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.

Beautiful Fall Colours

Delta Farmlands

14 x 11

Acrylic

One of my favourite walks is along the dyke in Delta and though usually I'm looking out across the marshes to the Strait of Georgia on this day I was fascinated by the beauty of the farm fields in their fall colours with the coast mountains as a back drop.  This painting started off as a study for a larger piece but I think sometimes the studies done in a loose and stress free style often evolve better than a tightly crafted well planned piece. 

Abstract Nature of Marine Industry

Day 8 Ship's Bow

6 x 6 

Acrylic on Canvas

Most marine painters seem to choose a photographic approach to painting boats and ships used in the marine industry.  I'm fascinated by the multitude of abstract designs everywhere one looks.  This was a fairly simple block in of shapes providing ample opportunity to play with warm and cool colors and should have been fun and easy but I found it very challenging feeling my way through the whole painting process.

Sunset on the Dock

Day 7 On the Dock

6 x 6 

acrylic on canvas

One evening in the fall I arrived on the dock to pick up my husband and the sun setting right behind the bow of the ship produced the most amazing colors and fabulous shadows - hard to duplicate.

Whistler in September

Ladner Marsh

24 x 20

oil on canvas

I am so excited to be able to spend a week in Whistler next year having lived there years ago and rarely getting a chance to go back for visits.  The best part though is that I will be attending a workshop put on by the Federation of Canadian Artists and led by some really great painters.  Check out the website for details.

The above scene is a marshy nature reserve and is right across the street from our "city" home.  A great place to go birding or just for a walk to watch the sun go down.

Success!

Reifel Bird Reserve

8 x 10 study

Acrylic

On Saturday Opus Art Supplies challenged all artists to come out and join an outdoor painting challenge.   Before 10 am we were to pick up our canvas, on the large size at 16 x 20, and then paint within a defined area around Opus including some downtown and the waterfront nearby and then hand in the painting by 3 pm, awards at 5 pm.  Setting the mood for the day and first up was a fun interview and photos from a Kelowna Capital News team making me feel like a celebrity and before the photo shoot was over I had spotted exactly what I wanted to paint.    Planting my gear right by the waterfront pathway ensured a steady procession of artists, walkers, joggers and cyclists many making friendly comments as they passed by.  The most satisfying were the excited shrieks from the children as they discovered another painter!  Although the time limit of five hours sounded like there would be lots of time for lunch breaks and socializing the challenges of changing light, sun on the canvas and other peculiarities of outdoor painting had me at the easel for the entire time with only a five minute break for a cookie.  The whole project went sideways for about two hours with brief flutterings of despair till things finally went back on track.  Tantalizingly close to being finished but out of time I had to wrap it up and literally run back to make the cutoff.  The painting has some unresolved areas but I felt many aspects went well and I guess the judges felt the same way as the painting was awarded 1st place! 
The above sketch was done a couple of weeks ago near our home on the coast, the pond usually full of birds but they were shy while I sat there and painted.

More plein air studies

Ladner Fish Boat

8 x 10

plein air study

There is something I find very satisfying about spending the first few hours of the day out in the landscape painting the scene in front of me.   Again in the comfort of my car as this was a dreary cold wet morning.  

International Women's Day

Blueberry Field Study

9 x 12

acrylic on canvas paper

Back in March on International Women's Day I celebrated by packing up my paints and driving to a park near the Fraser River but instead of looking out over the river I parked the car facing the blueberry fields to the east.  The sunrise was glorious, radio playing wonderful classical music composed and performed by women and the heated car seats kept me toasty while the fresh air blew in thought the sunroof.  Then lunch with a best friend and sunset spent out on the dike with my birding partner and daughter watching the short eared owls swooping and diving through the marshes.  Some days are perfect from start to end!

Going Green

Ladner Harbour Boats

11 x 14

oil on canvas

My paintings reflect my life in some ways - constantly moving between the desert and the coast.  So here we are back on the coast in the little fishing village of Ladner.  I ventured out in my car on a cool winter morning, parked in the marina parking lot facing these boats and set up my paint box (pictured below) right on my lap never leaving the warmth and privacy of the vehicle.  It was so lovely and relaxing, listening to music and painting away - almost a timeless feel.   I used my plein air paper sketch as a guide for this larger canvas piece along with some photo reference, my usual process these days.

And this is my paint box, a summer project starting with a basic box, adding a hinged palette lined with glass and two hinged side pieces for holding brushes or medium and a piece of paper towel for wiping excess paint.  Paint tubes and brushes store underneath and two panels can store in the lid.  I can paint with the box on my lap or attach it to a tripod.  I'm 'going green' by using a glass palette which can be scraped with a blade and excess paint piled in a corner to use as an undercoat for the next painting and by pinning down a small square of paper towel which can hold an astounding amount more paint than a crumpled up piece in one's hand.  I  usually work with one brush rubbing off excess paint when changing colors and making sure I load up enough new paint on the brush to gently drop in the color without the old color seeping through.  This means no solvents necessary and again fewer paper towels.  Of course this works for now while painting small, we'll see when I start painting big outside!