"Lowtide at Tower Point" oil 6x8

The Group of Seven originals which I saw at the AGO have had their way with me - now I am less worried about drawing and more involved with expression or that misunderstood painting term, FEELING. It's rougher but I'm happier.
Brushstrokes predominate. Colour harmonizes, shapes beckon. "What are those things in the background?"
Answer = logs on the opposite beach. This is Tower Point in Metchosin on Vancouver Isand.
Click it to see a bigger view.

"Frank" sanguine pencil and watercolour wash 11x14

Frank sat for thirty minutes whilst I sketched him using my two new Conte pencils - sanguine and black. It was fun shopping in the big smoke of Toronto. I was at Curry's Art Supplies on Eglinton. Click this image to see a bigger Frank...

Tom Thomson - sketching at the AGO

We are allowed to sketch in pencil at the Art Gallery of Ontario which is nice - 'cos I learnt a lot about directness and design from sketching Tom Thomson's "The Dead Pine"

We spent a couple hours getting to know the Group of Seven all over again. 
I last saw their originals here sixteen years ago.

The images are clickable (to enlarge).

"Bettina" three portraits

oils

One woman, three portraits

During this weekly art session we can experiment and sharpen our skills, in my case working in various media in under three hours = oil, pastel and pencil.

Bettina sat for the Goward House Portrait painters today. 

                                                                 

                                                                      

 Click each image to see enlargements.
I find that working in different media keeps one sharp and improves overall skills.



"False Bay" watercolor 6x8

I try watercolors because I'm still learning this medium. Working in another medium visits kindly on your home medium (my oils). Watching Sandhu Singh paint at the Peninsula Gallery I made sure that my washes were gradual and my brush strokes strong. Thanks, Sands.

"Finnerty Gardens Path" oil 8x10

Painting out is great - I hear the sounds and smell the flowers. It keeps me within Nature, and apart from two walkers and a dog owner I was pretty much left alone to my own intuition. Out the corner of my eye I spied two bounding rabbits and a male deer munching grass.
Plein Air painting makes me paint direct from a scene without the help of a photograph. I chose to use a biggish brush (half inch) and thick juicy oil paint. I wasn't aiming for realism - in fact this way of painting intuitively is more real than real because it carries along what I feel when painting out.
The Finnerty garden is on the boundary of the University of Victoria and thank goodness they preserved the wilderness. I take it as a personal compliment.
Click the image for a bigger view. Call or email me if you want this one.

"Bree" oils 11x14

Bree, an artist's daughter is well-versed in sitting, she sat patiently while we painted her for nigh on three hours.
While working away at my canvas I found myself thinking of John Singer Sargent - I think he would have used smoother strokes, but nice and broad.
He was the man.
I also thought of young Scott Burdick and how he would have employed thick juicy paint, unblended.

He too is the man.

Click Bree's painting to see a bigger image.

"Chinatown Bicycle" 8x10 oils

Click it to see a bigger image. Own it by contacting me, $435 for this original oil (with- or without a frame, your decision) add on for shipping direct to you door. I love PayPal...
This is Chinatown in Victoria, I believe it's the oldest Chinatown in the whole of Canada, and of course the ubiquitous bicycle is right there. Good.

"Cadboro Bay" oils 8x10

Plein air in the morning mist. This time I painted like a millionaire and used a LOT more paint. Click on it for a bigger image. Should you want to own the painting please go to my Fine Art America site (link on this page).

"Beaver Tracts Road" pastel 9x11

I love plein air painting - this time I sat on an upturned bucket and rendered this San Juan Island scene in pastel.

"Cliff at Dallas Road" oil 8x10

I put away my new pastels and went back to my beloved oil paints for this plein air sketch - a windy day at the beach on Vancouver Island. The sun was kinda hazy but I painted against the light anyway.

It felt so good to be enveloped in nature once again. In between brush strokes I marvelled at the aerobatics of the crows and seagulls overhead - I even put a few of the braggarts in my painting!

"Lighthouse - San Juan Island" pastel 9x12

Limekiln Lighthouse is an icon of San Juan Island, Washington State. I love the islanders, what a grand bunch of go-ahead folk. And the fact that they support ART is a double bonus for me! I am using my pastels from my childhood plus some new ones that I bought online. The pastel medium allows me to work quickly in the hatching style natural to me. Yay...

