The next best thing to eating cherries

Three Cherries  Oil on Board 6 x 8

For me the next best thing to eating cherries is painting them. I know, kind of weird, but that's me. I like this painting as it turned out as I had envisioned it and more.  Enjoy !

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.

Schist Lake, Manitoba

Bright Morning on Schist Lake

It's snowing out like crazy and I am in my studio working away like a beaver on numerous pieces.  This oil was painted last weekend at a get together we hosted here at Manitou Beach and depicts an island on Schist Lake, where Karen Clark (one of the painters who attended) lives. 

Fading Glory

In the spirit of my photographer friend from Manitou Beach, Al Bowman, I submit this watercolour/pastel of the sun going down over the hills of Manitou Beach, SK.  Al is a spirited photographer who insists that he just likes "snapping pictures" but I feel he is much more talented than he gives himself credit for.  Check out his work on Facebook. I call this painting "Join the Union" simply because I was listening to a song by that name performed by Strawbs. Go figure.

Mendocino

One of the places I really wanted to go to when in California was Mendocino.  I had heard a lot about it over the years, how it was a haven for the sixties generation and artists of every make and colour.  Going there wasn't a disappointment and it lived up to all my expectations.  Mendocino is actually quite a small little village, probably not much larger than Manitou Beach.  The architecture is quaint and funky and there are strict guidelines in place to ensure it remains that way.  Crystal and Michael let me loose with my pastels for a little over an hour so I made good use of my time by heading down to the edge of the village, close to the ocean, and set myself up close to some other plein air painters who were up from Berkley, CA for the day.  I felt right at home.  This pastel is one of the two pieces I managed to complete in my time allotment.  Nothing like a deadline to get me moving!

Schist Lake Morning

Schist Lake Morning Oil

One of the great things some friends and I did while up at our Denare Beach art retreat (Shellmouth North) was to go on a boat ride in fellow artist Ron Watts pontoon boat.  Ron has a lovely cabin on Schist Lake and together we travelled up and down that fabulous lake in the early morning where we spotted numerous loons, pelicans and eagles.  The above painting is one of two I have painted of that experience, and I definitely have a few more planned as it was a very stimulating experience on a supernaturally beautiful lake.  Thanks again, Ron, for the hospitality!

Day Lilies

I discovered some rather nice plants in the lot down from me last year and I got the vacant owners permission to tend some of them.  One of the species is the Day Lily, which I have attempted to portray in pastel.  This seems like a particularly good year for them as they have abundant blooms and don't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

On being Ruthless to be Kind

8 1/2 x 10 1/2 Pastel  $100.00

 

This pastel is a re-worked version of a previous post.  After trying to flatten the warped paper it was drawn on I succeeded in smudging the pastel and was forced to toss it in the garbage or have at it again.  Being part Scotsman and Ukrainian I have a tendency to scrinch and save whenever possible so I opted to introduce the colour I was observing outside my studio window in an effort to save it.  I am happier with this result, what about you?  Seems appropriate to resurrect something dead in the spring of the year, ie; being ruthless to be kind.

Lost in Utah

I came across this watercolour yesterday and decided it just needed a few minor things done to it to make it presentable in my eyes.  Thats the good thing about putting paintings away for awhile, you look at them with fresh eyes.  I'm calling it "Lost in Utah" because it was lost for awhile and it is a depiction of a place I visited in Utah last Thanksgiving.  I really like the sky, what about you?

The Greening of the World

New Green  Oil  $100.00

One cannot help but notice that the world around us is getting greener. Its a curious thing but before the leaves get green they appear as a lovely rose colour (a perfect complementary colour).  Interesting how the Big Oug in the Sky dresses creation.  The painting I have posted above was done alla prima on site the other day.  When I got myself set up on the side of the hill I discovered that I had forgotten my palette!  I quickly decided to carry on though as I was enthralled by the beauty before me, which can be quite fleeting.  In lieu of a palette I just took paint off the end of my tubes of paint and applied it in a hurried, haphazard manner with a brush and painting knife. Must say that I have never done that before but it worked out Ok.  I even put some new green grass in amongst last years growth, just because.

The Big Melt

The snow is melting like crazy now, what was once a chuckling stream is now a roaring river running through Wellington Park.  The water is taking out park benches and undermining some trees, last night it came close to overflowing the road.  The power of nature is mesmerizing to say the least.  This morning I sat on a large boulder and listened to the sound of the water and the booming of the ice as the sun began to warm it up, with the welcome sounds of the returning Canada Geese, Robins and other birds.  Yesterday afternoon I painted this plein air piece from the top of a hill looking down on a pond that is rapidly becoming a small lake.  In a perverse kind of way I am saddened to see the snow go! Go figure.

