"High and Dry" Oil 6x8

There's nothing like a boat out of water - high and dry on chocks - is it ready for the scrapyard or is it just waiting for the owner to "get to it?"

Click for a bigger view.

"Bob H" 12 x 12 oil

Bob H sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today. A fascinating man, ex-navy, ex-chief of Security at the BC Museum, and regular walker of twelve-thousand steps daily. Wow. The most impressive thing about Bob is the clarity of his eyes. He wears rose-tinted glasses so it's not easy to see.
Click the image for a bigger view.

"Ken" Conte pastel sketch

Click this image so's you can read the script.
If we arrive earlier than our sitter we jump to it and sketch each other at Goward House Portrait Painters.
We don't let the grass grow under our feet!

"Bill P" sketch, then oil

"Bill P" Conte Pastel Pencil on Tim Horton's paper packet.

I like to re-use papers that mean something to me, like the packet I got with my donut the other day.

The medium tone of brown paper or cardboard is a nice foil for the dark and light pencils to bite into.

Sketch time = 30 minutes.

"Bill P" oil on canvas paper 11x14

Painting time = one hour plus. Bill is the husband of Vicki, one of our artists at the Goward House Portrait Painters group. She and I both agreed that the paper sketch is better than the oil.
My thanks to Conte Paris for the free samples of the pastel pencils.

Click these images for a larger picture.

"Saanichton Farm" oil 6x8

It's a grand place to paint - Saanichton on Vancouver Island. 'Sorta in the country nestled amongst hobby farms, a wonderful area for plein air work.
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"Lizette" oils 11x14

Lizette sat for us at Goward House Portrait Painters this week.

Like me, she was born in South Africa. In fact, we both worked for the same company but in different cities.

Lizette was at the coast while I was on the gold mines of the Witwatersrand. Anyway, at the tea break we chatted about the joys of Rooibos (red bush tea) and my Canadian friend and fellow artist Jim McFarland shared a pot o' that tea with me.

"OMG" (airport wifi) 12x12 oil

Wifi at the airport is a blessing to those of us on social media - it allows us to catch up with the world while waiting to board the plane.

"Marianne" portrait painted at Goward House 11 x 14

"Marianne" three hours all prima 11 x 14

"Piper's Cliffs" 11x14 oils

Twenty years ago I used to clamber all over these cliffs like a monkey. Piper's cliffs are adjacent to Piper's Lagoon in Nanaimo BC, Canada.
Click it for a bigger view.

"Seabirds Off-shore" oils 11x14

Click the image to see the sea birds floating off shore.
That's James Island on the horizon (left) seen from Mount Doug Beach on Vancouver Island. An hour en plein air. I'm glad it was cold otherwise I would have been tempted to tighten up!

"Two swing at anchor" oil 28x36

This is a bigger version of an earlier sketch, I used a 3/4-inch brush to get a simplified and loose effect. much like the work of English artist, the late Edward Seago.

"Cher" oil portrait 8x11

Cher sat for us at Goward House today - she's every bit a star like her famous namesake, albeit with art...

"Cowboy Saddle" 6x8 oils

This cowboy saddle was parked on one of those four-legged log supports one sees in country log cabins.

"Cattle Point birds" oil 11x14

Click the image to reveal a bigger view and see the sea birds on the rocks. The foreground rocks are covered in yellow lichen, and the wind lines delineate the sea. An orange/blue sky casts a warm blanket across the top of the faraway island during this cold winter's morning.
I used thick juicy oils and a nice bold brush. Yummy.

"Samantha" oil 11x14

Samantha sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today. I'm told that she was keen to pose for us ever since the group painted her sister a short while ago. Sam turned out to be the perfect subject, no fidgeting, and she maintained a constant pleasant expression thoughout the two-and-a-half hour session. Click on't for a bigger image.

"Jessamine" oil over Acrylic 8x11

WHY? Why all the space to the left? Well I spray-painted a maple leaf which is barely visible in the underpainting but Jessie knows it's there 'cos she's a Canadian and she witnessed me collecting fallen leaves outside Goward House then saw me use them as a template on her canvas using the new Liquitex Professional Spray paint. Jessamine has a nice strong face and once owned a gallery in Coombes with her late husband, artist Sid Barron.
Happy Halloween. We never celebrated it in South Africa but it's a big deal here in North America. muhwaaaaa....

"Snow Tracks" 8x10 oils

Winter hits the island of San Juan in Washington State, USA. The scene is a private rural road off Schoolhouse No.2.

"Vietnam Vet" pencil 8 x 8

Because I was struck by the sight of a macho man clutching a teddy bear I made this pencil sketch of this Vietnam Vet on his hog in Arizona. Then I saw the inscription on his vest: "In memory of the 58,044 brothers who never returned Vietnam 59-75."

