"Dinghy with red thwarts" acrylic 8x10

Unsigned SkETCH - I may want to paint up this scene in oil some day. Painted en plein air so that my colours will be as I actually saw them, not presented by a camera.

Want it? Put the title of the painting in the SUBJECT line and make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

"Baby Shoes" oil 6x8

After seeing Carol Marine's beautiful 2000th painting on Facebook I went to the cupboard and found my granddaughter Megan's baby shoes. Miss Marine's art is perfect, she inspired me to make my own version of Baby Shoes

Want it? Make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

Click it for a larger view, and THANKS Carol...

"Tame Bantam"

This is a miniature oil on stretched canvas, 3 x 3 inches painted with water-soluble oils for the green people watching me! Your question/comment will be welcome, I like emails. BTW, it will look great in a kitchen - on the countertop with a tiny easel which I can supply too...

Want it? Put the title of the painting in the SUBJECT line and make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

click the image for a larger view

"Dog and Dinghy" acrylic and pencil 3x3 inches

I find that ACRYLIC together with PENCIL gives me a bright and happy finish. This miniature 3x3-inch painting on stretched canvas took on its own form. Quite nice colours...I guess a lot goes on in the unconscious mind too.

Want it? Put the title of the painting in the SUBJECT line and make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

Select and click the image for a bigger view.

"Crow & Mountain" oil 11x14

See it? Look off-centre in front of the bush. Plein air sketch, two hours.

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"Oak Bay Marina" children's washable markers

'Difficult to judge the size of a sketch when one sees it on one's computer screen, so I'll tell you - 4 x 4 inches approximately.

It's from my sketchbook, done in washable markers. As an experiment I tried washing it out but the colours are still there! Look out, parents!

Hit the image for a close up

"Hens Pecking" acrylic 5x7 framed

Hens pecking? I guess the cheeky bantam needs company. SOLD at Moss Street TD Paint-In19th July 2014

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"Bantam Rooster" oil 5x7 on stretched canvas, framed

I painted this cheeky thing for the TD Paint-In in Moss Street Victoria on Saturday July 19th, 2014. 35-thousand people strolled down the parade looking at paintings by 180 artists.

Want it? Make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

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"Victoria Lavender Farm" composite

Farmer Alan Mayfield of Sidney BC invited me to be the resident artist at his Victoria Lavender Farm Festival.

Want it? Put the title of the painting in the SUBJECT line and make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

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"Garden bench" Finnerty Gardens oils 6x8

A most daunting place to paint - Finnerty Gardens. Not because it's pretty but the artist is surrounded by plants at every turn. So I chose to paint like a millionaire with thick, juicy paint.

Press the image for a closer view (careful it's wet)

Canadian anti-spam law

From now on I need your consent to keep sending you my occasional Blog like this. Do nothing to stay on my list or send me an email ronjbw@gmail.com with UNSUBSCRIBE either in the subject line or within the message. No problem. Meantime, here's my American grandchild at seven in Pelindaba's lavender field.

"Copper kettle, copper bowl" oils

I'm preparing for Moss Street TD Paint-in open air exhibition to take place here in Victoria BC on July 19th, 2014.

Some 35-thousand people are expected to come looking at the art - 'tis very exciting for us artists on Vancouver Island.

Here's the companion piece - "Copper Bowl" (courtesy of the Warren Family) 6 x 8.

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I'm in a Lavender mood

Want it? Put the title of the painting in the SUBJECT line and make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

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"Monet's Trees" homage oil 11x14

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Monet's Trees - I kept my scene loose and sketchy, much like Monet would have done.

Want it? Make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

"Sig" pastel portrait

'Hard to believe, Sig was a Canadian pilot for the RAF when he was twenty - that's seventy years ago! He still looks good and is a marvellous artist.

"Vern" Goward House Portrait Painters

Vern the husband of one of our artists, sat for the portrait group today.
I used pastel pencils, and after tea, I did a quick half profile.

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"Dinghy and draglines" oil 8x10

In the wild west the steeds used to wait patiently outside the saloon. Now-a-days the yachties drag their tenders above the highwater mark, thus my title - dinghy and draglines.

