Autumnal Intensity

Autumn Intensity

8" x 10"  -  acrylic on Canson canva paper  - $65.

The weather in SW Ontario where I live, at least some of the year, has turned from beautiful autumnal warmth to bitterly cold, rainy and glum. What can I say, it's feeling like November. Yuck. I painted this yesterday when I was feeling in need of some heat and colour. (Note: while the colours are accurate in this photo, it was difficult to capture the brush marks; the painting is much better in real life). 

Redstone Rocks

Redstone Rocks  -  $75

12.5" x 17" - acrylic on Canson canva paper

When the water in Redstone Lake goes down each fall, the rocks that made up the original shoreline are exposed.

Knock Castle

Knock Castle on the Sound of Sleat  - $75

12" x 16"  -  acrylic on Canson canva paper

This painting is based on one of the photos I took in Scotland in June....

When thinking about how to title this I wondered where it actually was (of course I took no notes!) and because I was on the A851 road at the time and Knock Castle is a known historic site, my iPad camera recorded that data (cyber magic) and I was able to find out the location details. So here it is.....

Knock Castle occupies a rocky headland projecting into Knock Bay on the coast of Skye's Sleat peninsula just over four miles north east of Armadale. The castle is also known as Caisteal Uaine or Caisteal Camus and is seen to its best advantage from beside the recently upgraded A851 which now sweeps past the landward side of the bay. From here the castle stands out against the Sound of Sleat in the background, the scene completed by the rugged landscape of Knoydart in the distance.

Lake Reflections: Light and Colour

Lake Reflections: Light and Colour 

30" x 30" - acrylic on canvas 

I started this painting over a year ago, liking stages 1 and 2 but stopped at stage 3, because I was not sure exactly how I wanted to finish it. I liked parts but knew that other parts needed work.  In the last couple of weeks I have been trying to complete a few paintings that have been lingering, and once again turned my attention to this one. Stage 4 shows what I did with the trees and their colouring.

I finally concluded that I needed to balance the drama of the coloured reflections with a similar dark value in the rest of the water, which I did. It made pictorial sense, and I am very happy with the result. Cheers!

stage 4

stage 3

stage 2

stage 1

Highlander - the bovine variety

Highlander

14" x 16"  -  acrylic on paper  -  $50

This was my submission to the Daily Paint Works Challenge a few weeks back. It was based on a photo I took in Scotland (in the Highlands) in June and I had been waiting for an opportunity to paint him (or is it a her?).

This beautiful beast was with other of her kind grazing alongside a road behind a meagre wire fence. We stopped the car so I could take a few photos and this fellow spotted me right away and made approach as if he knew me. 

Wasn't really sure what she was going to do when she got to the fence, so we did not hang around too long. Here are some photos.

Theme and Variation: Rockwood 3

Rockwood 3

48" x 36"  -  acrylic on canvas  - SOLD

At the end of the summer I wrote a post about creating several paintings using one image, essentially theme and variation. This is the third painting in that series. After a good start in August, I had some interruptions and then challenges with the palette, the composition and how to paint the foliage. However I kept painting, and had a chance  to take a visual break from it while in France. When I returned, and saw it again with fresh eyes, I was very happy with the painting. Finished.   Here is the original inspiration and a few shots showing how it progressed.

At this point I didn't like the placement of the trees, especially the one in the middle!!! I blacked them out and started again, then I began to section or block in the spaces between the trees, and kept painting.

                                  

More Autumn Colours

Autumn Colours

13.5" x 15"  -  acrylic on Canson canva paper  - SOLD

I painted this one a few weeks ago, when at my cottage and surrounded by the glorious colours of autumn. 

Here is the inspiration. I knew I would abstract it from the start and I was very happy with the result. Maybe I need to try this one on a large canvas......