"Canefield, Maui" acrylic 9x12

Maui gives the artist wonderful complementaries such as the purple ridges and the yellow fields. This plein air painting was done in acrylic on stretched canvas, no frame - drop me a line if it appeals to you. It is for sale.
Click the painting for a bigger image.

"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...

"Macauley Point" pastel 8 x 11

The summer never seems to end - today I took full advantage of the brilliant sun and rendered Macauley Point in Esquimalt Victoria BC with my pastels. (Click the image for a bigger view).  The original can be had through me (send me an email) or order a reasonably-priced print through Fine Art America. The link is on this page.

"Birds, Oak Bay" oils 11x14

Gulls in the sky, Canada Geese on the water. Perfect weather - plein air painting in ninety minutes. Click on it for a bigger view.

I used my trusty bike to get to the location - fun, fun, fun - who needs to ride the Tour de France?

"Happy Valley Lavender Farm" oil 11x14

Click for a bigger image.
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.

Colour blind?

"Mount Baker and Yacht" miniature oil on Belgian Linen

Colour blindness isn't a problem. In fact it is quite a lot of fun, it sets

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!

McNeill Bay Summer" pastel 8 x 10

Click it for a bigger view.

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?

"Dinghy at rest" oil 6x8

Dinghies are like pet dogs - they wait for the return of the owner whilst the latter is elsewhere engaged. Patient, helpful, resolute.
Email me to own this one. Unframed, but will grace any home or boat...or office.

Click on it for a bigger view.

"Red Boat" Oak Bay Marina, 3 works

Using soft pastels and black paper from a 1920s photo album I made this preparatory sketch of a red boat at Oak Bay Marina this morning (above).

 Then thanks to a recent visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario and exposure to Thomson originals, I used thick impasto in oils (above).

They say that if we work in different media then each of these can improve. The whole lot. Oils w/c, pastels, drawings. It seems to work for me...

There was time for a third painting of my Plein Air morning so I changed to pastels again and sought out this isolated blue dinghy which I had painted a few times before (below).

(Above) This one is Pastel. Each image is clickable for a bigger view, your COMMENT will be invaluable.

"Darrin" oils 11x14 on canvas pad

At Goward House Portrait Painters today fellow artist Angela introduced Darrin as her ten-year old grandson.

"Eleven," he said without missing a tweet on his device.

For two hours he sat, eyes glued to the iPhone while we captured his countenance. Click the image for a bigger view. Your comment is encouraged.

"Kayaks at Fisherman's Wharf" acrylic 11x14

Busy busy busy Fisherman's Wharf presents a problem for the plein air painter 'cos there SO MUCH visual attraction from boats to birds. But I selected a small corner of the bay and used acrylics to capture this scene.
Click it to see a bigger view.

"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).