"Freighter off Gonzales Bay" 9 x 12 oil

Although the forecast called for 'cloudy' it turned to be a brilliant sky-blue day on the beach at Gonzales Bay, Victoria BC this morning.
As usual, Nelson the Seagull took up his customary place on the erratic rock. Keith Hiscock told me that any rock that doesn't belong there is termed ERRATIC and was placed there by a moving glacier during the ice age fifteen thousand years ago.
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"Oak Bay Marina Abstract" 8 x 10

Another winter's day which started off well with strong sunshine here in Victoria BC but after a while it became overcast and the colours softened - still, I got what I wanted - colour shapes.

"Geographical Marker - Cattle Point" 9 x 12

This is my quick oil sketch done in situ within 90 minutes.  Upon the stone plinth is a brass plaque showing you where the surrounding physical features are located,  i.e. Seattle is 75 miles away from Cattle Point in Victoria BC, San Juan island is seven miles ... and so on.

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House in the Woods - oil on board 11 x 14

It is good to be out painting en plein air again. The location is the Esquimalt lagoon at the water side of the Royal Roads University property, (near the boathouse). One of my fellow artists remembers attending parties in this military house when she was a child.

New Year clear out

I produced a few winners among my plein air paintings last year but sometimes we don't succeed - much like the ups and downs of sport. Now in 2010 I have started clearing out my sad paintings,  I feel great. On a positive note, my new year has started out well with some nice ones coming off the easel - I wish all artists the very best for 2010, may all our paintings reach excellence.

"High Tide" (Mount Doug Park) watercolour 10 x 12

Yes - today a watercolour painting for a change - airy, extremely quick and brushy in the Wesson/Seago tradition. I find that a change of medium visits well vis-a-vis the OTHER medium - oils gain from the experience of watercolour and the other way round....

Normally one would see a beach here at Mount Douglas Park Beach but with the tide being in I couldn't even set foot on the non-existent sand!

That's San Juan island on the horizon - we are on the Canadian/USA border here - Washington State is six miles or ten clicks away across the international channel in the Pacific Norrthwest.

"House on the beach" (Ocean Boulevard) Oils 12 x 16

Today I re-sized the house THREE times on my canvas before I was happy with the composition. Fortunately, I used charcoal and could wipe the image with a paper towel each time. I had it much bigger but it seemed to be in my face, so I gradually got it down to what it appears now.

My thanks to Richard Schmid for showing me the way in his "Alla Prima" book. I have read it many times over and still I'm finding something new ...

Ocean Boulevard is that thin strip of land between the sea and Esquimalt Lagoon in Victoria, BC, Canada. To approach the house one has to drive across an old wooden bridge and park close to the sea. I saw a kayaker, hundreds of seagulls, human strollers and even a few horses out to play. And of course, 30 other artists from the Al Frescoes - including my artist daughter Jenn!

"Mugo Pine" watercolour 8 x 12

Tree experts Fred Hook and Mike Meagher told me that this tree is a Mugo Pine. Usually a mugo is a smallish bush but it can be as tall as a tree. They also know the whereabouts of this specimen which is in the Ross Bay cemetery - Fred says that many of these trees were planted there in 1937 but few survived.

As long ago as the second of September 1996 I painted this watercolour en plein air with a few FCA Victoria members, this small group of outdoor artists was to evolve into the present-day Al Frescoes.

Only this week when I attended the AGM of the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team did I learn the actual name of this tree that I had painted thirteen years ago

"Goodacre Lake Bridge" oils 12 x 16

Goodacre Lake is a big pond in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria BC. The ducks give it life, and if you look carefully, there is a THIRD duck near the bridge, (lower than the right span). If you click on the image, you'll see it on the bigger picture. Be sure to hit your BACK button to return here. COMMENTS welcome.

"Blue Bridge" oils 11 x 14

The striking thing about Victoria's Blue Bridge is that it appears WHITE against a clear blue sky. The paint-out was organised by the Downtown Victoria Business Association - several artists were asked to go downtown and paint the city. Michael Yoder of DVBA is planning an exhibition of these paintings soon.

I chose to simplify an otherwise busy harbour scene - all sorts of vessels were coming and going in the two hours it took to lay this plein air baby down ... click on the image to see a bigger view then hit your BACK button. Thanks for looking.

"James Island" from Island View Beach - oils 11 x 14

I hadn't had much luck here at Island View Beach on Vancouver Island in the past yet Keith Hiscock said it was fine. Coming from the maestro that's high praise indeed ... I am enjoying Richard Schmid's tip about painting without any medium (apart from the initial turps block-in) -- I find that painting straight from the tube gives the work a 'firm' look.
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"Lady Jane at ECAIP" oils 11 x 14

Our 1969 Morgan is called Lady Jane, and she posed for me at the English Car Affair in the Park at Fort Rodd Hill in Victoria BC today. In his landscape book Richard Schmid says he can use oil straight from the tube so I tried this today and was delighted with the juicy thick brushwork. HMmmnn ...

"Woodwyn Farm" oils 12 x 16

One of our artists had been driving up and down on the edge of this farm for 45 years - and this was the first time he got to see the inner sanctum of Woodwyn Farm thanks to Richard Leblanc, who gave us permission to come here today.

Some of the buildings date back to the eighteen-hundreds. The 200-acre Woodwyn farm is situated on Vancouver Island, in the district of West Saanich.

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"The Channel" Cattle Point 8 x 10 oils

I started to paint a scene in front of me, then I glanced to my right and saw THIS scene with this silvery channel and the Canada Geese! I immediately scrapped the first scene and nailed the geese and channel in an hour thanks to a speedy use of broad brush and palette knife. I was drawn by the contrast between the mirror-like calm of the channel and the choppy wavelets immediately behind. Then the spindly legs of the major Canada goose reflected in the channel just stopped me! Done deal.

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