Easter Waterfalls

A couple of tiny waterfall studies for this Easter weekend. 8x 16 and 12 x 12.

Griffth Woods Park, Calgary

'Griffth Woods Still',acrylic 12 x 12 inches

        'Griffth Woods Stroll',acrylic 10 x 20 inches


My two smaller efforts for yesterday and this morning. I had trouble sleeping so I was up and painting in the studio at 6 am, after my morning tea and websites updates. I tried to be bolder with my palette knife strokes and not adjust them too much.  These were both reference from my winter stroll through a portion of Griffith Woods near Discovery Ridge in Calgary. I definitely need to explore that park  more often.

Across The Creek

Acrylic,18 x 36 inches,
Another view from the Fenland Loop Trail and 40 mile Creek. This time I made the red leaves 'pop' a little more, thanks Brian Buckrell

Towards The Light On Fish Creek

acrylic 24 x 36,

My husband says this is different for me. I really enjoyed my walk up Fish Creek with this perspective and the light casting a turquoise glow. The water was almost black and I kept walking towards the light.

It was really hard to photograph though.

revised Glow Along The Creek

 

I'm glad I added leaves to the trees but I think I made the right decision to keep them in shadow. I didn't want to shift the focal area,and by making them pop I felt I would do just that. Above is with and without leaves and the original reference photo. Below are two stages of the painting in progress.

 

Glow Along The Creek

I'm sooooo tempted to put some red leaves on those branches....should I?
acrylic 30 x 60 inches

The bottom of Tangle Falls

'The Rush Behind',acrylic 36 x 60 inches
This was referenced from a photo taken during my visit to Jasper last May. This is the bottom of Tangle Falls,one of my favorites to paint. I must be in a red bush mood lately. Below is a 20 x 20 I did during a break at the Michael O'Toole workshop.

Michael o'Toole Workshop

I had a great three days at Michael O'Toole's workshop his website  very inspiring. I have loved his work for years,and I picked up a few great tips and a painting!I am now the proud owner of this demo piece. I will post some of my work once I touch them up.

Fish Creek

Acrylic 48 x 48
From my walk along Fish Creek in Calgary. I took a lot of artistic liberties with this one as you can tell from my original photo.

Sunwapta's Edge

acrylic 36 x 48 inches,

I came across this great photo of Sunwapta Falls from Anna Davidson. I was really struck by the light and the different perspective. I've painted the falls many time but always with the big oblong rock jutting out. Many thanks to Anna for the use of her photo as reference.

Anna is an Australian blogger/teacher now living in Calgary. Checkout her awesome blog and share in her adventures. Anna's Next Adventure

Coming Through

acrylic 30 x 40 inches,
This is a larger version of a small study,9 x 12, I had done earlier. I painted over an old painting which gave it more texture and allowed me the freedom to get a little looser and add more abstract qualities. Also the main focus was the red tree in the smaller painting ( see below), but I wanted to shift the focus on the back waterfall. I really like this one.

Victoria Falls

I'm finished my large 5 x 4 foot painting of Victoria Falls. It took me longer than I expected and I had a hard time knowing when to quit. I hope I haven't overworked too much. Quite pleased with how it turned out. Location is in Yoho National Park,above Lake O'Hara in BC.

Victoria Falls Wip

Yesterday before I decided to take advantage of our gorgeous weather and head to Griffith Woods FaceBook Photos ,I worked on my large painting of Victoria Falls. I'm about halfway through. I've photographed my progress below. Total time so far is about 2 1/2 hours.

I started with a taped diagonal grid ( no measuring needed),I usually only do this for large canvases.

 

  I then mixed up several dark colors with gel, and applied with a large palette knife.

I do the background mountains and sky with a little more detail but will go back to it at the end.

I brush on some lines to have an idea where my water is going.

 

I loosely work on the middle and foreground,still using the palette knife. I like to have all the canvas covered first and fast. I don't worry too much about color.Now the fun begins with more detail,dry brushing and glazing.