Manitou Morning

I came across this pastel on my studio desk this morning, under a pile of other stuff I have been working on and was struck with a pang of nostalgia for summer days past. Where I live is a constant source of inspiration for me, I am a lucky man indeed. I love pastel, the colour is so rich and the act of drawing is quite natural for me.

Halloween

Today was largely spent in my studio as Crystal was off to Saskatoon to visit Angie. Angie had a bad day today, damn Cancer trying to get the better of her. Tried to contact Andrew Lloyd Webber to see if he would be interested in Angies latest production "Awakening" but he is all booked for the next three years and is not accepting unsolicited work. To bad for him. Anyways here is my Halloween picture, an abstract view I came across down in Utah. A watercolour with an attitude.

The Bridge

I've been working on this pastel off and on for a few days now. The idea was to use short dash strokes to portray the landscape, stay lyrical and faithful to the ambiance of the place. I am somewhat happy with the result but plan on re-visiting the idea with another painting. The scene is called the "Bridge", the sandstone is carved into a natural arch that overlooks an amphitheater type basin which further looks out over a valley. A wonderful place down in southern Utah on the way to Bryce Canyon.

Pastel

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Took the day off of work today, we had a heck of a winter storm and that was a good excuse for me to work in my studio. I am quite fired up about Utah, there are many paintings I would like to do. I think I am going to work the theme to death and see where it takes me. I did this pastel today of a wonderous place in Arches National Park, sun was just going down and it lit up the tops of the sandstone edifices quite nicely.

Sandstone Arch

Somewhere between Arches National Park and Bryce Canyon we came across a really cool place to hike for a few hours. We started off by checking out some ancient Indian markings on massive sandstone forms, it was humbling. We watered up and started off on a long climb to an amazing natural bridge carved out of sandstone. My watercolour doesn't really do justice to the scale of the place, maybe I should add some humans in it? There was a wonderful silence there, a good place to meditate on the wonderous creation we all live in.

Arches National Park, Utah

Arches National Park, in south eastern Utah, is the first place Crystal, Michael and I camped after a long drive from Everett, WA. We were all enthralled with the geography and were anxious to start hiking the area. There are many great walks to go on there, one of our favorites was a place called the "Devils Playground", which is where this watercolour was painted. We spent almost two days there and then moved on to Bryce Canyon.

Utah

I'm back from my trip to Utah with Crystal and Michael. We had a fantastic time spent hiking and camping in some amazing places. I took hundreds of photos and managed to do a few sketches, but I plan on doing some studio work based on what I saw and felt down there. More of that to come. This is a quick watercolour I did at Bryce Canyon, where we stayed for two days. There are fairytale like rock formations and trees growing in the most impossible places, a very special place to say the least.

My Website

After much trials and help from my brother Richard my website is up and running again. I had to find a new host for the site as the previous company mysteriously folded up shop and disappeared! I plan on doing some major updating of the site as I haven't done that for some time and I have alot of new works that I would like to showcase. Thanks for everyones patience. This oil painting is my response to a plant I discovered in the back alley and my studies of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele. I am currently giving it a rest before I decide whether to work further on it. When I came across it I was struck by its beauty, even though it was practically dead. There was something regal about it and this is what I am struggling to convey.

A short vacation

I am happy to say that in a few days we are off on a short vacation to Utah, where we will be back packing in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. My son Michael has already been there and judging by his photographs we are in for a real treat. I am struggling right now trying to pack my art gear in such a manner that I don't need a pack mule to carry it! Seriously though, I will take my watercolours and casien paints along with some pens and pencils and hope to make good use of them. I post this watercolour because it has an autumn feel about it, even though I painted it this summer in Eastend. Enjoy.

Boreal

This painting has been accepted into the FCA show titled AIRS, which stands for Annual International Representational Show. The event will be hung at the Federation Gallery on Granville Island in October. I am honored be showing my work alongside many talented artists from Canada and abroad. The painting is all about my life in Canada's north. I invite anyone who will be in Vancouver around that time to drop in and have a look at the artwork! My apology's to everyone who has tried to visit my website to no avail, the server has been down and we are looking for another host.

Who will stop the rain?

I am thinking that we should start to stockpile cereal grain based products, this has got to be the worst weather farmers have seen in the prairie provinces for decades and it will be a wonder if they manage to get any substantial harvest this fall. What a tragedy to see the bumper crops sitting in ponds of water, I empathize with the Canadian farmer..... The plein air painting above was executed one overcast day at the Shellmouth retreat and it pretty much sums up where my head is at today.

Triadic pallete

I am a great fan of painting out of doors and when I do I employ a limited pallete of ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow pale and alizarin crimson. I also add white and winsor green. With these colours I can usually capture the scene in front of me. Another benefit of using these colours is that you can always come back to the painting at a later date and do fix ups, if so needed. I have learned so much about colour mixing from using these three colours, what an amazing range of possibilities there are. I also wonder why I have numerous boxes full of paint tubes and when I will be able to use them! This painting above was completed in Shellmouth on a painting excursion with some fellow artist friends. I am glad for this blog site as my website host has not fixed his technical problems as of yet, therefore I have not website!

Pausing to Notice

With every passing day it is becoming more apparent to me that one must live their life moment by moment, such is the preciousness of the gift of life. I know so many people that are holding on to life by a mere thread, their courageousness astounds me. I think of my sister in law Angeline Tysseland and her life with Ovarian cancer. My friend Brenda and her life with cancer. My Dad and his life with Dementia. Then there are those who have lost their partners, Carol Harrison from Winnipeg lost her husband Earl just recently. The wonderful photographer Courtney Milne is no longer with us. Do what you have to do to be happy now, just don't hurt anyone in the process. My painting of these lilies came from a small body of water just off of Highway # 85, near Madge Lake, SK.