layers. But, it's also lots of fun and I really like the painterly effects and spontaneous quality of the finished work and of course the strength of the acrylic colours. 

The painting above represents my second experiment with this technique. The subject is based on a photo of sand dunes I took while visiting the Iles de la Madeleine last August. I love the complementary colour scheme and lately find myself drawn to pinks and reds, and of course green. And if you are wondering where the water is - it's just over the pink band at the top. 

Looking Out the Car Window

Looking Out the Car Window

24" x 30"  - acrylic on canvas - $400

Like many of my paintings,  this one is inspired by the scene in a photo I took, from the passenger car window, 

on my drive to our cottage last May.

Despite often 'talking' about wanting to paint in a 'looser' style, I like to abstract nature and reality through shape and colour, and in so doing finish up with paintings that often look like this new work, which is similar in style to the ones below, painted last winter.

SCORCHER

RADIANT RIVER