Friday, November 29, 2013

"Belfry Coffee Break" oil 4x6 miniature

Small is good. Because it makes you focus on the essentials. I wish I could translate this sensitivity into my really big BIG paintings...maybe I should one day soon. It's tiny, 4x 6 inches.
Click it for a bigger view. Contact me if you want this one.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Ronald, my namesake, is a retired sea captain. He agreed to come sit for the Goward House Portrait Painters today. The deal is that you sit for free but at the end of the session (with about a dozen artists painting) you get to take home the portrait of your choice!
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

Men can ride side-saddle too. This father has two main reasons - (a) he can keep an eye on his papoose as he gingerly rides along, (b) he can use the full extent of his blankie instead of dividing it on the horse's back. Click on my watercolour for a zoom view. Unframed = $98.00 please contact me for shipping to your part of the world.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Grand Canyon South Rim oils 12x16

The rock face looks as fresh as the year it burst forth. Click it for a bigger view.
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

On a dark orange underpainting I quickly sketched this long-standing notice board/kiosk in front of the Belfry Theatre this morning. It was bitterly cold but at least the sun was shining brightly on the Fernwood Corner. A few of my fellow artists took refuge in the local coffee shop. Woosies.
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

Miniatures help me to isolate the truth. They allow one to concentrate on the essentials in a landscape and to sublimate the rest of the scene, making for a powerful image. After all, we can't focus on everything. Next step = paint like this on my very much bigger paintings!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Father Michael pastel 8 x 10

Father Michael, a Catholic priest, sat for a dozen or so Goward House Portrait Painters today.
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

Scott has a great face for portraiture. I spied him through the serving hatch at John's Place in Victoria BC yesterday.
Click his image for a bigger picture.

"Monument Valley" oil 8x10

Monument Valley is one of my very favourite places for art subjects. I like the random placement that Nature gives us, and I made sure that my bushes formed a semi-circle guiding the eye to the main feature. For sale at $98.00, shipping a little extra but at cost.

Thursday, November 07, 2013

"Little Holiday Hut, Hawaii" mini oil 4x6

Darrell Hill was a great influence. He summed up Hawaii like the local that he was. But getting on to the STYLE: My own style is 100 years old. I appreciate abstract paintings 'cos I think they're like visual music without words. Of course they are relevant, but I cannot produce any such work, except for some few abstract elements which may apppear in my realism/impressionism paintings..
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

Jill sat for the Portrait Painters at Goward House yesterday. I completed this acrylic sketch in just over two hours, using a bold and brushy approach. Click on't for a bigger view.

Monday, November 04, 2013

"Kip_kip_kip" miniature oil 3.3 x 4.5 inches

Optional title? I could easily call this "Where are you going?" as one chicken races past another. And I could have easily painted this smoothly but I'm at home with brrrushy work. Paint is the cheapest part of the whole process so I painted "kip kip kip" like a millionaire. Luckily my fellow artists are responding warmly to the thick impasto paint so I'll do some more like this in time. To see a larger image please click on the painting, and do leave me a comment if you want to own it at $58.00...

Saturday, November 02, 2013

"Cow Bookends" Michell's farm

"Cow Bookends" oil on canvas board, smallish 3-3/8ths x 8 inches. These are Vern's cows on Michell's farm.  Details to be had at my email - see the little white envelope below if you're seeing this on my blog. Otherwise, send me an email from my website artistwilson.com.