Sketches from my BC tour.


 If nothing else, grab whatever scene comes into view - whether it be something you see out of your window - like this scene while sailing on a BC ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert at the end of July 2011. I wasn't the only artist sketching on board, Laurie Collins from Australia was doing rapid watercolours from the stern. I can't show them here but they were very good.

You could try a shopping bag right before you.







Sometimes even an unsuspecting customer in the restaurant will do. (I DID show it to him upon completion but he pretended not to know who that gentleman was).










Lastly, copy a photograph from a magazine - remember to change it a lot so that you don't get accused of plagiarism.


















I take a sketchbook just about everywhere I go - it's sometimes a relief from dragging a camera around.

"Wild Roses and Irises" acrylic, 6 x 8

'Twas a dull morning at Government House in Victoria but I loved the complementary contrast between the irises and the yellow-green grass and I welcomed the chance of using my fast-drying acrylics again. The irises were dropped in by knife - they are taking longer to dry 'cos they're so thick!

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COMMENTS encouraged.
Thanks, Ron

"Rhodos" oil 6 x 8

Rhodos

"McNeill Bay" (Trial Island) plein air oil 11 x 14

Windy but good to be painting outdoors - a real bounty. That's the CanadianTrial Island lighthouse in the middle distance with the Olympic Mountains (a mile high) of the USA in the far distance. The Strait of Juan de Fuca lies between the two countries. Hi there, neighbours!

"Way to the Beach" oil 11 x 14

These standing palms line the way to the beach at Kihei.

 Sunlight, the sea and sand, they stand on guard for thee.

"Faye" 6 x 8 oil

Faye was our sitter at Goward House Portrait painters in Victoria BC today. First I did a face-on sketch in charcoal just to warm up (I won't show it here). 

It is our last session before the Summer Break and everyone did very well ...

 

"Farm Fence - Saanich" oil 8 x 10

I was drawn by the curving fence.

"Poppies and Wild Roses" (Saxe Point) oil on canvas board 6 x 8

Painting from my heart with no commercial agenda in mind, only deep respect for the medium and application. I love what I do, and hope you do too ...
First I sketched the scene on my blank white canvas using thinned Cadmium Red then applied the main colors with a broad brush, only hinting at detail, allowing some of the underpainting to show through.
I use water-soluble oils. Some call it water-mixable. I like the Grumbacher Max oils mostly but I also use COBRA from the Netherlands (watervermengbare olieverf) and ARTISAN by Winsor & Newton water-soluble oils too.

Click on the image to see a larger view then press your BACK button to return here. Your COMMENTS are always helpful to me.
Thanks
Ron

"Trish" pencil portrait 9 x 11

Our sitter at Goward House this week was Trish. 2B graphite pencil on Robert Bateman bristol paper.

"Hillside Morning" oil on canvas mounted on Baltic plywood 6 x 8

Moss seems to gather on a remote stony outcrop, especially if the only passing traffic is the occasional deer. My friends always want to know where this is - well I'll give you a clue = Nanaimo on Vancouver island where I lived for a couple years.

"Saxe Point Musack" en plein air 11 x 14 oil on canvas board

Although the sun was shining on Vancouver Island this morning we were greeted by a chilly sea breeze - which was good 'cos it makes the tree bend al la Group of Seven and it was no problem to cheat the cold by throwing on a sweater. Following the sale of an earlier painting of mine which was done with juicy brushwork a little light went on in my mind - bing! So I went thick impasto today. 'Hope you like ...

"Marilyn" oil on watercolour paper 10 x 12

Firstly I sketched Marilyn's face with Conte pencil just to get the drawing done, then I wet the entire paper with ordinary kitchen cleaning spray. While the paper was wet I used a paper towel to wipe the whole paper down and started applying oils - (water-soluble oils).

I'd never done this before so beware if YOU try it.

Marilyn was our sitter at the Goward House Portrait Painters this week. The likeness isn't accurate - I was going for how I imagined Marilyn might FEEL inside ... so the painting is expressive rather than an accurate representation of who she really is. A different reality, if you like.

"Jess" 9 x 12 oil

Figure session at Goward House Portrait Painters last Tuesday.

"Japanese Lantern" 8 x 10 oil on canvas, Baltic ply

This is my study in greys - a stone lantern about man-height at the bottom of the Glendale Gardens in Saanich, Vancouver Island. Painted en plein air,  two-and-a-half hours in the wind and dust!

"Ken" 10 x 12 portrait with conte pencil and watercolor

Today at Goward House one of our portrait painters (Ken) stood in for a sitter. Ken describes himself as a man who reaps what he sows ...

