Commission 8 x 10 inch in pastel

I just finished this commission in pastel on suedeboard. I love working on this surface with pastels. They just glide on like butter. I hope you like it Maureen!

8 x 10 inch oil "Bowl of Tomaotes - FINISHED

I think I have almost finished this painting. I worked some more on the tomatoes and strengthened the shadows a bit. Maybe a few more hightlights are in order.
$145.00

12 x 16 inch oil "Out the Bathroom Window"

I have been working on and off this one for a week or so. I'm not sure where I am going with this. I like the composition and the monochromatic colors a lot but I just feel it lacks something. I know it needs some tidying up of the straight edges etc. but not sure what else. Any suggestions??

New Easel!!

I finally got that easel I have been dreaming of (for my birthday). It is a custom made H-frame studio easel made by a gentlemen in Penticton, B.C. and sent to me by Grayhound bus. He has a web site called EasyEasels.com. It is wonderfully large and very stable and sturdy and can hold extra large canvases. What a difference it makes. I don't have to worry about knocking my easel over while it holds a wet painting. What a mess that would make!

8 x 10 inch oil WIP " Bowl of Tomatoes"

I started this one today from a reference photo from WetCanvas. com. Thankyou to the contributor. WetCanvas is a wealth of wonderful reference photos and I love going thru all the categories. This one caught my attention right away. I think what I like most is the play of shadow and light and of course the bright red tomatoes. I got a good start on this today and I don't think it will take long to finish up. I really like these quick ones!

WIP continues

I did some more work on this tomatoe. Still not sure if I am quite "there" yet. Need to darken the shadows some more maybe.

$120.00

12 x 12 inch oil WIP "Tomatoe and Colindar"

I have had this one on the easel for a few days now. I am almost finished with it, just need to work a little more on the tomato. I am really liking this square format. I have an idea to do a bunch of small 8 x 8 inch canvases with stuff found in my fridge. This should be fun and good practice for me as well.

8 x 8 inch oil "Twins"

I wanted to do a small and quick painting in a more looser style. I chose these pears (thanks to the contributor at WetCanvas) because this happens to be my most favorite green. I probably spent only around 1 hr on this. It was a nice change from the more challenging subjects I have been choosing lately.

Bowl of Cherries 11 x 12 inch in oil - Finished!! SOLD

I think I may be finally finished this one. I will leave it for now before I make a mess, let it dry and maybe go back and tidy up the highlights. I like the colors in this but I am finding it really hard to get yellow to look the way it does IRL. Maybe I haven't found the right hue yet.

WIP continues

I have tiddled a bit more with these two. I think my lemons looked more like oranges before. I think they are a little better now. I probably will still do a little more work on this and then call it finished. I added a bit more detail on the boat but still have some more to do. Hopefully I will finish these this weekend.

2 WIP in oil

Here are two that I started this weekend while waiting for my lemon painting to dry some before finishing it up. That is the only draw back (can also be a good thing) with working in oil - the slow drying time. I get really impatient sometime just to have something to paint, so I start a new one. The only problem is my lack of studio space and easel. I really want a large studio easel-the H frame type. Xmas is coming- listen up family! I will post these again when I have finished. I have a lot to do.

20 x 16 inches oil WIP "Bowl of Lemons"

I think this is the most challenging painting I have done to date. I have a lot to do, but it is coming along. I think what drew me to the photo was the dark shadows and the light. Thankyou so much to the contributor at WetCanvas for this great photo. I will post the painting when I have totally finished.

8 x 10 inch pastel "Freddie"

It's been a long time I have done a pet portrait and a long time since I have used pastel. It really felt good and I hope to do some more in the near future. This is little Freddie who has since passed on. I hope you like it Lisa!

30 x 20 inch oil "Unnamed"

This painting is the largest still-life that I have attempted and I am finding it quite a challenge. It is not finished by any means but I thought I would post my progress to date. It's funny how I see things wrong in a photo that I can't see IRL. For instance the bottle looks to me as if it is leaning to the left in the photo but when I see it IRL it looks ok. What to do!

$275.00

10 x 10 inch oil "Reflected Pears"

This is another pear painting that I have been working on. I have a lovely gold frame for this one. This is another WIP as this definitely is not the finished product. I will post further developments.

$120.00

WIP 3 pears finally finished!

I painted for most of the weekend and finally completed this one that has been on my easel for awhile. There may be a few touch-ups but I think this is it. It looks rather dark in the photo but not so IRL.

24 x 30 inch oil "Three of a Pear" WIP

After fussing with the last painting so much, trying for realism, this one was very liberating as the painting seemed to just paint itself. I used very large and loose strokes with the new # 12 filbert brush that I just bought. I really love this brush and it will be great for the larger paintings I plan on doing in the future. This painting is a WIP and I will post further photos as it develops.

8 x 10 inch oil "Teapot and Apple"

I spent a few hours in the studio today and finally finished up this little painting. For its size it really took me a lot of time to get the colors right. This is not a very good photo, the painting is much better IRL.

$105.00

18 x 14 inch oil "Old Barrels"

This one has been sitting on my easel for several weeks so I thought I would post it as it is almost finished. I have to clean up the barrels some as I am not completely happy with them. This is one of those paintings that I could not photograph very well. The colors are much more vivid and true in real life and I am fairly happy with the result.

$200.00

16 x 20 inch oil "Bowl of Fruit``

SOLD - Sept 18/09

I finially got into the studio to finish this one (the heat not so brutal today). I punched up the highlights a little and finshed off the small orange fruit (yellow plums I think). Anyway here is the finished version ready to be varnished and framed. This painting is for sale. Please contact me for info.

