Browse blog below - view links on the right for behind-the-scenes videos and more!
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
"Beverley" acrylic 8 x 11
I chose acrylic on watercolour paper in keeping with my avowed policy of stretching and experimenting with different media so's to learn.
Click her for a bigger view.
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
"Sig" watercolour and pastel 11 x 12
Friday, November 29, 2013
"Belfry Coffee Break" oil 4x6 miniature
Click it for a bigger view. Contact me if you want this one.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
I used my favourite Conte black pencil together with a watercolour wash. It's quick and loose, I love the medium. Click the image to zoom...
Prairie transport
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Grand Canyon South Rim oils 12x16
I used a varied underpainting of pink and red, which set the harmony for the impasto work to follow. The edges of the painting are kept in soft focus in order to draw the eye to the centre, and the squarish slab in particular.
Friday, November 22, 2013
"Belfry Kiosk, Fernwood" 6 x 8 oil
Click on't for a bigger view, and if you like to own it for $98, contact me.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Two "goes" at painting in the rain - watercolor
Above, a rainy morning in old Victoria BC, sketched in pen and wash - sitting in my tiny car.
Then I repeated the scene, leaving out the detail:
Second "go" - "1900 Store" much looser and true - leaving it up to our imagination suggested by the watercolor washes. If I tend to overwork a scene I start a second painting, leaving out stuff. Funnily enough, it is a better rendering, they say that less is more, Well, it works for me. This is where I want to be.
(1900 isn't the number of Store street, it's when the Capital Iron building was built...)
The images are clickable.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
"Lone Tree" miniature 3.25 x 4.5 inches oil
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Father Michael pastel 8 x 10
I felt my drawing was a bit too long in the face, like a Modigliani portrait. Sometimes I'm so lost in the process that I miss the geography and mapping, but I really engage these challenges to gain experience in media other than my home medium of oils. I believe that the more I explore other media the richer the effect on my oils.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Chef Scott of John's Place 8 x 11 pastel
Click his image for a bigger picture.
"Monument Valley" oil 8x10
Thursday, November 07, 2013
"Little Holiday Hut, Hawaii" mini oil 4x6
Boy, where did all THIS come from? Anyhow, hit the image to see a larger version. The painting is really quite small in real life, only four by six inches. If you want it, send me a message.
Wednesday, November 06, 2013
"Jill" 8 x 11 acrylic sketch
Monday, November 04, 2013
"Kip_kip_kip" miniature oil 3.3 x 4.5 inches
Saturday, November 02, 2013
"Cow Bookends" Michell's farm
Thursday, October 31, 2013
"Riding it Out" 12x14 oil
The two water fowl have a ride in the surf during active weather at Cattle Point.
Like some of my colleagues, I get the odd rejection from galleries, so splashing out in vivid colour is Ronnie's revenge - it brightens up my palette AND my day. Try it whenever you're blue. Or red, or yellow.
Hit the image for a larger view.
Buy it now for 500 dollars. Free shippimng.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
"Joan Smith" oil 11x14
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Digital abstract portrait of no-one in particular
A digital abstract portrait painted with my finger on my iPad using the Brushes software.
Click it for an enlargement. Comments encouraged.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
"Alfred the Flowerman" duo drawing
Alfred sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today. I used watercolor and Conte pencil to stretch myself again. I like this approach because the early washes show me the way and the heavy pencil gives me the punch. The color sketch is OK but I really like the little drawing which is a better likeness I feel. You could click the image if you want to see a larger picture. (My fellow artists might also tell you that working in different media actually strengthens one's home style).
Thursday, October 17, 2013
"First call of the day" oil 6x8
Painted with traditional old-fashioned oils.
Click on't to expand the picture. Your comment is invaluable.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
"Elfrida" pastel 8x11
Monday, October 14, 2013
"Autumn Aroma" oil 6x8
Click for a bigger view. Go to my Fine Art America website if you want to own this one. It's a goodie.