"Tranquil Twilight" oil on shellac'd Baltic Plywood 11 x 14

As the sun goes down a peaceful twilight sets over the island shores. Colours become softer and warmer, a great time to paint if we're quick enough.

"Moonlight Over Astoria" oil 11 x 14 on Shellac Baltic Ply

The bridge becomes the backdrop for the fishing vessel on chocks at Astoria USA, with the moon blazing through its superstructure. It is midnight.

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"John Curnow" oil sketch 11 x 14

John Curnow (formerly of Cornwall) is our sitter at Goward House Portrait Painters today. Time allowed = three hours.

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Your COMMENT (see below) will be appreciated.

"Maurice" oil 6 x 8

From a vast distance we can recognise a familiar person by his posture even before we're near enough to confirm that it IS he - the way he walks, stands or sits.

This is the attitudinal body language that painters of portraits seek. Here's Maurice, at ease with friends, sharing a bottle of wine on a Sunday evening.

"Ebb Tide, Cattle Point" oil 11 x 14 plein air

A lot can happen in three hours - that's the time I had available to paint this oil at Cattle Point this morning. The tide was going out and at the end of the session this little bay was almost bereft of water. But when I got it home I saw that the composition was too cluttered so I simplified it and renamed it "Sails and Seagulls." Much better.

"Captain Dave" oil 11 x 14

At Goward House our sitter is Captain David L. Myerscough - he sat extremely patient and still,  which is most important to painters of portraits. Dave paid me the compliment of selecting my one from a host of wonderful paintings.
The rule - if you sit, you get to keep one to take home, no charge.
As usual, click on this image to see a bigger version then hit your BACK button to return here.

Also, your COMMENT (see the form below) is welcome.

"Caroline" portrait sketch 10 x 8

Our sitter today is Caroline - Ken had spotted her in a restaurant and told her about the Portrait Painters of Goward House -  whoever sits patiently for the three hours is invited to select a portrait from the dozen or so painters to take home.  Caroline chose Elfrida's painting - an excellent portrait. Above is mine.

Your COMMENT (click on't below) is welcome.

"Figurine" 8 x 10 oil

Still life for a change.

"Rusty Locomotive" oil 11 x 14

I am fascinated by old machines and wrecks, neglected and marooned. This sugarland train rusts away in   Port Elizabeth - South Africa. That's the remains of a tender in front of the loco. What do you think of this alternative title "Sugarland Expess" - nice and ironic? COMMENTS are encouraged.

"Mallard - Beacon Hill Park" 11 x 14 oil on Raymar

Back to my beloved OILS again today - painting in Victoria's Beacon Hill Park en plein air alongside my buddy Ken Faulks. Glorious sunshine and chatting to passers-by such as Bart from Wisconson and several Al Frescoes painters. A wonderful morning. Click on this image to enlarge it then press your BACK button to return here. COMMENTS encouraged

"Sir James Douglas" pen and ink portrait

The drawing reads better if you click on the image to enlarge it.
Then hit your BACK button to return here.

Old Cemeteries Society President Wilf Bruch (right) formally accepts the Douglas drawing from me

In March I donated this pen 'n ink portrait to the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria. http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/about.htm
I did it in 1999 from a photograph of the one-time BC premier, the photograph was hanging in the BC Legislature in Victoria.
I have always wanted to draw faces of 'wanderers' - people who have been places, and their life-journeys are recorded like landscapes on their faces -- inner conflicts which have been met and mastered.
I sketch people just about anywhere - on a beach in Maui or at an airport; on a ferry, in the streets of the city. You're next!

"Molokini Crater from Ahihi Linau" acrylics 8 x 10

Th extinct volcano crater of Molokini lies at a distance - I was painting at Ahihi Linau in Maui with three other artists -- John Cosby, Jan Bushart and Jamie Roth. The sun caused diamonds on the water.

"Hawaiian Hibuscus" 6 x 8 acrylics

This flambouyant beauty grows on the hedge of our rental cottage here in Maui,  when I picked it and stuck it into a Polynesian ceramic bowl it said ALOHA to me!

"Palauea Beach, Maui" acrylic 9 x 12

Today I painted out with a small group of plein air painters on Palauea Beach, Maui.  I need to have my paintings dry enough to be packed in my suitcase so I worked in acrylics. With the warm temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit the painting dried instantly! I went for a nice long swim in the ocean afterwards.

"Molokini Crater, Maui" acrylics 9 x 12

The Molokini crater of Maui is a sickle-moon shaped volcano crater sticking out of the ocean. Snorkelers sail there to marvel at the sea life. I am beach-bound and can only try to render the inherent strength and beauty of this region with simplicity and directness, my own personal echo to the vibe of the extinct force.  

