Day 17 of 30

Boats at Collioure

8 x 8

Acrylic

The colors of the Mediterranean are so intense and saturated, fun to paint but hard to get that kind of light translated using pigment and paper.  Next time maybe darker with the darks.

Day 13 of 30

Steveston Nocturne

8 x 8

Acrylic

Thought I'd try a night scene.  This is a beautiful fishing village and one of my favourite places to go for a sunset.  

Day 8 of 30

Moro Bay

8 x 8

Acrylic

On our trip south in the fall we discovered a gem of a place called Moro Bay.  It is a very magical diverse area with so much to offer, beaches, wildlife, birds, marshes, parks, fishing village, artsy community and a good climate.  I could easily live here and definitely want to go back to do some more exploring.  Enjoyed painting this in the good company of my plein air painting pals indoors as the weather here is not so good as Moro Bay.

Paint what you know or where you go?

Pismo Sand Dunes

12 x 9

Acrylic 

We have spent several months in the last year or so down in Arizona and California and though there is an amazing diversity of landscape I'm often hesitant to paint something unfamiliar to me.  Maybe it's a little more challenging to paint the unknown.  However growing up on the east coast and west coast I am definitely drawn to the sea and the harsh shorelines.  This is a little study done of the wind whipped trees and shrubs and the struggle to survive above the tideline.  In the evening we would sit up in the dunes to watch the sun set over the Pacific, a perfect end to a beautiful day of beach walking, bird watching and exploring the landscape.

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.  

Benefits of birding

Day 28 Sunset on the strait

6 x 6 

Acrylic on canvas

Some people like to meditate or take yoga to find some peace and connection with themselves.  I like to go birding as it also gives me a huge connection to the world around me.  It also provides me with some amazing vistas at times of the day when I would otherwise be shopping or prepping dinner.  This scene was captured whilst out in Boundary Bay at sunset watching the owls find their dinner.  

Details and simplifying

Day 25 Marina

6 x 6

Acrylic on canvas

Well there is a lot going on in this marina.   A lot of information and that requires some simplification and weeding out  - kind of like life...

One week to go and will I make it - not so sure right now but doing my best.  Good luck to everyone!

Head West

Day 23 Coastal Bay

6 x 6

Acrylic on canvas

The coast of British Columbia is spectacularly wild and beautiful and I am looking forward to painting more west coast scenes.  Enjoyed doing this little study very much.

Reifel Bird Reserve

Day 14 Cranes

6 x 6 

Acrylic on Canvas

These cranes are Sandhills currently residing at Reifel Bird Reserve in Ladner and are so much fun to go visit.  They are very tame and will saunter right by forcing those who are a little uncomfortable with the proximity right off the path.  I've got lots of resource photos on these guys and am looking forward to doing some more.

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.

Marine Theme

Day 6 Marine  SOLD

6 x 6

acrylic on canvas

I'm switching gears for the next few days and going with some marine paintings.  My husband is great at carrying his camera and snapping a few pics while coming from and going to work and I sometimes get a few when I drive for him.  This is from one of his photos and I loved the abstract design.  The piling in the foreground has a sign on it and though it's inclusion may not read well I'm drawn to the bright yellow so in it goes.

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!