Hoar Frost

Here is my attempt at portraying hoar frost, which we have a wonderful abundance of currently. Hopefully I can get outside this weekend and try painting from life, if its not to cold!

Bright Morning

I had the chance to paint outdoors the other day when the temperature was hovering around minus 5 Celcius in Wellington Park.  While down there I spotted what I think was a Sand Piper and a male and female Mallard duck. I think these birds missed the last plane south and hope they can manage through the winter, which hasn't got very cold yet.  I'm considering taking some bread crumbs and such down there to hopefully help them out as they seem to be moving a lot more slowly than usual.

Collaborating

This painting had its beginnings as a collaboration with my painting buddy Dean Bauche at a retreat on Bonnie McNabbs ranch north of the Battlefords last winter.  In the beginning it was pretty grey, which I wanted to explore, but after getting it back from Dean I decided to add some colour.  My morning walks in the frost covered landscape figured prominently in the painting.

First Snow

 I'm having an enormous amount of fun with this particular painting.  It has undergone a number of rather drastic changes over the last couple of weeks and there is getting to be quite a build up of oil paint on the board, which is cool with me.  I am calling it First Snow cause it seems to fit (for now). If I have any regrets at this point it would be that I didn't paint it on a 6 foot wide canvas.  Suppose I could call this a study for a larger painting?

Washerwoman on the Rio Bonito

Its almost been three years now since I went to Honduras to do volunteer work for victims of Hurricane Mitch and I am still feeling the effects of my time down there.  I do know that I came back to Canada with a very different perspective on life in general.  My mother often says "Get off of Grumble corner and onto Thanksgiving Street" and that would be a good way of summing up the overall experience.  We have so much to be thankful for here in Canada, but I also feel that I am thankful for witnessing first hand how what we view as poverty can be a blessing in some ways. What I saw was that the less you have the less complicated your life was and the possibility of happiness was greater. Bare in mind that I am seeing this from the other side of the fence; someone who maybe only eats once a day or maybe even every second day might see things differently. Its a complicated thing to express properly, suffice it to say that stuff doesn't bring you happiness, relationships do. Seeing those wonderful Honduran people washing their clothes in the Rio Bonito surrounded by family laughing and playing really makes you think about things in a different light. This painting has been in my mind for practically three years and finally made it the surface last week and quite accurately expresses my sentiments.  It is currently in Winnipeg for a two day show called The Lives of Women being held at the Arlington Gallery on 618 Arlington Street.  The show happens from November 24-25th between 12 to 6 pm.  If you are from Winnipeg please make a point of visiting, I am sure it will be a great experience.  Proceeds from the show will be going to the Womens Crisis Centre in Osborne Village.  I am happy to be part of it.

The Yellow House (or The Road Home)

I've spoken on other occasions about the difficulty of titling paintings, and this one is no exception.  I like "The Yellow House" although it does speak for itself.  The title "The Road Home also has some appeal as I have walked it on numerous occasions back and forth to our annual Art Retreat in Shellmouth, Mb.  What do you think? I am considering using it for the show piece at an upcoming exhibit at the Shurniak Gallery in Assinaboi, SK.

New en Plien Air

I had a rare opportunity to paint outdoors the other day. The weather was great and it was so beautiful with a heavy coating of hoar frost.  I set myself up beside Wellington Creek and painted to my hearts delight. Hope I have more days like that!

Seeing Red

An experiment using Red paint and found objects around my studio and yard.  Thinking of Matisse.

Autumn Still Life

This painting includes found objects from around my yard and neighborhood which I then set up in a south facing window of my studio to paint.  I enjoy painting from life, reminds me to be humble.

The last Hurrah

I've posted numerous paintings that had their beginnings by my looking out my studio window, and this is another one.  Painted just before the cold weather set in and the wind blew all the leaves away, it also celebrates my continued interest in the Canadian Group of Seven, in particular Tom Thompson.  Hope you like it.

A point of View

This painting underwent 2 cuts before I was satisfied with it.  Sometimes I go back to the site of the painting and re-work the piece. I like to do this as it connects me in a special way with the land I'm standing on.

Tribute to Tom

 I have the highest regard for the Canadian painter Tom Thompson. His paintings inspire me to try harder to succeed at my quest to paint well.  This painting had its genesis in the landscape around Manitou Beach, SK.  I haven't had much time to paint outdoors lately, work gets in the way but I try my best!  Hope you enjoy, and for my European and other worldly readers please Google Tom Thompson and have a look at what he accomplished in his short life, you won't be sorry.

The Colours of Autumn

This painting is loosely based on a previously posted image.  It was largely painted with a 12 inch wide drywall tool and finished up with progressively smaller tools.  I had great fun with it and I'm looking forward to doing more with this type of paint application.  Currently I'm looking for a supplier of Oil paint that can sell me quantities in quart and gallon sizes as this technique can really burn up the paint! The German painter Gerhard Richter had a hand in this, my hat is off to him.