Plein Air Partners

Frenchman River

I had company whilst painting this oil. My daughter Sacha and good friends Dean Bauche and Jan Layh all sat out in the glorious morning sun down by the Frenchman River and painted in our own manner.  This was the first time that Sacha painted out of doors with me and I think she did great.  The hills around Eastend, SK are so green due to large amount of rain they have been getting.  I am told by people who travel that this place reminds them of Ireland and Wales.

Art Forgery and Superstores

No, you won't find this painting at the worlds largest chain of superstores(no need to name names) unless of course this image is stolen by the notorious Chinese art fakers who have been known to supply said superstore and other home furnishing stores with many of their so called paintings, wittingly or not.  Literally thousands of Chinese are employed at Art Factories copying Old and New Masters from all over the world.  Southern China is the world's leading center for mass-produced works of art. One village of artists exports about five million paintings every year -- most of them copies of famous masterpieces. The fastest workers can paint up to 30 paintings a day, for pennies a day. Yes, you will find this original oil painting at my studio, keeping company with many others in the same vein. 

Eastend 2012

Well, we've been back from the annual Eastend Retreat hosted by the Bauche's for over a week now. The painting above is a plein air painted at Brady's Ranch looking up at the hills surrounding the place.  It was a great day and a pleasure to be outside doing what I love best.  We all had a great time again, there was fantastic food, music performed by participating artists and collaborations on many paintings.  Can't say enough about the value of this Retreat, going to Eastend is like going home.