"Sepia figure" 4 x 6 soft pastel

Delia sat for us at the Goward House Portrait Painters session today. I wanted to do a rapid sketch, concentrating not so much on a likeness but a successful FORM. The way the light falls was important to me too. I think that a brief treatment can be quite strong, depending on the subject of course.
Click for a larger image.

"Lioness" Conte Colour 8 x 10

Click for a bigger image. This picture is available from my Fine Art America site (see link on the right).
This lioness is in the Kalahari Desert. I drew her using my new Conte pastel pencils on grey textured paper  What fun!

"Plein Air Spring" acrylic 6x8

Surrounded by light, this plein air painter is taking advantage of the glowing sunlight.
I like it when a scene jumps out at me and I try to record the sensation as accurately as possible. Futhermore, I like to see brush strokes in my work. That and raw throbbing color. Whoa, Wilson!
Click the image for a bigger view.

"Bush & Wildflowers" oil 6x8

This is my oil I painted in the studio after making a plein air sketch in pencil. Once again this is an exercise of Edward Seago's procedure when he made notes sometimes when on location - and he worked them up later at home. Click for a bigger view.

Pastel portrait "Bruce" 9x11

Click for a bigger image. I do have a small box of excellent Talens pastels but only about two dozen so it is quite the challenge getting skin tones and savage blacks - anyway Wilson, stop complaining 'cos the sitter chose THIS portait to take home with him today!

"Mount Baker from Cattle Point" pastel 9 x 11

In perfect weather Colleen and I (plus hundreds of local folks) took the air at Cattle Point this afternoon. I'm enjoying my newfound 'free range' pastels!

Click it for a bigger view.

Jazz, old bones and bravery medal

Bjorn the archeologist studies old bones

Bjorn happens to be my neighbour

and South African Don loves jazz - he's a sax man and journalist

 Tom received a medal for bravery from President Putin- (to add to Tom's many other medals)

These are my very recent quick portraits.

Click them for larger images.

"Gonzales Bay:" mixed media 8 x 11 on paper

I know, I'm also shocked. As children we drew with few inhibitions. Then as we got older we were told not to draw outside the lines and to make things look as they really are. It took a small measure of guts to regress to my childhood today, but I had to do it after first producing THIS tame and obedient pastel drawing at Gonzales Bay this morning (below):

It's nice but it's tame. My fellow artists were a bit reticent about both of my efforts but some of the braver ones opted for the mixed media one on top - pencil, pen, watercolour, pastels and soft-tipped felt pens. Which one would you choose?

Remember to click the images to see a bigger view. Leave a COMMENT if you like.

"Catch the Wind" oils 11x14

Seagulls catch a free ride on the stormwind above the waves.  The sky is heavy with lead, but the sun still flashes through at the horizon.
I've been painting outside at Cattle Point on Vancouver Island for years and it has something to offer, in both good weather and foul.
I hope the mood of this one resonates with you too.

"Marylou" oils 12 x 16

Marylou sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today. I have been concentrating on the likenesses these past few sessions and I wasn't always pleased with the results -- I must admit that I came pretty close this time.

"Red Boat, Oak Bay Marina" oil 11x14

Always popular,  this oil subject is well sought-after by my friends and collectors.
Here's my little pastel that I did afterwards - strokey and loose as I explore pastels.

I learn so much by using different media - oils, acrylic, watercolour, pencil and now pastels.

Convention says we artists CAN repeat our scenes as long as they are in another size (and medium).

"Julia" 10 x 12 oils

Julia sat for the portrait painters group - she is one of us artists, and sat willingly when we were stuck for a sitter today.
Click it for a enlarged image.

"The Swallowed Anchor" pastel 8x11

Mark, the current owner of this old house agreed to let me paint it. He is having to demolish it because it is too far gone. It once belonged to an ancient mariner who surprised passers-by by appearing in all sorts of naval get-up.
Go to Fine Art America, search for Ron Wilson or visit this link http://fineartamerica.com/featured/swallowed-anchor-ron-wilson.html and order yourself a print.
Click the image for a bigger view.

