Blues

12" x 12" - acrylic on canvas - $125

I have painted this scene several times before, always different in some way. I wanted to try it again (think comfort food/comfort painting) but restrict the palette to mostly blues. Of course I had to have some fun with the water reflections and those colours. 

Summer Nights, past but not forgotten!

Summer Nights

24" x 24" - acrylic on canvas - $425

I have been working on this canvas for a couple of weeks and it's finally finished. It started out a over a year ago as a very sketchy abstract image using the same palette, but when I saw it recently, languishing against a studio wall, I thought it needed 'more'. I maintained the overall idea of the landscape with trees and a dark sky, but added the foreground flowers and jazzed it up using an acrylic white marker, creating lots of graphic marks and lines. I really liked how the painting evolved and am very happy with it now!

And BTW if it's Thanksgiving Day (or almost) where you are, have a wonderful holiday. 

Lakeside, mixed media fun.

Lakeside

8'." x 9" - mixed media (acrylic & marker) on paper - $25

Trees near water, is a favourite subject matter. Experimenting with different application methods (brush vs knife etc) and then adding media, acrylic markers ....all good fun and I liked the result.

BTW....I paint on archival quality heavy paper designed for acrylic paint.

Giverny II

Giverny II

13" x 12" - acrylic on paper - SOLD

Another painting inspired by Monet's waterlily pond at Giverny. I really had fun with this one, right from the beginning....

This is where (for me) the excitement started, in fact I could have left it here and said 'done', but....

I loved the looseness and dark messy brush strokes here and knew I had to finish quickly or it would end up over worked.

I am really happy with the final work, and it's painterly freshness. Seems appropriate for a 'Monet place'.

Monet's garden in Giverny inspired paintings

Giverny I

12" x 12" - acrylic on canvas - SOLD

Last year we visited Giverny and Monet's house and amazing gardens. It was May and the gardens were ablaze with colour. Since then I have wanted to try to use them as subject matter, but the tree and vegetation 'forms' are difficult to see clearly in photos, so even making drawings from those photos was a challenge. But, everything is a challenge these days....so better to plunge in, try and fail, than not at all. 

This is the first of several I have now painted from these photos and I am having fun and getting looser and more experimental with each. This one is the most 'naturalistic' and  I am really pleased with it. It was a dull day when I took the photo and I maintained that in the work. I didn't get too crazy with the palette, for a change. Saved that for the next ones, LOL. Stay tuned.

French Trees are so Chic

French Trees are so Chic

12" x 12" acrylic on canvas  SOLD
This is a variation on a theme, meaning, I have painted this subject before, varying the colour palette, size and format of the surface, brush stroke and ov erall interpretation. Think comfort food for the art soul. The subject is based on a number of photos I have taken of olive trees in the south of France. I did not get there this year so I am indulging in my memories and taking comfort in familiar shapes and ideas! 

Oppede-le-Vieux and painting

Oppede-le-Vieux

11.5 x 11" - acrylic on paper - $65

Wow, four months have passed since my last post....painting after arm and shoulder injuries has been a trial but things are improving. I have said this before, prematurely, but I see some light, Yeah!

It's a case of 'balance' in every meaning of the word: physical, mental, emotional and when it comes to the 'act of painting' - deciding where and how to position the surface (paper or canvas) so that one's neck and painting arm/hand are not stressed. And of course restricting the amount of time spent painting, which for me is really hard. I am not one of those people who need to do laundry or clean house before painting, LOL. 

At this point I need to paint 'small' and in shorter bursts of time which I think is helping to stay loose and painterly. This work is based on many photos from some plein air painting time in a sweet little village called Oppede-le-Vieux in Provence. And I had fun, as you can probably tell, with the palette. 

I am really happy with this one, and hope you like it too!

Have a great day.