Nutcracker

Fierce little nutcracker......looks like he is on a mission. Victoria and I painted nutcrackers today, listening to the music since we are going to see The Nutcracker performance in Toronto this weekend.

Evening Sky

Now that the weather is getting grey and cold, I am resorting to photos taken throughout the summer and fall. This is behind our house, in my favourite cornfield. Mary and I gleefully got together to paint this scene this afternoon.

Last Glow

The cornfield behind us at sunset, shortly before the last rows were cut. Now the field is ploughed with a thin layer of snow on it.
I am getting a glare when photographing and therefore losing a lot of definition. Hope to have a solution soon.

DPW Painting Challenge - Lawren Harris inspiration

Today, Mary and I decided to do this week's DPW Challenge, which to paint something in the style of an artist we admire. Since the challenge is based in the US, we decided to give some Canadian input and picked the Group of Seven's Lawren Harris, whose work we both love and admire. His work has such clean simplicity, his colours are so joyful. I often go to the AGO in Toronto to visit the Group of Seven collection and have copied one of his Arctic scenes for learning purposes. This scene is from my summer visit to Tofino, Vancouver Island.

Smooth Sailing

Decided to do a larger painting of a sketch from this fall.

Indian Summer

When I came home, there was so much to do and catch up on, but it was Indian Summer - the last of the warm days. Mary and I went out for a plein air sketch by the river. We had great ideas of doing a second one but that was dashed by the early sinking sun and therefore cold fingers and stiff paint. Ahhhh, the joys of northern plein air!

Touch of Magic

This was my last quick little painting that I did at the end of the workshop. As I painted, a little deer came out of the dark thicket, walked around and disappeared again. There is always something magical here in the south!

At the Point

Just came back from a workshop with Ian Roberts in South Carolina. We did a lot of powerful exercises to increase our skill at temperature....plus always hue, value and intensity.....hard work!
Most days were nice and sunny but the one day that we went out to paint a scene was cold and windy. I aimed to be out of the wind and climbed up to the edge of the forest. The scene from there was rather favourable...I could see the water.

From the cranberry patch

Cranberries grow very close to the ground, so picking becomes an interesting exercise. When I looked up, this is what I saw in front of me.

Little Red Leader

Edge of Cornfield

Fall Forest

In the last few days, went out with some friends painting. I am still enjoying the cad orange/ultramarine blue/white combo and will stick with it for now.

Outdoor Study

It has been a busy week, and today an overfilled day but the weather was too beautiful to miss so I parked the easel on the driveway and did a quick orange/blue/white study....which is teaching me some great things. I think that my most enjoyable subjects right now are trees, paths/roads and the three colour scheme.

Smith's Field

Today I went to the field behind our house to paint the tree line while the cornfield was still standing. It is a pleasure to paint with just orange, blue and white because it helps me focus on values and temperature.

Shaw Woods

Yesterday was a gorgeous warm day and I went out to the Shaw Woods, 120 acres of old growth forest, to see if the sumac had changed colour yet. I found a patch that was half way there, with the sun slanting in on the front trees and a nice dark backdrop of forest. I really zoomed into the scene for the light effect, but might paint this again with a wider angle....maybe when the sumac is fully red....

Linda's Vision

Went outside to paint a value study for this week's DPW Value Challenge. Instead of black and white, I used ultramarine blue and cadmium orange (and white) for this week's DPW Value Challenge. We were to simplify a scene using only 4 values, but I got a bit carried away and have far more than that. The blue and orange helped me with the added aspect of warm/cool relationships. I think I will go out more often with this very limited palette.

Poppies & Tea

This was painted for one of the DPW Challenges - My Mug.

Farndale

Out again with Mary. We are eager to take advantage of these lovely days.

Watching the Children

There is a lone sunflower in the garden, surrounded by echinacea and black-eyed susies. Sometimes I need to try new ways of expression, and this one was inspired by the paintings of Brian Rutenberg.

Turkey Lane

Mary and I went out to paint today, into the corn field behind my house. A wild turkey crossed the path, and then while we painted, a whole flock came out of the corn row.
I was all enthused to paint another rectangle challenge, but quickly got into the painting and completely forgot. A weak sun was shining through some fine clouds, so everything looked soft and gentle.

Low Ceiling

Seastar

Sometimes I have to express jubilant passion and painting something large and unusual, like this big seastar at Chesterman's Beach in Tofino. I was told that it was not a starfish but a seastar....sounds good to me. These fascinating colourful flower-like creatures come out of the sea for a peek during low tide, and then disappear again.

