Day 30 of 30

Inuksuk

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

The finale and none too soon.  Although there are great benefits to the discipline of painting daily there can be many drawbacks and some sort of balance must be found.  Having said that I truly enjoyed this final day of painting in the company of my much missed artist friends sharing stories and creations all the while working on this last piece, an inuksuk found at the top of McIntyre Bluff over looking the town of Oliver.

Day 29 of 30

Storm over Vaseau sketch

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

One of the things I like the most about the Okanagan is the volatile weather and the dramatic skies.  Many times I have pulled over and jumped out of the car with my camera to get some reference material to paint from. 

Day 28 of 30

Out to Pasture

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Love old machinery and found this specimen at my favourite lunch and produce stop Covert Farms in Oliver.

Day 27 of 30

Up in the Bluffs

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

High above Skaha Lake and above the famous climbing bluffs is one of my favourite areas to trail run.  Some new growth amongst remnants of a long ago forest fire but the meadows still provide vistas of the mountains beyond and sometimes the lake below.

Day 26 of 30

Desert Colors

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

The golden hour adds magic to the already beautiful colors in the desert just north of Joshua Tree, California.

Day 25 of 30

The Pond

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Another scene crying for a bigger format, this pond and pine tree will be a future project.  Situated along the shores of Skaha Lake it guards the entrance way to trails offering endless lake views and some wildlife if one is lucky. 

Day 24 of 30

Flooded

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

The weather is beautiful so I'm not sure why there is so much evidence of flooding around unless it's the result of the dense layers of fog that seem to drift around. 

Day 23 of 30

North Vaseau

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Here is a view of Vaseau looking north with some fall colours and the 'golden hour' lighting.  One of my favourite birding locations.

Day 22 of 30

Vaseau

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Painted this one in my car while ferrying over to Vancouver Island.  Tough to get good straight horizon lines with the vibrations from the engines and no sadly it is not a plein air of my view but from a photo on my Ipad.  Could have had a view if I was 2 cars forward or 2 cars back.  

Day 21 of 30

Mont Blanc study

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

My first trip to France involved cycling in the Alps where spectacular views of Mont Blanc could be seen.  Beautiful alpine villages with as many goats and cows in the streets as people.

Day 20 of 30

Malbork Castle

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Poland is an amazing country full of beautiful architecture but what I remember the most is the 13th century castle Malbork, the largest castle in the world.  The design in astounding in that it has heated floors, secret passageways from kitchen to dining halls for transport of food and bathroom facilities that are removed from the living space and act as escape routes.  It is enormous and I can now see how a city can thrive within the walls.

Day 19 of 30

Maui Church

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

If you dare to travel this road you will be rewarded by rare and beautiful sights including this quaint little church.  

Day 18 of 30

Mountain Lake

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

A  beautiful BC lake, enjoyed painting this one.  

Day 17 of 30

Australia Shoreline study

6 x 6 

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

A much photographed cove featured gorgeous rock formations and the oh so sandy beaches of east coast Australia.  We spent several weeks exploring the coast from Sydney up to Noosa north of Brisbane most of it swimming and playing in the waves.

Day 16 of 30

Canazei, Dolomites

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Another one of my top 10 places to go and I must return - the Italian Dolomites.  We cycled point to point in 2012 through the Alps and Dolomites in Italy and they were jaw dropping beautiful, spectacular and worth a revisit to paint and hike. 

Day 15 of 30

Kam II

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

One of my favourite places apparently had some nasty weather and a huge waterspout yesterday.  But since I can't be there right now I decided to paint it as I remember it with soft breezes and glorious sunshine.

Day 14 of 30

Farm in the Kootenays sketch

6 x 6 

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

A quick sketch today, a scene that I'm fond of and will paint larger.

Day 13 of 30

Horse study

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Well I have given up on this one but will try again sometime as I like the composition.  Maybe it would work better with oils as I find acrylics frustrating in the blending and nailing the value department.