"Sunset, Makena Beach - Maui" 8 x 10 oil

Painted en plein air in Maui.
About an hour - I avoided looking directly at the sun setting over the ocean and I turned slightly to the right to paint this scene.

"Cane Field, Maui" 8 x 10 acrylics

I'm laptopping you from a cottage a few miles away from this scene. As usual,  please click on the painting to get a larger image, then use your BACK button to return here. COMMENTS are welcome!

"Lime Kiln Lighthouse, San Juan Island" acrylic 6 x 8

I'm using my new acrylic paint - I find the paintings clean and almost graphic much like a poster illustration but I am still using the same definite swipe of brushstroke that I use in oils. There it is ... San Juan Island, USA.

"Island Wildflowers" acrylic 6 x 8

California poppies make a great floral frontispiece for this rural tale here on the island. I like the tell-tale sign of an infrequently used roadway going between the posts - a farm path so little used that grass grows over its tracks! Nice - one has access but it's certainly no highway ... click on COMMENTS for your feedback.

"Kate" one-hour portrait sketch 6 x 8 oils

Tuesday afternoons is when a dozen or so portrait painters gather at Goward House to flex their likeness muscles! Today's model is simply "Kate."

"Cattle Point Pools" oils 6 x 8

When the tide is out the foreshore is a tweendeck for exploration and wonder - revealing rocks, sand, marine and plant life.  Twelve hours later the show is over until Nature's next performance.

"The Lavender Shed" oils 8 x 10

Tucked away at the end of the lavender rows is the little shed where some of the prettier stalks are stored, pending buyers of the yet un-processed plants because most of the harvest goes for the making of a host of products ranging from soaps to essential oils. AHhhh...

I painted this in a swift broad brush style - click on't for a bigger view then hit your BACK button to return here - COMMENTS are encouraged. Thanks, Ron.

"Little Brown Pot" oil 11 x 14

Artist Keith Campbell lent me the series of DVDs by Helen van Wyk who died in 1994 - in this still life from my kitchen I used many of the tips and principles from her TV series.   I followed her classic European way of painting; using acrylic underpainting in greys, oil overpainting in colour, a composition of simple elements, soft edges, "whoop-si-doos" and a flourish of brushwork. I'd be interested in your COMMENTS please.

"Sunny Delight" oil 11 x 14

A wee bit of sun does wonders for the soul.  Blissful warmth finds its way into the cabin of the Washington State Ferry. Or MAYBE, she is thinking of Valentine's Day and the quiet joy it may bring ... you be the judge.

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Please add a COMMENT.

"Wave watching at Holland Point" oil 11 x 14

We have always had a fascination for the breaking wave. This is a gentle crash at Holland Point, Victoria BC.
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Add your COMMENT please,
Thanks

Ron

"Inner Harbour Panorama" oil 14 x 24

A Japanese visitor called the Morris Gallery in Victoria BC and asked for a painting that would show both the world-famous Empress Hotel AND the Legislature building in ONE painting.
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"Urban Cup" Cafe - oil 12 x 12

The Urban Cup Cafe is situated on Shelbourne Street, quite near to the Cedar Hill Cross Road in Victoria BC. The atmosphere is great - the cafe is frequented by seniors from the neighbourhood and students from UVic. The food is excellent and the prices are reasonable. The cafe is owned by Jeff whom I've painted here like a Manet figure behind the counter. I may have a little more to do on this rough sketch...your COMMENTS are invited. Click on the word COMMENTS below here.

Thanks,

Ron

"Metro Van" 8 x 10 oil on canvas mounted on Baltic plywood

I saw this International Harvester Metro Van in the small vessel docks in Port Townsend USA while on a painting trip last year. It is probably a 1969 model but I'm not sure. Somebody help me out here.

Anyway the metro van was designed by Raymond Loewy who had also designed the Coke bottle, the aerodynamic Hupmobile and the Studebaker amongst other things - the van was used as a short haul multi-stop vehicle which could be used as a milk delivery van or even a mobile bar! I love it 'cos it's ugly/beautiful and I once owned a Hupp.

To start the New Year I am painting what I like, what's dear to me, and I'm painting this not for money but for me. Selfish but with great affection for the subject. My car friends tell me that's a 1959 Peugeot in the background...

"Little Falls" oil 6 x 8

Painted with really thick impasto brush strokes, some little knife work, and a smudge with a deliberate finger!
This is an iconic view of the interior of British Columbia. Bold for 2011 ...