Lost In The Foothills

acrylic 20 x 28

During one of my travels to the Leighton Art Centre,I decided to take a different route and ended up taking a wrong turn. I was lost for a bit, but stumbled upon this beautiful vista in the foothills. I also saw a lot of areas to plein air paint ( haven't done that this year yet). here are the two photos I used as reference after I touched them up a bit.

Longing

'Longing',acrylic 11 x 14
Another in my cow series.

Baby Blue

'Baby Blue', Acrylic 12 x 12.
 This little fella was fun to do. When I applied the texture (gel) at the beginning, I used a brush more than the palette knife to try and mimic brush strokes. Appling the texture overall using a palette knife doesn't allow me the freedom to blend my edges. This way worked quite well...for acrylics.

Busy On The Creek

acrylic 2 ft x 3ft

Another version ( larger) of Policeman's Creek minus the snow and the houses. I just realized my horizon line in smack in the middle, and my mountain is too pointed.I could almost divide my canvas right down the middle for two equal sides. These things are usually not so good in a painting...but somehow it doesn't bother me...much. I did work on varing my greens and adding a pop of colour with the red leaves on the tree...that works well. Looks like I'll have to live with this one and figure out some problems.

Sheep

'White Coats',11 x 14, 'Three Woolies',12 x12.

Amidst working on some landscapes for Mountain Galleries I am also working on some small animal  ( sheep, rosters,cows and horses) canvases for the Leighton Centre's 'Clothesline' Fundraiser,where about 60 invited artists are asked to hang unframed work on clotheslines. There is entertainment, BBQ, children's activities etc, enjoyment for the whole family! It's the centre's largest event of the year.I'm volunteering and looking forward to it!

Pond In The Woods

acrylic 36 x 24.
Painted over another older painting I did about 2 1/2 years ago. I am still amazed at what a difference a couple of years make! I had such fun exploring this one and seeing where all that luscious texture would take me. I'm quite happy with this one. Photo doesn't do it justice. Below is the original painting.

Policemans Creek Canmore

acrylic 20 x 28

Back in my comfort zone with a landscape and my palette knife. This was referenced from one of my many jaunts into Canmore and walking along Policeman's creek. I took many liberties such as the red bushes and removing the houses. I think it came together rather well and quickly.

puddle Play

acrylic 12 x 16
Puddles....all kids love puddles. Ahhhh to be that free again.  . My main objective was to keep it loose and fresh and not overwork it. I'm beginning to think I can only achieve the thick brush strokes using oils.Thanks so much to Kevin S Harding for granting me permission to use his lovely photo as reference ( you can view his work here link )

Space At The Bar

acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14
I really like back light and mood in my paintings and I think this captures it quite well.I'm still using the interactive acrylics. Thanks again to Kristi for letting me use her photos as reference, although I changed it dramatically.

Reserved

'Reserved',acrylic on canvas, 11 x  14

After my initial underpainting, I decided to use my interactive acrylics ( similar to Golden Open ) which stay wet longer. It was easier to blend and soften edges but I still found myself using thin paint ( except a few marks around the table) and using a palette knife is out of the question for these small urban scenes. I love seeing all the brush marks from thick oil paint and maybe I'm fighting a losing battle...but carry on I will.
here is the reference photo from Twincitiesrestaurantblog. used with permission.

The Approach

acrylic, 11 x 14

I'm still experimenting with my urban scenes and this one is done on board...no palette knife. I'm using regular acrylics, but I think I will have less struggle with the soft edges if I use my interactives. However, it is interesting to see the different effects I get. Somehow I just can't seem to use my paint thicker...not sure why...maybe still a bit timid.

I feel it's been so long since I painted and I'm getting behind. Time to get my nose to the grindstone. Although, I really enjoyed my week off and trips to Whistler and Vancouver. I'll post some pics later...or you can see them on my facebook page.

Table For One

'Table For One', acrylic small 9x12 inches

Passage

'Passage',acrylic 12 x16 inches

Finally,after a few failed works, one I'm fairly happy with.It still needs some refining,but I achieved the mood I wanted and worked hard on some soft edges.Still, the paint is too thin. I can definitely see the Dan and Danny McCaw's influence. I really love their work.Link

The photo I used as reference is by Kristi who has a wonderful blog about restaurant foods. Link
She is graciously letting me reference any of her hundreds of photos! Thanks Kristi, it's very difficult  to capture these type of shots  without the knowledge or permission from the customers.

A Revelation

acrylic 9x 12
I know it's not quite finished ( I see some things that need fixing), but I literally painted this in less than an hour, and I got so excited! This was a canvas with failed photo transfer on it, and decided to paint over it and experiment. The surface is much smoother and using interactives, I was able to blend and achieve more of the effects I wanted. So...to achieve the look and feel I need with my acrylics using my palette knife, I need a  smooth surface! Duh! Not much of a revelation, I know, but it's as if a light bulb went off and now I'm itching to do more street scenes.

