Highlighters & Pen

Being laid up with a bad cold and listless/bored I scribbled this 2x3 sketch with highlighters and a pen.

When I scanned and enlarged it, it looked promising...go figure.
Maybe I'll go into abstraction...if your computer does mouse-over enlargements, try it. I think it'll make a great modern poster.

"Oak Bay Marina" w/c 6x8

In the early morn pre-rain light the shapes are soft and even. I was drawn to this gondola-shaped hull in the bay. Overcast weather is when you haul out yer watercolours and stretch yer paper. A few swift strokes is all you need or the painting gets too busy - when you get the message and know what it is, it's time to halt.

"Carla" charcoal and pastels 8x11

"Carla" charcoal and pastels - I liked this one and so did two of my fellow Goward House Portrait Painters, yet at the end of the session Carla chose to take home NOT my charcoal drawing but my little pastel sketch instead!

It only took a few minutes but she liked it anyway...

"Red, Red Wine" 12x16 oil

The sun and the grapes become liquid sunlight in a bottle. Cha cha cha folks! With water-soluble oil I kept my brush strokes loose for this impressionistic-realistic still life.

"Path - Dallas Road Beach" oil 11x14

Sunlight penetrated the fog and lit up the sea at the Dallas Road Beach this morning.
Plein Air is much sought-after by the cognoscenti these days even though it has been around for a hundred years.
I used water-soluble oils without any medium. With the result that I got thick and juicy brush strokes. Yes!

First shown at Dales Gallery in Victoria's Chinatown 2nd - 21st December, 2013.

Now one of THEE most visited paintings on my Blog. Super.....

"Una" pastel 8x11

Una sat for us at the Goward House Portrait Painters this week, I found her refreshingly outgoing and nice. It could have been a better likeness but I had to leave early. Again with the pastels and I'm loving it.

"Stadacona Park" pastel 8x11

After spending THREE days making my pastel box ENTIRELY out of re-cycled stuff I took it for a test drive in Stadacona Park today. It's a quickie (forty minutes) but I like the looseness and the cheeky colour. I think I have rainbow vision...

"Mt.Doug Mist" oil 6x8

'Overjoyed when I woke up to MIST this morning, and I couldn't wait to paint the softness at Mount Douglas Park.

"Urban Sanctuary" (Pavement Poppies)

Click the image for a bigger view...

Which of the two titles works BEST? "Urban Sanctuary" or "Pavement Poppies" I'd welcome your choice. Here's Colleen in Fort Street walking in the area the art experts call THE GOLDEN MEAN. Flowers galore - Victoria is great that way. Do send me your choice for the most apt title. Thanks, Ron

"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.