Posts from the ‘Inspiration’ Category

Aug 28

Stuck on Potatoes

Potato - study 1

It seems like it has taken forever for me to finish this painting. Not that I’ve been working on it much – just looking, trying to decide what to do with it. I’m not quite happy with it, but I don’t know what to change. I’ve tried a few things and now I feel like it’s on the verge of being overworked. I think the best thing to do now is to move on to another painting.

I have a couple of ideas. We stopped at the farm the other day and got some colourful zucchinis and beautiful (and tasty) garlic that will definitely end up in a painting. Just look at it:

I would also like to do a little study of tiger lily leaves that I’ve been noticing around my neighbourhood. I like how some curve around perfectly and how others seem to reach the ground by bending at a series of angles – and the pattern of shadows they all make together. I am really drawn to the patterns of nature and how they can be random and organized at the same time. Time to go sketch out some ideas.

Aug 2

Westham Island Herb Farm

I want to share with you one of my favourite places to escape the city. Westham Island Herb Farm is located just outside of Delta, BC. We usually go at least a couple of times in the summer and would not miss the Pumpkin Patch in October. The kids love to see the chickens and pet the donkeys. I love walking through the garden to see what’s ready, and stopping at the cute little general store for some honey and jelly. In addition to the fresh produce, I always come back with lots of painting ideas. The painting in my previous post was inspired by our strawberry run to the farm in June. I have included here three more paintings from the farm (and more to come, I’m sure).

Jul 24

Photo Reference

Elevator in Mayerthorpe with the photo reference

I work almost entirely from photographs. As much as I would love to be outside doing plein air painting, my current life situation (with two small children and a part-time job) doesn’t allow much time for it. So instead, I often travel through my days with a camera close at hand, in case I see anything that might spark a painting idea. I thought it might be interesting to do a series of posts where I show a painting along-side the photo that was used as a reference.

This first one is the grain elevator from my hometown. For me, seeing this image conjures up the comforting memory of the train whistle in the night or early morning. This painting was done a few years ago, and as I look at it I have trouble remembering why I did certain things. You can see that I moved things around quite a bit, which was done to improve the composition. Moving the elevator to the right places it closer to the center and gives it more importance. I removed the pole on the right because I didn’t want the sky to be divided up. Overall, I simplified everything in the photo, which is very typical of the way I paint. My goal is not to copy the photo but to do whatever works to make a better painting – a continual learning process.

Jul 11

Louise’s House

Louise's House

This one took me a while to finish (that’s what happens when the kids are out of school), but I really enjoyed working on it. Louise was my grandma and this is the house where she lived and raised her 11 children. My grandma has been gone for several years now, and although this picture shows the house in disrepair, it brings back great memories and warm thoughts for me (and hopefully for my many aunts, uncles and cousins too).

Jul 5

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Roadside Inspiration

Leaning Fence

I saw this fragile looking fence beside a country road near my hometown of Mayerthorpe, Alberta. When I go home to visit, I always come back with lots of painting ideas from the town itself as well as the surrounding countryside. My brother or dad will usually take me for a drive so I can take lots of photos. It is a task that requires their patience as I continually shout out “Stop here! No, back up.” At this point I often jump out and hike around in the ditch to find just the right view-point. Then I get back in and we repeat this process a mile down the road. I hope they enjoy it as much as I do!