"Whistler Blackcomb" Acrylic 12.3x14

Charcoal studies like this one bring their own reward, like the finished acrylic which followed. I kept the brush as broad as I could, and stopped when Robert Genn's words echoed in my mind, "will the NEXT stroke improve the painting?"
Click it for a bigger image.

"Whistler Blackcomb"

"The Smiley Note" Acrylic 11x14

An enamel mug brings back childhood memories of South Africa to me. A good friend searched high and low for a chipped one (YES) for me - eventually she found one and mailed it to me with this little smiley face note. I keep my markers in the mug now, adding notes of colour!
Click the image for a bigger view, and pppuhleese leave this emerging artist a COMMENT?

"Kathy" 12x12 Conte Pencil

Kathy sat for us at Goward House Portrait painters today.

I used a sheet of 'found' paper of medium tone and used Black then White Conte pencils.

Comments are encouraged.

" The Fernwood Inn" watercolor 8x10.5

The Fernwood Inn is in a suburb of Victoria BC well-known for its theatre folk and visual artists. Coffee shops, art galleries and specialty food shops abound. I parked my Morgan here whilst painting the scene. Afterwards I had a pretty darn nice cup o' Java across the road.
Comments are invited.

"Red Dinghy, beached" oil 6x6

Yachties use little dinghies to ferry themselves from the outer moorings of the Oak Bay Marina - then they bus it to town. This little red dinghy waits on the beach for the sailor to return. Next to the female figure I reckon that a HULL is my next best shape to paint.
Your COMMENT?

"The Walronda and the Empress" acrylic 8x10

At this year's Classic Boat Show in Victoria BC the Walronda was decked out in her finery while at berth in front of the Empress Hotel. Many of the owners of these fine old vessels were kind enought to invite visitors aboard - all the nice girls like a sailor...
COMMENTS are encouraged.

The Elk Chair - conversation piece

Conversation piece of novel Canadian and American art. Off the wall (and onto the floor of our dining room).
 Provenance: A found vintage kitchen chair, renovated. Solid wood with firm jointing; an original tapestry of an elk and doe by the late Edna Joan Leach;

and my oil painting of an elk bugling, painted on the top back rest.

There are painted chairs and then there are painted chairs - this one is intended to be tasteful and restrained.
Please click on the images to see bigger views.

Your COMMENT is invited.

"Lyle" 8x10 acrylic on canvas paper

"If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium." (If you remember that movie you must be my age).
Tuesdays are portrait days for our small group of painters, and it was Lyle who sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today.
He told me afterwards that it was a good likeness:

The deal is - if you sit for us, at the end of the three-hour session you get to choose which portrait to take home as a reward. Your COMMENT is invited.

Bushman Mother and Child - print

Here's a double portrait I did for my publisher in South Africa. Of course mothers love their children but the Bushman mother is particularly attentive and nurturing. The shells in her hair are a measure of her wealth.
Your COMMENT is appreciated. I looovve guidance and reaction.
Thanks

Ron

"The Banana Tree" Acrylic on cardboard 8x10

An artist friend gave me an 8x10 piece of a thick cardboard poster. This morning I went down to Beacon Hill Park and painted a 55-minute plein air piece on the board. A parks official came by and gave me a sprig from the heliotrope bush - he said it has the best smelling scent in the whole of the park.
Anyway, I stopped painting the banana leaves at that stage, not wanting the painting to become too tight.

Would YOU have carried on and made it even more realistic? What's your choice = realism or impressionism. COMMENT below.

"Phil" 9 x 12 portrait in Acrylic

My aim was to sketch rapidly at Goward House Portrait Painters session September 25th, 2012. 
I did a 45-minute back-lit profile of Phil using big brushes - one of them three inches wide.

(Click the image to see a bigger picture).

Comments are invited. Your feedback can be so useful to this emerging artist!
Thanks,

Ron

"Fast Food" Bay elephant running. Oil 6.5 x 7.25"

You won't believe it, that day in South Africa some 75 elephants crossed our path slowly and silently. This was the only little guy who came running. I'll post a photo of some of that the herd:

I couldn't get them all in but we counted 75 as they passed in front of our car.

Meantime go to my Fine Art America page to check out the price (framed). The link is above right.
Comments and questions are encouraged below here.
(Y'know you can click on this image to see a bigger picture).

"Bob" at Goward House Portrait painters

Our sitter at Goward House Portrait painters today is Bob.
We hardly ever see our profiles, but for the portrait artist a side view is challenging and revealing.

Next I chose to sketch Bob in watercolour pencil - you simply use it as you would any other ordinary pencil except that you can brush water over it to get that fluid look:

Finally, in the forty-odd minutes I had left in today's session,  I chose acrylics and dashed off this 8x10 sketch:

I had fun with the colour choices. Your crit or observation will be helpful. Please use the POST COMMENT facility.