I've said it before, next to the shape of a woman a hull is almost perfection.

Want it? Put the title of the painting in the SUBJECT line and make an offer at kyknoord@outlook.com

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"Mike" portrait sitter

Mike sat for the Goward House Portrait Painters this week - the deal is that you sit for free but at the end of the three-hour session you get to take home the portrait of your choice - with about a dozen artists painting!

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"Elk Lake" oil 10 x 20

Often what you leave out can make or break a painting. I left a single tree out (it was one third in from the right) and the composition just looked out for itself.

Also, it painted itself pretty much - it was finished within two hours, leaving us time to walk along the water's edge a little ways. There were many Alfrescoes out this morning, I'd say about 30 to 40 (there are 80 artists on the email list).

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"Sheldon" Goward House Portrait Painters

Sheldon sat for us today, and the dozen or so artists loved him. He sat still and was nice and chatty with them at the tea break, making many friends I believe.

And YES, they made the Biblical reference...but who wouldn't?

I did a pastel yet I was happier with the pencil profile that I sketched after tea.

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My Hero! A selfie by Sargent

John Singer Sargent this is his selfie which he painted in 1906. This man has inspired countless brilliant artists. Some critics find him too clever by half but if you've ever struggled with a brush you'll know that THIS is the man!

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"The Rock" acrylic 11x14 plein air.

I believe this rock is "erratic" or at best "eccentric" because it is not local to the area - it's as tall as a six-foot person and HEAVY. It could have been deposited on Mount Doug beach fifteen-thousand years ago during an ice age.
The yellow-green is seaweed found here at low tide. The mountain creek meets the sea where my seabirds are feeding on something.
Click for a bigger view.

"Boathouse" pastel 10x12

Happy day - I went painting with Delia Sansom and Ken Faulks today.
Pastels were my choice. Ken did oils and Delia gouache.

Why Faces and Hands are tough

There's always something a little wrong with a portrait. Even Sargent told his sitters "you can always fix it when you get it home." And, "a portrait is something a little wrong with the mouth." Faces are tough because everyone knows when a portrait is off. Especially a sensitive artist like me. So I battle to get the likeness and I'm still intent on improving. Hands are tough too. My hero John Singer Sargent solved his problem by painting hands like flowers.

Check out my portraits too, many of which can be found by scrolling down this my blog. Thanks for your compassionate ear. Ron

"Marcela" drawings at Goward House

Marcela sat for the 17 portrait painters today. I did three drawings - she liked this first one, graphite pencil and white on grey Sennelier paper.

(Then I did a quickie with Conté which I gave to a fellow artist in the group),

and finally I did Conté washed with watercolour which I enjoy because it's quick, sketchy and colourful...

Here's my photo of the sitter:

Three in three hours. I use various media, what works for one sometimes benefits my home medium which is OIL.

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"Lord Mike and Lady Linda" acrylic wash and blue pencil 12x16

We Goward House Portrait Painters were treated to two professional models today - Mike and Linda took the trouble to play dress-up for us. Mike wanted the tapestry of the Virgin in the background (laugh out loud). It was a tall order trying to get all three elements into the painting but I used blue pencil and acrylic wash to nail it within the two-and-a-half hours.

Whew.

Click the painting for a bigger image.

"Gregg Eligh" oil 12x12

Gregg Eligh came and sat for us at Goward House Portrait Painters today. What a fun guy - Gregg is a pro photographer who works with models (hullooo) and advertising execs - he knows his stuff. Apart from that, he is a drummer in an old guys rock 'n roll band. My impressionist portrait of him did not phaze him in the least, even though as a photographer he is accustomed to working with razor sharp pixels. In fact, I think he may like the novelty of seeing himself in choppy brushwork.... Hit the image for a bigger view

"The Warrior, West Bay Marina" oil 8x10

It has Disney-like proportions, sooo cute!
I stumbled across this lil' cutie at West Bay Marina this morning, I parked myself on a cooler box on the floating deck and nailed the beauty with oils within an hour.
Fun, fun, fun.
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"Totem - by Chief Hunt" oil 6x8 plein air

We painted at Government House in Victoria BC - it's so neat that we are allowed to wander through the grounds so freely. After three hours al fresco work we gathered under the pavilion for the show and tell - my friend sat on my wet 6x8 which I had parked on a bench, leaving a nice reverse impression on his jacket! In fact it improved the my painting by softening the edges, so I guess it's a collaboration! Some other friends urged him to frame the jacket and asked me to SIGN it! Hahahaha...lol.