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Goward House Portrait Painters = Andrea
Monday, October 07, 2013
"Jim's Shop" acrylic 10x10
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Highlighters & Pen
When I scanned and enlarged it, it looked promising...go figure.
Maybe I'll go into abstraction...if your computer does mouse-over enlargements, try it. I think it'll make a great modern poster.
Friday, September 20, 2013
"Oak Bay Marina" w/c 6x8
In the early morn pre-rain light the shapes are soft and even. I was drawn to this gondola-shaped hull in the bay. Overcast weather is when you haul out yer watercolours and stretch yer paper. A few swift strokes is all you need or the painting gets too busy - when you get the message and know what it is, it's time to halt.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
"Carla" charcoal and pastels 8x11
"Carla" charcoal and pastels - I liked this one and so did two of my fellow Goward House Portrait Painters, yet at the end of the session Carla chose to take home NOT my charcoal drawing but my little pastel sketch instead!
It only took a few minutes but she liked it anyway...
Monday, September 16, 2013
"Red, Red Wine" 12x16 oil
Friday, September 13, 2013
"Path - Dallas Road Beach" oil 11x14
Plein Air is much sought-after by the cognoscenti these days even though it has been around for a hundred years.
I used water-soluble oils without any medium. With the result that I got thick and juicy brush strokes. Yes!
First shown at Dales Gallery in Victoria's Chinatown 2nd - 21st December, 2013.
Now one of THEE most visited paintings on my Blog. Super.....
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
"Una" pastel 8x11
Monday, September 09, 2013
"Stadacona Park" pastel 8x11
After spending THREE days making my pastel box ENTIRELY out of re-cycled stuff I took it for a test drive in Stadacona Park today. It's a quickie (forty minutes) but I like the looseness and the cheeky colour. I think I have rainbow vision...
Friday, September 06, 2013
"Mt.Doug Mist" oil 6x8
'Overjoyed when I woke up to MIST this morning, and I couldn't wait to paint the softness at Mount Douglas Park.
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
"Urban Sanctuary" (Pavement Poppies)
Which of the two titles works BEST? "Urban Sanctuary" or "Pavement Poppies" I'd welcome your choice. Here's Colleen in Fort Street walking in the area the art experts call THE GOLDEN MEAN. Flowers galore - Victoria is great that way. Do send me your choice for the most apt title. Thanks, Ron
Friday, August 16, 2013
"Canefield, Maui" acrylic 9x12
Click the painting for a bigger image.
Friday, August 09, 2013
"Island Beach" oil 6x8
"Island Beach" is in my backyard so to speak - it's off Gyro Park, Victoria BC on Vancouver Island. Who's a lucky artist then?
Click this puppy to make it bigger - it's loose and juicy, just how I like painting...
Friday, July 26, 2013
"Macauley Point" pastel 8 x 11
Friday, July 19, 2013
"Birds, Oak Bay" oils 11x14
I used my trusty bike to get to the location - fun, fun, fun - who needs to ride the Tour de France?
Saturday, July 13, 2013
"Happy Valley Lavender Farm" oil 11x14
Harvesting season follows closely upon the growing season I guess...soon the lavender will be cut for scent, oils and posies. Go to my Fine Art America site (linked on this page) if you want to own this work.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Colour blind?
"Mount Baker and Yacht" miniature oil on Belgian Linen |
me apart and although I have difficulty seeing blue versus green I like the
effort. The colour TEAL is iffy for me which is funny, 'cos it's a
favourite colour!
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
McNeill Bay Summer" pastel 8 x 10
VicNews photographer Sharon Tiffin stopped by at the plinth that celebrates McNeill Bay - the sun was great and I nailed this plein air pastel within 40 minutes. Isn't BC the Best Place on Earth?
Sunday, July 07, 2013
"Dinghy at rest" oil 6x8
Email me to own this one. Unframed, but will grace any home or boat...or office.
Click on it for a bigger view.