Thursday, December 20, 2012

"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.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

"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.

Monday, December 17, 2012

"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!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

"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.

Saturday, December 08, 2012

"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.
Click the image for a bigger view.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

"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.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

"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.