Little Farm in Pemberton

I visited this little farm a couple years ago up by Pemberton, British Columbia. A beautiful area surrounded by snow crested mountains and small family farms. It was very relaxing to put paint something loose instead of the detailed projects lately. I hope you enjoy this little painting.



Little Farm in Pemberton
6" x 6" oil on stretched canvas
© 2008

untitled, a Grapey Painting

The scan of this painting just doesn't do it justice... the colours here look rather dead but in real life it is much more vibrant. I got much more done on this painting (previous posting of this painting)... the stems, reflections, and even a waterdrop. I have all the grape colour in now so today I will continue working on the reflection of the light to punch up the painting a bit.



untitled, a Work in Progress
6" x 6" oil on stretched canvas
© 2008

Why, Hello There

Yesterday was not a very productive day, though I did manage to finish this little one. I still much work to finish up on my parents house and with their visit arrival coming very soon I really need to finish up that painting. So, most of this weekend painting will be that painting and, while its paint is drying, I'll be working on my two other smaller oils (the candied apple and the grapes)


"Why, Hello There"
3" x 4" watercolour
© 2008

In other good news, I received a letter from the South Delta Artists Guild that one of my paintings has been accepted to the 3rd Annual Oil & Water show this summer. The show is from July 24 - August 31 2008 at the Kiwanis Longhouse Centre for the Arts in Tsawwassen, BC.

A Little Ball of Sunshine

I am reminded of a little beam of sunshine when I see this guy... perhaps it is because I painted him as the sun started to shine after days of rain. I suppose the rain hasn't fallen here for a few days... though I have let him dry before scanning.



"A Little Ball of Sunshine"
2.5" x 3.5" oil on gessoed canvas paper
© 2008


I've been experimenting with colours to use on these little guys. This one is painted almost entirely with Daniel Smith oil paints: Asphaltum, Indian Yellow (a very wonderful rich orangeish-yellow), lemon yellow, and indigo. Other colours used were titanium-zinc white, alizarin crimson and a phthalo blue in the sky. Very very fun colours and I love how they mixed together. This is a colour combination that I will play with again.

Smiling Faces

Or... facing my fear of greens. I decided to tackle my nemesis tonight... that is, my fear of using greens. I used a mixture of my new paints (the purples) and my old paints (greens, yellows, and blues) tonight with the goal of mixing lots of different greens. Tonights effort at these greens produced reasonable results, though I am particularly proud of the pansy faces. Very few flower paintings ever make it to my blog as I tend to scrap them fairly soon after starting. There is something about flowers and I that just do not get along when it comes to painting.



"Smiling Faces"
3" x 4" watercolour
© 2008

Buddies

So, without realizing it, I've returned to the left facing birds... oh well. I didn't use any of my new colours on this painting... I actually finished it a little while ago but didn't get a chance to post it until now.



"Buddies"
2.5" x 3.5" watercolour
© 2008

Just a Friendly Hello

As promised... here's a bird facing a direction other than left. The reference from this beautiful little White-Breasted Nuthatch is from Wetcanvas.com though I can't remember who posted it.



"Just a Friendly Hello"
3.5" x 2.5" oil on gessoed canvas paper
© 2008


I had a lot of fun mixing blues and greens in this painting... and I think I found the perfect deep ocean blue (upper center of the painting). Unfortunately... I don't remember what was mixed... Oh well, I shall play again!

As much as I said that I wouldn't spend anymore money on art supplies, Opus is having a blow-out inventory sale right now and I picked up some new brushes and watercolour paints (Daniel Smith of course). I hope to play around with some of these colours in the next couple days.

Little Paintings

Tonight I've worked on four separate paintings... three in the picture below and a small miniature (ACEO) bird painting. Starting with the strawberry cheesecake.... I strengthened the reflection/highlight on the table. I found the painting just didn't feel 'grounded' enough from any kind of distance. It had that funny floating look.



a preview from my wall
collection of 6" x 6" paintings
© 2008


On the candied apple and the grapes I got yet another colour layer put down. The grapes are almost done... but there still is lots left on the candied apple. It has that shiny look... now I need to get that apple look.