Jennings Road

Finally no bugs or heat....so Mary and I went out to paint along the Ottawa River. We wanted to find a simple composition - horizontals, verticals, not just green etc. It was overcast and a bit cool but wonderful to be out, and to be painting together again.

Lawn Ornaments

Outside of The Empress Hotel in Victoria BC, flagging the sidewalk are these two weeping sequoia trees, that look like afghan dogs. I just had to paint them - in cerulean and orange - to stay with the surreal effect.

Snow Capped

It is wonderful to paint mountains - shapes and values are big and definite. This is from crossing Vancouver Island from the east side to the west.

Beacon Hill Peacocks

I have been away, to Vancouver Island. Although there was no opportunity to paint, I did take a lot of photos. There were just so many subjects, so many interesting shapes to paint. These birds were running free in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria.

Road Trip

On our way home from Hudson Valley NY.

Ian Roberts Workshop in Meaford, Ontario

Everything came together in this one....standing in the shade helps.

Ian's Workshop

The Pond - Ian was amazing, again. He teaches such strong basics and pushes us to really see. He goes out of his way to find perfect locations, like this pond on private property. The owner was delighted, as were her dogs. There was a lot of green....

Ian Roberts Workshop

We were outside from 8:00 am until about 7:00 pm with a break at lunch. The sun was hot, the days were gorgeous and our brains were working overtime in order to get it all - shadows were too warm or too dark, colours were too saturated or too dull..or too light/dark, edges needed to be released, where is the focal point? what are we looking at? what are we saying? how does it read? And shapes.....keep it simple! It looks so easy.....

Ian Roberts Workshop

Just back from a week long intensive workshop with Ian Roberts in the beautiful GREEN Georgian Bay area in Ontario. We started off with exercises that need repeating....this one is seeing shapes, so we painted only rectangles.

Gavin Workshop - the ScoutMaster

Last painting of this fabulous workshop - we used a lot of turp to draw and "coax" the figure out, so the paint is a bit light and faded looking, especially in the photo. All of the paintings are unfinished....the point was to get it down quickly without fussing, then go onto the next painting. Ellen was great for explaining things, demonstrating and then making sure that we experience it. She was full of sayings and analogies that were so funny but also hit the mark and were therefore easy to remember.

Now we are back from the US, and lucky me, am leaving on Sunday for an Ian Roberts workshop in Meaford Ontario. This is really getting into the groove.....

Second Day at Workshop

Today Ellen started with a demo and then we painted....and so much was learned. My painting did not photograph well, and I think I attempted too big a project with a horse AND a figure which became a portrait. I see that the hand is still off....but it was a very good day.

Equine Workshop with Ellen Gavin in Hudson Valley NY

Francesca and I are enjoying a wonderful workshop of painting horses and dogs with Ellen Gavin who is an excellent instructor. She is teaching us to be loose while staying true to powerful basics. We have to paint fast, not finish but go on to the next and the next.... Although it is about horses and dogs, it is really just about shapes, values, edges etc etc.

The Greenville Arms Inn is a wonderful place for a workshop. We are enjoying the good life!

Doodle

Right now, I am enjoying painting roosters for a change of pace. Last fall, I got some photos of prize winning roosters at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. This guy has a flat comb - don't know the name of the breed, but he had attitude.

Himself

Pearly

Time for something whimsical.....

Lush June

What I didn't paint are the bugs....water and deep forest = lots of mosquitoes.

MacKenzie King's Park

This was painted from a sketch while in Chelsea and Wakefield Quebec, in early May.

End of the Road

Up the Road

It was sunny but cold and windy last week when I went out to paint with friends, so I did several thumbnail sketches and painted when I came home.

Early May

Wishing

so hopeful for spring to burst.......

Another Challenge

this week's daily painter's challenge - a self portrait....

Lily

Challenge - Chicken

The latest challenge from the Daily Painters.

Spring Run-off

Finally we got to go plein air painting again and it was perfect - gurgling water, sunshine and fresh air, friendly landowners who invited us for return visits.....I think I was hopeful and painted the land more green that what it is.

Challenge part 2

O'Grady's Cow

It was time to paint a cow, and being a beige cow (not too far from white) gave me lots and lots of greys to worth with.

Ceramic Bunny

This is my submission to the DPW challenge for this week - doing a small painting one stroke at a time, mixing a new colour with each stroke. Ohhhh is that a test...but an excellent exercise!