Day 12 of 30

Longing for Freedom

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas

Today started off with a fabulous 10 k run up in the hills with a great group of fellow trail runners and one of the highlights was coming across several wild horses.  I tried to get a snapshot of them with my phone but will have to head out there sometime with a real camera.  In the meantime I've painted this poor fellow stuck behind a wire fence. 

Day 11 of 30

High Water  SOLD

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Heading south on a birding drive I came across the most remarkable scene - the valley floor was flooded and a herd of horses was out looking for exposed grasses to graze on.  The backdrop was stunning with layers of foothills and mountains.  Some day I will paint the whole scene.

Day 10 of 30

Subtle Moves

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

I love the deep rich colors of this horse with a coat so well groomed that the sky reflects off it.  The rider gives subtle shifts in weight, a slight squeeze or maybe a nudge, barely perceptible but the horse in partnership moves accordingly.

Day 9 of 30

Calm and Collected

6 x 6 

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

This fine horse is being ridden by a friend of mine using a dressage manoeuvre called collection.  It is a thing of beauty watching the rider control the horse's centre of gravity so that the weight is carried more on the hind legs, the body shortens and the head is held high.  We used to think of it as a form of bodybuilding back when I was doing a little jumping and dressage.  A pleasure to paint especially in the good company of my plein air group who thankfully decided to paint indoors today.

Day 8 of 30 Equine

Double Up Bareback

6 x 6

Acrylic on Canvas Paper

This image is painted from a borrowed photo, the photo itself being amazing and I can't do it justice.   Somehow the boots didn't look right and it took a while before I finally realized that there are two riders.

Day 7

Mourning Dove

6 x 6

Acrylic on canvas paper

This past week of scanning through hundreds of photos from my birding outings has made me long to get out there again and share their world.  When one can watch a bird up close through a telephoto lens a whole new world opens up and these creatures take on personalities and social or life and death dramas can occur before your eyes.  Much more to paint on this subject but tomorrow I'm moving on and I think it will be equine themed.

Day 6

Yellow Rumped Warbler  SOLD

6 x 6

Acrylic on canvas paper

After yesterday's crow this warbler was a joy to paint.  I do love color.  

Day 5 of the 30 day Challenge

Crow Study

6 x 6 

acrylic on canvas paper

A very busy day today and having precious little time to paint what better a subject than a black crow.  Easy right, just black, white and all the values in between.  Easier said than done but done it is.  

Day 4 30 Day Challenge

Golden Crowned

6 x 6

acrylic on canvas paper

Here we go - a view of the topside of the Golden Crowned Kinglet showing off his colors.  

Day 3 More Birds

Kinglet

6 x 6

acrylic on canvas paper

The Golden Crowned Kinglet is such an exquisite little bird and such a joy to watch flitting about the forest in search of food.  The golden crown when visible is really striking so I'll make sure it shows on my next attempt at portraying this gem.

Day 2 of the 30 day challenge

Rough Legged Hawk

6 x 6 

acrylic on canvas paper

Well this painting was a struggle.  Didn't feel like painting a bird today but toiled away and learned a few things as I went so all was not lost.  I think with these guys one has to decide between realistic fine detail with a tiny brush or somewhat abstract with big strokes.  There is just too much going on with the feathers and subtle shadows.  

Singing in The New Year

Bewick's Wren

6 x 6

acrylic on canvas paper

This is Day 1 and the start of Leslie Saeta's 30 day Challenge for 2014.  Last year I found a vast improvement in all things involved with completing a 6 x 6 painting due to the fact that painting for 30 days in a row forced me to be organized, helped to simplify the process and made me realize that just sitting down and getting started got me over the hurdle of what to paint, how to paint it and all those other creative blocks that pop up and stall the effort.  This little wren was sitting in a bush across the street from me and was singing up a storm so I thought it appropriate for the start of the New Year.