16 x 20 inch acrylic "Jar full of marbles"

I had a lot of fun working on this one. I love all the different colors of the marbles. This was quite a challenge for me trying to keep those marbles round! Anyway here it is finished I think. I am almost finished by ballet dancer in the window so I will be posting it soon.

Quick study of ballerina

This is completely out of my comfort zone, but I have wanted to try this for a long time. I did this very quickly (about 1 hour) with mainly pastel pencils as a study for a larger painting that I will do in arcylic or maybe even oil (that is REALLY stretching it!). I have this really gorgeous antique gold leaf frame that I am itching to put something in so if it turns out, it will have a home. Stay tuned!

Misc. paintings done in pastel

I have been working on this group of paintings, and I thought I would show them here as a whole. They are all done in pastel on suede matboard and are 5 x 7 inches matted in an 8 x 10 mat. They are in glassine envelopes, so there is a bit of a glare in the photos. I have a few more that I plan to do in the same way.

9 x 12 inch acrylic "Malahat Evening"

I finished this one a while ago and forgot to post it. This is from the top of Malahat mountain where my daughter works at the Aerie Resort. It is an absolutely gorgeous place with breathtaking views. I did this one as a little experiment on canvas paper with very watery acrylic paint, almost like watercolor. I like the colors and the way it turned out.

Revisited painting "Silent Watcher"

I have played around with this painting after some excellent suggestions from the good folks at Wetcanvas.com. It was suggested that hump of the mountain and the tree were too in line with each other and would look more balanced by putting in some more hills in the background. I tried to make them look further off in the distance by fading the color. I think this looks better now.

9 x 12 inch acrylic "Silent Watcher"

I took a bit of a break from my flower series to do some wildlife. I took this photo while on vacation last summer and have wanted to paint it since. I did this one on watercolor paper. I am not sure if I like this as a support for acrylic or not. I found the paint really absorbed into it quickly and I did not have as much play time as I do on canavas. I think I may do this one larger on canvas sometime in the future.

16 x 20 inch acrylic "Poppies"

This painting is another in my flower series. I am getting very close to my goal of 15 but I think I may go even further as I am really enjoying this. I have so many photos of flowers I would love to do. If only I had more time! This is done on stretched canvas done in the gallery wrapped style of painted sides and is for sale. If I don't sell it here I may put it in the spring show that I am entering in the near future. I have several paintings that I am planning on entering.

20 x 24 inch acrylic "White Peony"

Here is another in the flower series. I like this size for florals as I can get them in the 2 inch profile gallery wrapped canvases. I paint the sides and they look very good hanging on the wall without a frame. This painting was quite challenging for me as I used a very limited palette of black, white and yellow.

20 x 20 inch acrylic "Cherry Blossom"

Here is another flower painting in my series done on gallery wrapped canvas. This one has an almost abstract feel to it, a bit different than what I have been doing lately.

30 x 30 inch acrylic "Red Dahlia"

This is # 7 in my floral series and the largest. I actually stretched this canvas myself on stretcher bars (a first for me) because I wanted it large and square and I couldn'd find the right canvas. It worked out ok but it was a little more work and the canvas really soaked up a lot of paint (because I didn't prime it!). Tomorrow I think I may work a bit on the background, perhaps adding a few leaves, as it is a little bare as it is.

20 x 16 inch acrylic "Gerbera Daisy"

This painting is another in my flower series, #6. It is again done on stretched canvas in acrylic paints. For now I left the background as white but I am thinking that I may go for a darker color, perhaps a dark burnt sienna. I think I will just look at it awhile as I am sure the right color will come to me.

12 x 24 inch acrylic "Tulips #2"

This painting is #5 in my floral series. I am enjoying working on this series, trying to complete 1 painting a week (working mainly on the weekends). This one was fun to do. I am still trying to improve my technique with acrylic. It can be quite challenging at times because the paint dries so fast but I think I am getting better with practice.

20 x 24 acrylic "The Rose"

This is #4 in my flower series and probably the one that gave me the most trouble. I spent around 12 hours on this one and I think I may be finally finished except for the varnishing.

22 x 26 inch acrylic "Four Tulips in a Row"

This painting is #3 in my floral series, done on stretched canvas, gallery style in acrylics. I love tulips just before they open, and I fell in love with this photo. This is the largest acrylic that I have done to date, although I found that it did not take me any longer than some of my smaller pieces. I am having fun and discovering new techniques with glazing multiple layers of paint on the canvas. I found that by glazing a thin, transparent bright yellow over the painting at the end, really makes the painting glow. This painting is for sale. Please contact me at lyurge@telus.net for more info.

18 x 18 inch acrylic "Clematis"

This is #2 in my flower series. It is done on stretched canvas in acrylic. I found the photo in the WetCanvas.com reference library. I loved the backlit effect on a white flower.

8 x 10 inch pastel "Road Through the Field"

This little painting is done on a foamie that was primed with colorfix primer. This makes a great support for the pastel to cling on to. I really enjoyed working on it.

24 x 20 inch acrylic "Daylily"

I wanted to do an acrylic very large and bold with a lot of impact. This is the first in a series of large floral macros that I am planning on doing. I really had a lot of fun playing with this one because I love the colors and because of the size I was able to use large brushes and be more expressive with my strokes. I painted the sides of the canvas so that it can be hung on the wall as is, gallery wrapped style. This painting is for sale.

8 x 10 inch pastel "Chipmunk"

This is a quick little painting done in under 2 hours. It is 8 x 10 inch done on one of those foam sheets that kids use to make shapes etc. It was quite interesting to use, almost like suedeboard, but I found that I could not do very much blending of colors nor could I get defined lines very easily. I found that very soft pastels like ludwigs worked the best.

I quite enjoyed the process but I think the next time i will coat with colorfix primer first.

16 x 20 inch acrylic "Cariboo on the Bluff"

After many hours of painting and repainting portions of this one, I think I am finally done. Because of the size and complexity of the subject I found this one to be very challenging. I know the more I practice with acrylic I am bound to feel more confident and I know it will show in my art.

20 x 30 inch pastel "Frozen Lake"

This is the largest pastel I have done to date. It is from a photo that I fell in love with and have wanted to paint for a long time, but haven't really had the time to devout to such a large piece. The funny thing is it really didn't take any longer than my smaller pieces. Go figure!