Mar 3
Maple Trees, Jericho Park 8″ x 10″
I love painting trees. That is not to say that it’s easy. I chose to paint this complicated tangle of branches for practice.
I would like to do another painting of these trees in the fall, when the leaves are bright red.
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Feb 5
Lupines, Jericho Park 10" x 8"
I had a bit of trouble with this painting but after sitting with it for a week, I don’t mind it so much. I often struggle with paintings where both the foreground and background are full of complicated shapes. I had to keep reminding myself to simplify and not to paint every leaf and blade of grass.
These lupines grow in a wild field in Jericho Park. In June, it is a lovely sea of purple and you can hear a steady buzz of happy bees.
Jan 24
The Red Steps - 14" x 11"
My children and I walked by this house many times in the summer, on the way to a near-by playground. Actually, it is part of a row of townhouses. I imagine it must be fairly old, but I always admire how well-kept it is. The shutters, the siding, the flower pots, the garden and, of course, the red steps all looking their best in the hot afternoon sun.
Too often I see character houses such as these with development signs out front, soon to be demolished. If you see a strange woman rushing around the neighbourhood taking photos of old houses, it’s probably just me.
Low Tide 8" x 8"
I recently did a painting similar to this one at a smaller size (see it here). That painting was posted on Etsy, which gave rise to a message from a new client with a request to do a customized painting, as a gift for her mother.
The image reminded my client, Carrie, of the landscape where she grew up. She asked me if I would consider adding a hawk to the image, and explained the meaning behind it:
my grandma died when my mom was 5 or so. Whenever she sees a hawk, she feels like it is her mom keeping an eye on her and letting her know everything is o.k. Consequently, I now think of my mom when I see a hawk.
Knowing that this painting had a personal meaning to someone else made it extra special to work on. I hope Carrie and her mom enjoy this painting as much I enjoyed working on it.
Cat Nap 3" x 3"
As I painted this little cat, I kept thinking that I need to put more animals into my artwork. When I was younger, I drew only animals – cats and horses were my favourites. Below you’ll see a glimpse into my sketchbook from 1998. That seems like such a long time ago, yet I can still remember working on these drawings. Somehow my passion for filling up sketchbooks with animals has evolved into my obsession with capturing beautiful little scenes around me. If, in 13 years, I look back on the artwork I did today, I wonder what I will think. I wonder where it will take me?
When I work on tiny paintings, I often do 2 or 3 at the same time. I have found that there is a large time investment for one, but to do an additional one or two does not add that much time to the process. For instance, if 1 tiny painting takes 2 hours to complete, I can probably finish a set of 3 in 2.5 to 3 hours. Of course, each painting does not come out the same. They share the same general colours and composition, but I try not to be too picky about making all the details match. Each one is truly an original. Can you spot the differences?
Low Tide - two 3" x 3" acrylic paintings
Sep 13
Retired in Nova Scotia 18" x "24
Sometimes I have trouble knowing when a painting is finished. When the painting is nearing completion, I have this need to tinker – brightening here, darkening there, adding more detail, fine-tuning the colour, and on and on it goes. The trick is knowing when to stop, before the painting becomes overworked. So, I am taking a break from this one. I think it might be done, but I’m not sure. I have to look at it for a while.
By the way, I’ve painted this boat before (several years ago). You can see the first version on my home page or here.
Aug 15
For a while now I have been thinking about redesigning my website. Ideally I’d like my new website to include: a gallery of all work, a blog to present new work and share news, and a store.
Currently, my original paintings are for sale on Etsy and prints are available on Imagekind, but my plan is to be able to sell items directly from my own website. Etsy and Imagekind are great sites, but they don’t give me the kind of control that handling my own sales would. For instance, if someone purchases a print from my Imagekind store, I do not have access to their name or info. I am never able to thank those who have purchased prints of my work. (So if you are one of those people, I thank you now! I was not ungrateful – I just didn’t know it was you!).
Anyway, the process has begun. I am slowly working away at my new site. I’m sure this will be a long process – there hasn’t been lot of free time these days with the kids being out of school. On the rare occasions that I have a block of time to myself, I have to choose between painting and working on the website – and painting is just way more fun.
This is a very, very preliminary look at what I’ve been working on:
Jun 21
Bridge in Jericho Park 14" x 18"
I am starting to lose track of the number of paintings I’ve done of Jericho Park. You must be getting an idea of just how much time I spend there. I love this little bridge and I’ve painted it before. It is surrounded by huge trees, making it great practice for painting dappled light and shadows.
May 30
Down by the Tracks
This is another little picture from my hometown. It provided me with a great opportunity to practice painting snow. If you think that snow is white, you should try painting it sometime. I saw endless colours there, but chose several shades of blue and beige to render it. I don’t feel 100% happy with the result, but I do love the contrast between the cool blues and the bright red rail car.
I also had lots of fun painting the Canada logo – can you tell that my other job is Graphic Design…
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