"Line and Wash" sketch 10 x 12

Every now and then I stick my neck out and take a risk, especially when it's a medium that I find difficult.
Working chiefly with a sepia pen, today's line and wash rendering is a case in point. Normally I'm comfortable with oils, watercolors are difficult for me but I tackle them nevertheless...
It's good to stretch oneself I think. This plein air sketch took about an hour-and-a-half down at Ogden Point in Victoria BC.

"Katya" oil 11 x 14

Katya from St.Petersburg sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today. A very gracious young lady with a superb command of English, Katya is on a study visit to Canada. I am so pleased that she included my painting amongst the three portraits she chose as our reward for sitting for us.

"Dogwatch" (Tugboat #4) Acrylic 11x14

This morning at Ogden Point in Victoria BC. Plein Air.
I couldn't resist the title "Dogwatch" because the dog is a genuine tugboat pet, she clambers easily over the gunwales and lords it over the vessel while her owner, the tugboat captain, goes about his chores.
Click on the image to see a bigger view and be a devil and leave a COMMENT!

"Clinker-built Dinghy" oil 5 x 7

This clinker-built classic dinghy was back again at the Classic Boat Show in Victoria BC over the Labor Day weekend. The public much admired the bright-work. This is my second painting of this little craft - you can say that I admire it too!
Please post your comment by clicking on "no comments" below.
Thanks, Ron

"Yellow Hornbill" oil 11 x 14

The yellow hornbill has got to be one of my favourite wild birds. It always raised a smile whenever we spotted it in the wilder parts of South Africa, Kruger National Park and the likes.

There are several types of hornbills, mostly they like holes in trees, for instance the female Grey Hornbill plasters herself in, leaving only a small opening. She has a complete moult while inside, and when her chicks are 3 to 4 weeks old, she breaks out to help feed them (mainly fruit, small reptiles and insects). The chicks repair the hole and keep the nest clean.

If you click on "no comments" you can leave me a comment...
Thanks,

Ron

"Rooster on the road to Hana" oil 6 x 6

This proud fellow was heading in the same direction as us on the winding road to Hana on Maui, Hawaii.
What a colorful and wonderful land that Hawaii is!
Click on the image for a bigger view and don't forget to COMMENT (immediately below).
Thanks
Relentless Ronald
(Seriously, if you're interested in this little painting you'll find it reasonably priced on Fine Art America.
Simply google Fine Art America and search their box for Ron Wilson. They make different sized prints too, one - a greetings card - as low as $5.95 and they ship 'em to your front door).

Sketch "Trial Island from Ross Bay" pen and ink

Edward Seago did a lot of sketching like this - from these sparse drawings he produced many magnificent watercolours and oils. I dropped my camera in favour of my "secret weapon" my pocket-sized sketch book, and did a 5-minute rendering yesterday which I may use as an inspiration for a painting some day. What do you think? Will it do?
COMMENTS welcome. Go on and encourage this emerging artist...

Rhino horn sells for 14-thousand dollars



Yesterday in Victoria BC an ancient rhino horn went on auction legally and sold for fourteen thousand dollars.

Here's my monochrome of a rhino emerging from the bush in South Africa where I was born. Horns that pre-date the ban apart, I too am saddened by the reported incidents of current poaching there. A Voice of America reports that poison is being used to protect the rhinos - Game farm owners have been hiring armed security guards to patrol their reserves, which can be a dangerous job. Now, they are trying a new tactic: they poison the rhinos' horns. The rhino is injected with an anaesthetic, so that it's paralyzed but conscious. Then a hole is drilled into its horn, which is injected with a poison that's dyed red. Conservationist Lorinda Hern says the substance is safe for rhinos, but harmful to humans who ingest it. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, nerve damage and even death in extreme cases. If you buy a horn and it's [a red] kind of color, you obviously know that it's been tampered with and that it's not safe for human consumption. "So, yeah, 60,000 U.S. dollars per kilo versus zero," said Hern, showing how the poison changes the horn’s hue. Once the procedure is complete, the rhino wakes up groggy but unharmed.
My painting is for sale, contact me for the price, free shipping to anywhere in North America, estimates for other countries. Thanks, Ron

"Rhino Emerging" by Ron Wilson (oil painting framed 6 x 8).

Click the image for a bigger picture.

Your COMMENT is encouraged.

"Red Barn and Tractor" oil 16 x 20

As a plein air painter I usually paint smaller canvas-covered boards but today I stretched a 16 x 20 and chose this scene on Vancouver Island because of the reflection of the barn opposite, plus the tractor is a good centre of interest for me.