8 x 10 inch oil "Cloud Studies"

These are some quick studies of clouds done on canvas board in oil. I took my camera out a few weeks ago and got some great photos of different clouds. I have in mind to do a large canvas for my new bedroom (under construction). Some more will be following soon.

6 x 8 inch oil "Tides Out"

I did this little painting quickly from a photo I took on one of my outings a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to paint on site but it started to rain so I got this picture instead. I am having a lot of fun with this small format. I am able to finish them in around an hour and this forces me to forget about the details and just paint the shapes and light and shadows.

$50.00

6 x 8 inch oil " Cobble Hill Road"

I did this little plein air right out in my back yard today. It is such a warm sunny day that I just had to get out and paint. I like the way the shadows played on the fields and tried to capture it. I bought and new book on oil painting this week by Kevin McPherson. I really love his style of painting and am trying to get a little looser with my technique. I would recomment this book to anyone wanting to paint plein aire.

8 x 10 inch oil "Cow Bay Flats"

I took my paint box and went on a little drive today, found a spot and painted from my car on the side of the road. This was painted with a knife and done quite quickly. I want to get a little more practice with the knife as it is especially good when on location. I don't need brush cleaner or turps so there is much less mess. I tend to be a very messy painter so the less stuff I take with me the better.

WIP #3

I worked a little today on this painting, base coating the fruit on the table and doing a little more modeling of the fruit. I will wait until it dries a little more to darken up the shadows and finish it up. It will not be long now before i am finished.

WIP day #2

I worked on this painting a little today, modeling the peaches and plums (?). I will go back and tidy up the fruit at the end, adding some more hightlights etc. but they are mainly finished now. I will tackle the fruit on the table probably tomorrow.

20 x 16 inch oil "Tarnished Bowl of Fruit" WIP

I decided to start this one today in my usual style of working oil. Everything is pretty much one layer of paint with a little blending. I found this lovely photo on Wetcanvas.com. Due to the size of this one it will probably take a couple of more sittings to finish. I love the contrast of the red and orange fruit against the dark background. I think this is my favorite type of still life to paint. After looking at this for awhile I noticed that my bowl is looking a little lopsided. I guess I will have to fix that.

8 x 8 inch oil "Cobolt and Orange"

I recently bought Susan Sarback's book "Capturing Radiant Light in Oil" and tried the demonstration that she did in the book. I love her impressionistic style of painting and tried to capture the light as she does. It does somewhat look like the demo although I am not quite there yet. This way of painting starts out by blocking in the main shapes with whatever color you like, keeping the lights with warm colors and the darks and shadows with cool colors. After the 1st step you keep adding colors, mixing only on the painting, until you get the color you want, adjusting the value as needed by adding white. You do all of this using a pallet knife, just to add to the difficulty. This little painting took me around 3 hours. I do not have the skill yet with the knife but I think it will come more naturally as I work with it more.

9 x 12 inch oil "Baldy Mountain"

This is another painting done with the knives. I used a lot more color than I usually do in this painting, trying to loosen up. Using the knife helps me in that respect, as I cannot blend and I can not get every detail in as with a brush.

8 x 8 inch oil "Ghost Trees #2"

I have been getting a lot of painting done this weekend. Having a lot of fun with the pallett knives. These paintings are quick and fun. Hope you enjoy.

$50.00

8 x 8 inch oil "Ghost Trees"

This is another attempt with the pallett knife. I am really enjoying using the knife although I believe there is quite a technique to be learned to be successful with it. More experiments to follow.

$50.00

8 x 10 inch oil

This is a scene I have painted before but I wanted to do a little experimentation using a pallete knife and lots of thick paint. I put on bright block-in colors first, added another layer of local color and scraped back a bit with the knife. This was totally out of my comfort zone, especially with the bright colors but it was a fun little painting.

4 x 6 inch oil "Low Tide"

This painting was done on location at a favorite spot of mine for watching birds and wildlife. I had just set up my paintbox and it started to rain, so I managed to do a quick sketch on location and finished the rest up in the studio.

11 x 14 inch oil "Apples and Pot"

This painting is a departure from my normal style of painting. Instead of brushing on the paint, I dabbed it on after putting a layer of color in the forms. It didn't start out this way, but I was not liking how it was turning out, so I switched my technique. Sometimes you just have to do that!

8 x 10 inch oil "Bowl of Grapes"

I had a very sucessfull weekend as far as painting goes. This one just seemed to just flow effortlessly. I decided that I was not going to do any layering of my oil , just lay the color where I wanted it and leave it be. Also I did very little blending and I really like the effect. The total painting only took around 5 hours versus many hours if I was to layer. I think I will try this technique again. I have another still life all picked out.

20 x 24 inch oil "Orange Rose"

I have been working on this one for a couple of days, and for the size of it, it has gone pretty quickly. I discovered it is really hard to get a decent orange with only cadium yellow pale and permanent alizarim red. I think I will get another yellow to add to my pallett.

6 x 8 inch oil "Mill Bay Beach"

I did this little plein air today while relaxing at the beach. It was a beautiful day for painting by the sea!

16 x 20 inch oil "Cobble Hill Wild Flowers"

This painting is hot off the easel from my own reference taken from a farm very close to my home. The photo was taken late in the evening and I loved how the sun highlighted the grasses in the foreground. I did struggle with the wild flowers and the foreground grasses, but overall I am happy with it.