Red Boat

18" x 24" acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Here is a painting that I just finished for the upcoming "Vessels" show at the BMFA Gallery in Collingwood. It is my first time showing in this area since we moved, so I am a little nervous! The show runs the month of March.

On another note, check out Annie Salness' current blog entry on the "creative habit", the comments section lists a number of ways people have developed work habits to foster their creativity (and makes you realize you are not alone in this game!).

Karen

My portraiture class was on Friday again. Our model this week was Karen. She had fabulous features, and was a lot of fun to paint. This ended up a little more stylized than I had planned. It was an interesting experiment using the black ground that I typically use in my landscapes. Next week I am going to try using a green underpainting!

Old Barn - Stormy Sky

I am in love with the huge, aging barns of Ontario. With beautiful rock foundations, and gorgeous old timbers, they are like massive sculptures in the rural landscape.

12" x 12" acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Layered Forest

Here is another forest painting. I broke out the palette knife for the tree trunks. I forgot how much fun painting with a palette knife can be! The key is to use lots of paint, which is something I am always pushing myself to do when using my paint brushes.

SOLD

Study: Marina

I am entering an upcoming show themed "Vessels", so I am honing up on my paintings of boats. Here is a little study that I put together.

Art Blog Award

What a lovely surprise! I received an art blog award from two talented artists whose work I admire, Camille Olsen and Sally Tharp . Check out the links to their blogs to see their wonderful art.

I am supposed to list 7 things I love, and pass this on to 7 friends. Here it goes:

1. I love my husband Mark, who is supportive and caring, and makes me laugh (even when he is not trying to).

2. I love my son Max, who is a whirlwind of kid, and who gives me constant joy (and the occasional migraine?!).

3. I love the Bubbster, that's my 90 lb, ten year old black lab dog, companion extraordinaire.

4. I love paint - great colourful globs of it!

5. I love being out in nature: my (almost) daily walks in the woods keep me grounded and always energize me.

6. I love people: family, friends, aquaintances, and strangers alike!

7. I love food. Planning meals, cooking, baking and of course eating is the best part.

Now here are seven artists/blogs you really need to check out!

Paula Cravens

Carol Schiff

Miro Sinovcic

Susan Abbott

Edward B. Gordon

Annie Salness

Faye Christian Phillips

At the Beach

I am taking a great portraiture class at the moment, taught by Cynthia Marsh. Here is a picture of my son Max, painted from a photo from when we were in Hawaii a few years ago. I have a lot to learn when it comes to painting people, but I really enjoy it!

Summer Light

Here is my painting for today. It was minus 23C (-7F) this morning, so I am dreaming of summer!

Up Ahead

Here is another painting that I just finished for my backroads series. I have been wanting to paint telephone wires for a while now - ever since I saw work by artist Angie Refro. I love her wires (and her birds rock too). Check it out.

Drifting

Ok - so I have totally broken the number one composition rule of putting your centre of interest smack dab in the middle of the canvas. But I think it still works because of the turbulent sky, the fence and the value change in the foreground to guide your eye around. What do you think?

Fall Birches Study

I was looking through my Fall photos this weekend, and decided to paint this one. Our property is filled with birch trees, and they were beautiful when they changed colours this fall.