Roadside Attraction

30" x 40" acrylic on canvas

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I drive past this big old barn every time I go to
my husband's family cottage on Georgian Bay (Lake Huron). This was painted from a photo that I took last summer. This spring I discovered that part of the barn collapsed over the winter. I guess I will have to paint an updated version!

Around the Bend

24" x 36"

Acrylic on Canvas

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The title of this one is sort of how I am feeling today. I am working on another painting - struggling is a better word. Sometimes the creativity flows, and other times it has to be dragged out of you.

It is driving me around the bend!!

Neighbours

30" x 30" acrylic on canvas


Speaking of neighbours, check one one of my all time favourite artists, Mark Gould. He paints an amazing neighbour series, which inspires me everytime I look at his paintings.

Clarksburg Morning

24" x 48" acrylic on canvas

This one was a challenge, but so much fun to paint! It is the largest painting in size that I have ever done at 24"x48". It depicts the main street of my little town, where I often walk first thing in the morning. I will be submitting it to the upcoming Loft Gallery Spring Show.

Spring Impression

16" x 20"
Acrylic on canvas
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I sometimes wonder if my infatuation with painting buildings stems from the fact that I always wanted to become an architect. I took a half a year of engineering to try to pursue this route, but soon found out that I was much more of a people person, and went into marketing instead (which finally lead me to painting). I've always wondered what would have happened if I had chosen the path of architect...

Before Nightfall

24" x 24"

Acrylic on Canvas



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There is something magical about the last few minutes before night cloaks the world in darkness...

Vasey Barn

24" x 24"

Acrylic on Canvas

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Check out one of my favourite artists, Canadian landscape painter Mike Svob. He has such beautiful, vibrant landscapes. I kick myself for not taking one of his workshops when I lived out west.

Awakening

16"x16"
Acrylic on Canvas

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Spring is here. Can you tell that I am excited about it? R Garriott had a great question about how I paint. So I thought that I would share a little more with you. I know how much I enjoy seeing how other artists' work evolves.

I usually paint on canvas (cotton), with a ground applied. Most recently I have been starting with black gesso. But I have also been known to use red, purple and yellow as an initial ground colour as well.

I then use chalk pastel to sketch in the composition. I usually do a few thumbnail sketches on paper to make sure the composition works.

Next I jump in with my acrylic paints. I love love love Golden heavy body acrylics, and though I have a few other brands (Windsor Newton/Liquitex), I primarily use Golden. I find it is best if I am as fearless as possible when applying colours, because with acrylics, I can always mellow it out later. Plus, acrylics darken when they dry - a component that I really struggled with when I first started using them. I enjoy layering colours in an impasto sort of way. I am afraid that I am just too impatient to glaze (which is a shame because it really adds a glowing sort of element to your paintings). My other favourite way to paint is negative painting (ie. painting the space between two shapes, like the sky between tree branches etc). I often look for a composition which allows me to do this.

When I am done, and the paint is dry, I wipe off any remaining chalk pastel with a wet rag. I finish all of my paintings with a semi gloss varnish, the sheen gives a richness to the acrylic paint, and brings out the colour.

That's it in a nutshell. Above you will see three different stages of a painting I did yesterday. What's your process?

Solitary Understanding

24" x 24" acrylic on canvas

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I am preparing for an upcoming studio tour: The Blue Mountain Tour of the Arts. I am thrilled to be displaying my work at a beautiful local store in Thornbury, Interior Motives. Leslie Lewis, the store owner, has a wonderful array of home decor, furniture, and gifts available. It is the perfect setting for my artwork!

The tour is on the May long weekend, as well as over Canadian Thanksgiving. If you are in the Collingwood, Ontario area then, come check it out!

Windswept

24" x 36" acrylic on canvas

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Hope everyone had a great Easter. I know I did. Lots of time spent with the family, and puttering around the yard outside. I am ready for spring!

You can see that by the colours I got into on this painting.

Lasting Impression

We have had a beautiful March here in Ontario. No snow, sunny days, and the daffodils were even getting ready to bloom. Then April came, and as most Canadians can attest - ANYTHING can happen with the weather in March/April. We just had a big storm blow through here that left us with 18 inches of powder in 24 hours.

So here is my final homage to winter. Now I am off to snow blow the driveway. Adieu!

Good Morning Sunshine

12" x 12" acrylic on canvas

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This is the final painting that I have completed for an upcoming show at the Loft Gallery. The theme is "by the square foot" and all paintings are 12x12 inches in size. Painting this was fun. I have many more photos of Ontario victorian century homes to paint - so you will be seeing more of these!

On another note, my painting "Waiting" was just accepted into the BMFA Juried Art Show opening this weekend. I am very excited!

Fenced In

12" x 12" acrylic on canvas

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Here is my latest. But I am just not happy with it. I think (as my husband got me thinking), that the fence has ending up being the centre of interest, rather than the barn. I was trying to capture this beautiful, pinkish evening light that was present in my photograph (and the reason I pulled my car over to the side of the road last summer to capture this scene). Thoughts?

Waiting

18" x 36" acrylic on canvas

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It seems that I am not done with the barn yet! Thanks for every one's comments on my last posting. After creating the smaller barn studies, I used your suggestions and went with the red barn in this larger painting.

It is great to be painting again after having two weeks off. I am excited and ready to go! The hardest part is just deciding what to paint next. I am off to rifle through my stack of photos...

Red Barn

12" x 12" acrylic on canvas

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I painted the same barn image again, playing with some different colours. This time I went into the red/orange/yellow spectrum. What do you think? Any preference: red palette vs. the blue/grey that I had painted previously?

I won't be posting for a couple of weeks, as we are going on a family vacation to Palm Springs/Anaheim. Woo-hoo. I am ready for some heat. I hope to have some great pictures from Joshua Tree National Park to paint from when I get back.