"Fall Gold" Beacon Hill Park, oils 8 x 10

If you paint in Canada and paint all year long then you have to put up with the weather - like today. Yes, the sun was shining but the wind blew my canvas face down three times. I even liked the effect of the paint being dragged through my paint box!

I spent two hours recording my initial reaction to this little tree.

"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.
As usual, click on the image for a bigger pic. Then hit your return button.

"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.

As with my other paintings on this blog, click on the images to see a bigger picture but do hit your BACK button to return.

"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.

It looks better when it's bigger, just click on the image to get a larger picture then press your BACK button to return here ...

"Garden Steps" oil 20 x 16

The garden steps at Swan Lake in Victoria BC. I did this painting in front of about twenty-five thousand strollers-by as a demo at the Moss Street paint in, 2009. It's based on my smaller oil sketch which I painted en plein air some weeks ago. See this bigger painting at the Bowker Creek Brush Up in Oak Bay, Victoria BC. The event is on for one day only, Sunday the 9th August 2009.

The SKETCH has been sold but this BIGGER one is up for grabs. Click on the little white envelope below for any questions.

"On the Beach" oils 11 x 14

The scene is between the Royal Victoria Yacht Club and Gyro Park in Victoria BC. 15 minutes walk from the Gyro car park along the beach to the shady trees facing the water. The dinghy was drawn up on the beach with the sun behind - one of my favourite lighting situations. The scene could be anywhere on a tropical isle but of course it is here in wonderful Canada. One of my fellow paint-out artists noticed the Sargent influence in my brushwork. Right on!

"Trial Island" fr. Ross Bay Beach oils 11 x 14 (SOLD)

I have suddenly realized that I shouldn't make the painting look like the subject - instead I should make the subject look like a painting! I call this my Wilson Paradox. This way I simplify, and render the painting with loose interpretive colour and brushwork.

The rocks have been simplified so that the eye goes over them and deeper into the distance. Also, I have taken liberties with the colours.

It's not that I need to take shortcuts, it's just that I need to be "painterly" - I need to see with my own vision of the subject before me ...

SOLD at Moss Street July 18, 2009

"Two Trees" Pendray House, oils 9 x 12

Because of my weekly contact with other artists, I'm beginning to paint looser and thicker which certainly helps produce the kind of TEXTURE I'm looking for in my paintings. It's the portrayal of LIGHT combined with sound COMPOSITION that matters to me now.

To see a bigger picture simply click on the above image but remember to hit your BACK button to return here. All my work on this blog is for sale, click on the small white envelope below to ask about pricing and shipping.

This particular painting can be seen at the Morris gallery on Alpha street in Victoria BC.