Three Stones

This painting started out many years ago as some lichen covered stones on a forest floor in Northern Manitoba.  It has now been painted as three water washed stones on a late winter afternoon somewhere in Western Saskatchewan.  Such is the privilege of the artist, we can take God's creation and do some recreation.  I am kind of building up a gallery of these images, any takers?  It is a 12 x 14 inch oil painting on board with a small amount of gold leaf to boot.

Dreaming of Winters Passing

I am a hardy soul and I like winter but........... minus 40 Celcius for the first of March?  Maybe there is a reason why human migration patterns have shown that there has been a definite move southward over the eons, a good chance that Mexicans were once Inuit.  Anyways, I have posted a painting of cherry blossoms and water just to bring a little bit of spring into my studio.  Hopefully this weather will break soon and I can bask in some warm sun without having to go to Mexico.

A Plein Air

A few mornings ago I had the opportunity to head out with my pochade box and paint this view from a hill overlooking Wellington Park, here at Manitou Beach, SK.  I like this spot and have painted here quite a few times already.  I can hear the creek burbling away down below and quite often I will see white tail deer feeding in the distance, keeping a wary eye on me.  I wonder if they are starting to recognize me?  Just as I was finishing this piece it started to snow so I spattered white paint on and it was done!

Revisions to an older painting

Some of you may remember this painting from almost a year ago now.  The last time I worked on it I was not quite satisfied with the outcome, I felt it needed "something".  Well today I got out my handy dandy pocket sketch book and made a tiny thumbnail or two of other possible solutions to my problem.  The painting above is the result.  For now I shall give it another rest and see if it speaks to me further.

                                                         Cold clear rushing water
                                              Golden light glimpsed through spruce
                                                               The forest sighs

                                                                                                                            Haiku by Darrell

Sleeping Giants

The title "Sleeping Giants" was something that I picked before I began this pastel.  In my visits to the Mistik Creek and area I am always struck by the beauty of these Pre-Cambrian rocks protruding from the earth that they are so much a part of....  In the winter they are covered up in the most beautiful ways, the snow dresses them with soft blankets that conform to their profiles perfectly.  Imagine that, nature being perfect!  Hope you enjoy looking at the painting as much as I did creating it.

Palette Scrapings

This painting, which I have entitled "Black Poplars", started off from the palette scrapings of the previous days painting "All the Diamonds".  By mixing all the left over colours I ended up with a lovely gray which I used to tone my new canvas.  After deadening the stark white canvas I was reminded of a time and place in Wellington Park last winter so I set about re-creating that, using a little artistic license, but not to much!  Critiques are welcome, I want to let this one percolate for awhile, but I am somewhat excited about it.  In some ways I am reminded of some of Gustave Klimt forest interiors, which is not a bad thing.

A Pastel

Spent the greater part of yesterday and today in the studio.  Some of the time was spent preparing paper for some drawings I want to do in silver and copper point.  I have been working around the oil painting "All the diamonds" by doing studies in charcoal, pencil and pastel.  The pastel above is the result of these studies and deals with low angle winter light in the late afternoon.  It bears some similarities to the piece on the home page of my blog.

Work in Progress

I am calling this one Deep Dark Woods, largely because I was listening to the group by the same name as I was painting.  The subject is loosely based on an old cabin down the back lane from me and started off as a chalk pastel on canvas.  I initially was just going to sketch the lay in but I was so taken with the colours that I got carried away with it all.  After fretting about about whether to leave it as a pastel I decided that wouldn't be to easy to resolve archivally so I converted it to an oil painting, still using the pastel with linseed oil and thinners.  I like the result but will have to sit on it for awhile to see if it speaks to me.  I don't want to get to fussy with it. What do you think?

Golden Hour

Scout Camp Point

I am a great fan of that time of the day when the sun is coming up or in the process of setting as such things as colour, value and hue are intensified in an extremely pleasing way.  This painting depicts an old haunt of mine back in The Pas, Mb.  About 25 minutes north of the town is one of the world's most beautiful lakes, seriously!  The water is so clean and clear that it reflects the light in the most amazing way, only one other lake in the world is similar to it.  On this day the sun was setting and lighting up the trees and rocks in an orange glow, very common for that lake.  I'll sit on this painting for awhile and see if it tells me anything.  Critiques are always welcome!