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"Boys Club" oil 11x14

They cut this glorious tree down - OK so it may have been rotten, but it gave me a nice visual lead-in to the Boys Club which was built by Colonel and Mrs Bull for boys to improve their 'character and bodies' in memory of their son who was killed in Holland in 1943.
In the literature nowadays the building is known as "The Boys and Girls Club" (quite right) and no mention is ever made of 'improvements to boys' bodies now... how times have changed. Quite rightly so.

Click the image for a bigger view. This painting is for sale, contact me.

"Bald Eagle graphic version" Conté pencil 9 x 11

I drew a graphic version of my Bald Eagle using Conté pencil this time. Note: The initial watercolour pencil version is a collector's piece and has been sold. 
There is a subtle but real difference in the rendering between the two. If you want this graphic version contact me (see contact the artist) or Fine Art America will make you a fine reproduction of the size and price of your choice. See the details at http://ron-wilson.fineartamerica.com/

  Click this image to enlarge the view,

"Seagulls in the Shallows" oil 11x14

Outdoor painters love this island beach off Mount Douglas Park - we're facing North, looking past the seagulls ambling in the shallows to the sailboat near the horizon. Ian Roberts has written books on mastering composition - his first armature is the S curve which leads the eye wayyyy into the composition.
I think the S and the triangle are the strongest compositional devices. Ian lists them all. You should Google him.

Hit the image for a clearer view.

"Bald Eagle" watercolour pencil on gessoed board 12x16

Sold. Yes!

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"Joan" at Goward House 12x14 w/c

Here I go with my sermon again - use different media, change from oils to watercolours, from pencil to pastel and so on. What you learn in one medium helps you in the other media.

This is Joan, an artist from the Exchanges gallery. She liked it!

My rendering  reminds me of a John Singer Sargent charcoal drawing of a lady seated at the piano, singing spiritual songs. It wasn't a deliberate copy, I just liked the benign expression on Joan's face.

"The Letter" 4x4 oil $200

I am having such fun painting these minis - if you like this one, let me know and it's yours for $200 (I like PayPal)

email me at ronjbw@shaw.ca

"The Letter" 4x4 oil

"Wild Tree at the Seashore" 11x14 oil

There's a wild tree growing right on the edge of the sea at Cattle Point on Vancouver Island. The changing leaves are a jewelled mosaic, and their shadows cast a spectacular filigree on the sand and rocks below.

Hit the image for a bigger view and call me if you want this one.

"High Oaks barn" oil on gesso board 9x12

As Spring is on its way there are more artists to be seen painting on location. This was a busy scene on a rural road on Vancouver Island. It blew a little, some easels fell, but at least we had blue patches of sky above. Hit the image for a bigger view. Call me if you want this one.

"Gillian" oil 12x16

"If it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" - who remembers that movie? Well here in Victoria BC if it's Tuesday it must be Goward House Portrait Painters. Gillian sat for us today. The sitter sits for free but may choose a portrait or two from the dozen or so portraitists to take home free. The session takes less than three hours.

"Michell's Plain" oil 12x14

The flooded field is where cabbages grow normally but today the rains came and dosed the seedlings.
Farmer Vern Michell calls this field the 'mailbox.' Dunno, but HEY he's the boss. Vern is up there like me, so his grand-daughter Nicole does the emails, leaving Vern more time to get on with it!
Author/artist Ian Roberts has been helping me vicariously with my dynamic compositions through his book, so a big shout-out to you, Ian, and your "Mastering Composition." 'Glad to see you're producing even more  DVDs and books to help artists to focus on the essentials.
Hit the image for a bigger view.