I'm going To Whistler and Vancouver in a week and hoping to take some great photo shots.if it's raining...even better! Jim Vest from Mountain Galleries just had a show in Whistler and I was very inspired by his street scenes. Take a look.Link

Chillaxing By The Shed Study

quick 9x12 study
I'm not sure how successful this is yet, but I've been working on this idea for sometime. Every time I take a trip to Leighton Centre I come across this shed and horses...I always stop to take pictures. I have a vision in my head that I really want to convey. It's moody, loose with soft edges and areas applied with thick paint. Very hard to do with acrylics, but I'll keep plugging away.

Daises With Glass Vase Revisited

I made some major adjustments so I thought I'd repost it. I like it much better now...and at least the vase isn't so lopsided!

Daises With Glass Vase

acrylic 16 x 16 inches

I'm going to take a few weeks or so to experiment with some different subject matter and techniques. I need a change.  So, I expect I will have a lot of failures along the way.

I will be intermittently going back to my landscapes and my trusty palette knife, so I don't get too discouraged and also keep my gallery happy.

I know I will get frustrated but in the long run it will be good for me and my work. I will be doing still life's, figures and urban street scenes.

For this particular piece, I drew inspiration from Ingrid Christensen her blog  and a flower arrangement from Jeremy Lipking. I didn't do either one justice. I do like the feel of this but I think I could have pushed the color more and used thicker paint...my vase is also lopsided. Not bad I think for my first attempt.

Mike Svob Workshop

The FCA Calgary Chapter ( Federation Of Canadian Artists) hosted a Mike Svob  3 day workshop. Even though his style is very different than mine, I really learned a lot. There is always something to learn from any workshop...even if it's only one thing it's more than you knew before. It's also very humbling.

Mike is a very knowledgeable instructor and more than willing to share information. Each morning he did a demo using a different technique each day. We  painted in the afternoon, except the first day the demo lasted well into the afternoon as he attempted to answer an extraordinary amount of questions. Very interesting.

 The above painting was my attempt at trying it his way... it was unsuccessful, and I ending up using my palette knife

Mike and his first demo painting using the black gesso technique.

With his second demo painting using oil and a more direct method blocking in his larger shapes first.

The last day demo, again using oil on a black gesso covered board.

My attempted at using the black gesso board.

Donna MacDonald trying out Mike's style

Kathleen Theriault

This is the painting I purchased from Mike to add to my meager collection which I am slowly trying to build.

The most valuable lesson Mike was trying to convey and stressed, was the importance of thumb nails and value. I'm being vague, I know, but you would have to take his workshop to really understand  the why and how.

It was a great experience and I really enjoyed meeting new people and having a chance to socialize with my fellow artists.

You can see more of Mike's vibrant work here website

Snow shadow

small acrylic 12 x12 inches.
The last of my winter shadow paintings.

Winter At The Priddis Greens

acrylic 18 x 24
Another scene from the Priddis Greens Golf course and area.

Afternoon in Priddis

acrylic 20 x 26.

A gorgeous afternoon near Priddis ( off  22x toward Bragg Creek) at the private golf course. How nice, even in the winter that they clear all the cart paths around the course. I took some wonderful reference photos and it was so peaceful. I'll have to go back in the summer and check it out. It surely will be busier and I may need permission ( maybe I can rent a cart).

This painting came together quickly as I painted over an old painting full of texture, and loosely brushed in my darks and lights ( no drawing). As I proceeded, I tried to be careful not to overwork it.I'm not sure you can see from the photo, but it has a nice freshness to it. I may tweak it here and there but it's pretty much finished.

Yikes! I only have a couple of more old canvases to paint over. ( And these ones are only a year or two old). I guess I'll have to add the texture myself, before and during, relying on my trusty palette knife.

My reference photo.

The Banks Of Elbow

acrylic, 18 x 36

This is referenced from one of the photos I took while out with the family to Elbow Falls near Bragg Creek. A perfect day with sunshine and melting snow along the banks. I pumped up the color quite a bit and I'm really liking it. It came together quickly.

Below is the original photo and then cropped and slightly photoshoped.

Winter Shadows

acrylic 20 x 30,
I really love shadows in the snow and with all this beautiful sunny warm weather it's perfect to venture out with camera in hand. Tomorrow is another nice day, so I must get out before all the snow melts!

A Misty Tangle

Acrylic, 24 x 24
This is loosely based on a different angle of Tangle Falls, Jasper National Park. I have more waterfalls to do but I'm going to take a break.

 I was out to Elbow Falls and area on Saturday ...the weather was fabulous and I loved all the shadows from the trees in the snow. Min Ma ( he doesn't have a website but he you can google him) has done a lot of paintings depicting trees and shadows and I just have to try my hand at it.

Glow From The Top

acrylic 12 x12
I was quite pleased with the looseness of this one. Totally done with a palette knife except for a little dry brushing at the very end  ( mainly on the trees to blend and soften the edges ) . This little bit of dry brushing also brings out the texture.