Sundown near Manitou

Sundown near Manitou
 

The weather continues to be unbelievably warm for this time of the year, its almost the end of December and the temperature has been hovering around 0 degrees Celcius forever.  I manage to get out and do plein air work almost every day and it has been very instructional for me.  Working in the studio seems to be a stale experience after the excitement of working outdoors on "real" subjects. 

Feliz Navidad

Honduran Child

Christmas is once again upon us my friends and neighbours.  I wish for you all a happy time spent in meaningful and loving moments with loved ones now and in the New Year!  I share with you this watercolour of a little Honduran girl I met a few years back when I did some humanitarian work for the people of Honduras.  Feliz Navidad !!

Plein Air Pastel

Yesterday was a lovely day for December 19th, the temperature was hovering around 0 C while I was doing this pastel down in Wellington Park.  What a bonus to experience winter this way, I absolutely love sitting out of doors and painting, especially by Wellington Creek because of the mesmerizing sounds of the water as it makes its way down to the lake. Pastels can be kind of addictive but I promise not to buy any more!

The extraordinary thing about the ordinary thing

I watched a video made by a staff photographer from National Geographic magazine who stressed the concept of paying attention to the ordinary things in our life.  (kind of goes against the current trend in marketing methinks) I like this concept alot, in fact I love it and have lived most of my life following it.  There is much beauty in our backyards and beneath our feet.  The late Canadian photographer, Courtney Milne, made amazingly beautiful photographs in his backyard pool.  My brother, Richard Baschak, is a master photographer who elevates frozen water droplets into wondrous images that evoke celestial objects of far away galaxies. I am a humble painter who attempts to follow in the footsteps of past and current artists that celebrate the ordinary.

Shimmering Water

My latest plein air of the lovely Wellington Creek.  An overcast day, temperature hovering around 0 C, with bits of sunlight once in awhile.  Quite contemplative place to sit and paint, the water gurgling and chickadees fluttering about, I even saw a couple of robins. What a life.

First Snow

I painted this a little while back when we experienced one of our first snows out at the Beach.  It was painted from my studio window and is a tiny little thing, 6 x 8 inches.  I enjoyed flicking the specks of snow on at the end, rather fun to try and achieve a realistic effect in a painterly way.

Hue and Saturation

This watercolour is pushing hue and saturation somewhat, but I swear it is not terribly different than what I have seen on some summer evenings out here.  I don't know, maybe I will wash it out a bit.
CC's are welcome.