By the Sea

Cannery Study
8 x 8
oil on doorskin

I'm on the west coast right now and managed to take advantage of a few hours of dry weather to go to Steveston , an old fishing village, and join a few plein air painters. Above is an old cannery converted into a park with working canneries nearby. Lovely to be by the sea and of course had to indulge in some fish and chips. Now it is back to the usual drizzle mixed with downpours and it's almost too dark to paint.

Plein Air Adventures continued

Sand Cliffs
12 x 16
oil on wrapped canvas

Last Sunday after cheering on friends at a local triathlon I ventured off into the back country searching for a location where I could pull off the road and easily set up all my plein air painting gear. I finally found a spot that would work perfectly, got all organized, paint brush in hand, canvas on the easel and then I realized I had not brought paint. I am going to have to make a list as it seems this whole thing is as complicated as camping and I know I always needed a list for those excursions. The next day I headed off again, this time with my little 4 pound Yorkie who managed to squeak through the gate and into the car. Never wanting to miss a road trip he can often be found curled up on a suitcase or bag by the door knowing that they are destined for the car and he does not want to be left behind. He turned out to be good company and so will be one more item to add to the list.
My highlight of the week was receiving in the mail a painting from Kim Rempel which I won in a draw in honor of her reaching 100 followers! Go see her fabulous paintings at eatdrinkpaint.blogspot.com.

A very cool plein air experience

View to Trout Creek
8 x 8
oil on doorskin

Today I headed up the west side of Okanagan Lake and set up in a lovely little rest area with beautiful views of the community just north of here. I was busy getting all my stuff unpacked when I heard some rustling and up from the beach came a pair of ducks right up to my feet. They checked out my easel and then settled down right underneath it only stirring when someone was walking by as if to warn me. My little buddies stayed till I was finished and then flew off across the lake I had just painted. What a perfect outing!

Below is the second painting that I did down at Vaseux on Sunday.

McIntyre Bluff
8 x 8
oil on doorskin

Plein Air #2

Vaseux Lake
6 x 8
oil on doorskin

This is my second go at plein air and what made this kind of fun was spotting another artist scouting around for a good vantage point. I later followed her route up a back road and found several lookouts above this lake where I set up for my next painting. I often cycle by this lake wishing I could pull over and paint so today I finally was able to spend the morning soaking up the sun and listening to the meadowlarks. I am definitely hooked on plein air!

Reflections

Ladner Harbour
18 x 24
oil on wrapped canvas

This little scene is only 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver and is actually only a block away from downtown Ladner yet it feels so peaceful and quiet. I drove by on my way to get groceries last week and the reflections were so incredible I had to stop to get a photo and couldn't wait to paint it. The little tent on the dock is storage for kayaks which can be rented and paddled up the many little channels off the Fraser River. The stubby little pilings on the right have great tufts of grass growing on them and the forest behind is a nature park.

My Lucky Week

Foraging

16 x 20
oil on wrapped canvas

This week started off a little rough. Cold, wind and rain were putting a damper on my Ironman training, keeping me out of my garden and deterring me from any plein air attempts. Not to be discouraged I looked forward to the workshop I'd be going to in a few days. And then imagine my surprise when the news arrived that I'd won a painting! What a shocker - I never win anything. Time to buy some lottery tickets I think! Anyway Kim Rempel in celebrating reaching 100 followers drew a name to receive a beautiful painting! Check it out and her other paintings at Eatdrinkpaint.blogspot.com. Her work is fabulous. Thanks Kim so much!
And as for the workshop it was put on by Bonny Roberts, a great BC artist. We were able to take 5 paintings that we were stuck on to be critiqued and hopefully resolved. Fix It Finish It was the name of the workshop and the above horse which I posted last year as 'in progress' is finally now finished. Thanks Bonny for putting on a great workshop.