Warm Summer Boat

I've finally finished this painting (been working on it for quite some time now). I put on the final last little details on the boat... the white highlights and fixing up the colour on the life preserver. I'm happy with the way that this turned out... and will definitely will be painting another boat in the future.



Warm Summer Boat
8" x 10" oil on stretched linen
© 2008




detail © 2008


I also got more done on another painting tonight (the candied apple) and I'll post an update of that painting tomorrow when I have some natural light to photograph in.

Another house update

This weekend was spent working on several paintings... each getting another layer of colour. I've gotten a bit more done on my parents house, mostly tidying up the brick colour and getting more depth on the road and roof. I still have to work on the chimney and finish up the stone foundation. After that... its just the details.



untitled, a Work in Progress
14" x 11" oil on stretched canvas
© 2008

Strike a Pose

I was taking a look at all the birds that I have painted today and realized that pretty much all of them face the same direction... almost every single bird faces to the left. Weird, eh? Well, just because I have come to this realization, the next bird I paint is going to face the right.



"Strike a Pose"
2.5" x 3.5" oil on gessoed canvas paper
© 2008

untitled, Another Work in Progress

I haven't been able to finish any of the larger paintings (paint is drying rather slowly) so I thought I would share another work in progress tonight. I have a series of these little 6" x 6" paintings on the go... mostly still life (some yet decided...) and all on black gesso. I really like how the colours seem to glow.



untitled, a Work in Progress
6" x 6" oil on stretched canvas
© 2008


I'm using a variety of Windsor & Newton and Daniel Smith paintings... two of my favourite brands. I am saving up my pennies for another order from Daniel Smith. I only picked up a couple of their oil paints to give them a try... and now that I have tried, I want to get more.

Candied

While waiting for the layers to dry on my parents house painting... I've started this fun little one. The first layer is done (titanium-zinc white and ivory black) though I do see a few areas where I'll need to add more white to intensify the highlights. Once this is good and dry... I'll start the colour layer.



Candied, a Work in Progress
6" x 6" oil on stretched canvas
© 2008


The reference photo for this painting was kindly posted by Michael King on Wetcanvas.

A little more done on the house....

I got a bit more done on my parents house... mostly the bricks and the grass in the front. The house is slowly starting to take shape and I think I got the brick colour figured out. Looking at the picture... I see I still have some angles to fix on the headers above the windows... they seem to be going slightly upwards instead of downwards.



untitled, a Work in Progress
14" x 11" oil on stretched canvas
© 2008

Little Chickadee

I don't have anything new on the larger painting side tonight... so just a little one. Limited palette leaning mostly with the cooler colours... with all the drizzle here on the west coast (and cool temperatures) it hardly feels like summer.



"Little Chickadee"
3.5" x 2.5" watercolour on paper
© 2008

My Parents House, a Work in Progress Part 2

I've blocked in most of the house on my parents house over the last couple nights. Though, now that I am looking at it on the computer I can see a few lines that need to be fixed (mostly around the windows....). My palette tonight is a mixture of paints that are left over from a couple other paintings... blues, greens, crimson, yellow, and white.


untitled, a Work in Progress
14" x 11" oil on stretched canvas
© 2008

I'll let this layer dry for a couple of days before I continue (starting to get my hand smooshing the wet paint) before I continue. My plans for the next step include getting the stones in the foundation blocked in and finishing blocking in the side of the house.

Little Cedar Waxwing

Another bird for me tonight... actually, this one has been on my to-do file for a little while now. I sketched it out sometime ago and while working on my parents house painting tonight I realized that the colours used there were very similar to the colours in a cedar waxwing.



"Little Cedar Waxwing"
3" x 4" oil on canvas paper
© 2008