"Sandy Flats" oils 8x10

Art low tide you can walk out on the sandy flats for twenty minutes before reaching the breakers.
This is at False Bay on San Juan Island, a wonderful spot for locals and visitors alike.
Did I mention the oil painting is for sale? $500 Canadian or American dollars, shipping might be extra, depending on where you reside.
(The oil painting is on stretched canvas, unframed or framed, as you wish. Please contact me by posting a  COMMENT below).

"Red Barn and Daffodils" w/c 5 x 8 inches

I should be working on illustrations for my son's new book but I played truant and snuck this miniature watercolour under the radar yesterday. Ok, OK, I'm on it Tim.

"Vessel 21449" w/c 6x8

"Vessel 21449" with passing kayaker, Point Hope Shipyards, Victoria BC.
Click it for a bigger image.

Now and then I abandon my oils and splash out with good old fashioned line and wash. Plein air, of course.
I love informal watercolour sketches - I find them quite fresh. The trick is to draw quickly and paint even quicker. The kayaker passed by me obligingly and he was rendered in a few rapid pen strokes.

"Diane"

Diane sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today. She was introduced by one of our ambulatory artists who happened to see her walking one day. Walking is good exercise and we are amazed by how many walkers seem to strike up acquaintances while stepping out. About twelve artists meet at Goward House every week to practise their portraiture.

The deal is that you sit for free but at the end of the three-hour session you can choose which portrait to take home without charge. And you get tea and a treat too!

The charcoal sketch was done in a little more than and hour and then after tea (rooibos) I painted this little

6 x 8 oil, a little more than an hour:

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"Blue Van" 6x8 oils

This GMC van is parked outside my friend's house at least once a week because it belongs to the service guy who mows neighborhood lawns. I guess I like old vehicles...

Mixed media portrait

Col. Doug in the jacket, cap and badge he designed for his unit of army divers (different from navy divers). I had lotsa fun:

This my multi-media sketch (black charcoal, watercolor, black pen, 2 sepia pens, Conte pencil black, Conte pencil white and Crayola pencils red and orange) done in less than two hours at Goward House Portrait Painters last week.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Doug Foreman" pencil 4x8

Lt. Col Doug Foreman sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters today and I am pleased that the Colonel chose this small thirty-minute pencil sketch to take home.

Click on it for a bigger image.

"Blue Dinghy No.2" acrylics 8X10

I'll say it again - the hull of a vessel is the second best shape on earth! Painted in acrylics in complementary orange and blue colors.

"Scooter" 6x8 oil on canvas mounted on panel

I have to use that non-macho word 'cute' 'cos that what it is to me, a lil' scooter parked patiently near the sidewalk. What I really like is contre jour lighting - backlit subjects appeal to me.

Click it to see a bigger picture, and thanks for coming to my blog, your visit is important to me.

"The Bouquet" oil 11x14

Inspired by Vermeer, the girl with the pearl earring. I like the classics done in an interpretive contemporary way. Check the edges. Visit my Fine Art America - Google Fine Art America Ron Wilson  http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/ron-wilson.html for details of a lot of my recent paintiongs. But this one above is done in the style of yesterday in monochrome (sepia).

Thanks, Ron.

"Lorna" 8x11 vine charcoal

Lorna sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters this week. This time I chose to work in charcoal because I find it helps all my media when I jump around from pencil to charcoal and from acrylic to oils. One visits upon the other and it keeps the passion going.

Click the image to see a bigger picture - can you spot those elusive half-tones that Sargent spoke about? They're subtle but they help mould the form. Form the mould. Semantics. Just do it, Wilson!

McPartlin/Wilson

McPartlin and Wilson have painted Victoria with Respect and Awe.

After both artists had painted in the Americas, Africa, Europe and China at separate times in their lives, they have settled in Victoria BC and have teamed up to record local scenes that will resonate with Victorians and visitors alike.

See Victoria BC through their eyes at Dales Gallery in the heart of Chinatown all this month 10am to 5pm.

The show is scheduled to show their works until February 2nd, 2013.

"Island Sunrise" 12x16 oil

Click on this image to see a bigger view. If the water looks watery it's cos the canvas was glazed a couple times. (Secret out).

I'm going for a moody, restful piece to keep close by...I too need some respite at times.