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.

A Still Life

This painting is somewhat of a surreal depiction of a still life I set up at a retreat down in Eastend, SK. It is a large painting, 48 x 36 inches, so it kind of jumps out at you! I painted it at our 2010 retreat in Shellmouth and rather enjoy it, particularly the enameled bowl. One of these days I am going to upload my new images to my website, which is currently down for some reason.

On Being There

The image on my blog's home page and the one for this post were done while I was at our annual Shellmouth retreat, which I have talked about at length in previous post's. I guess I can't say enough about the event. What I do know is that I have made some life long friends there and to me that has been the most valuable gift of the place. It seems that I have only touched the surface of the land down there with respect to my plein air work as there is much to paint in that lovely little valley. This year marked my tenth time down there!

A Pastel

One of my resolves for the Shellmouth retreat was to do a painting of a Honduran child, which is what I managed to do with this pastel. I came across this little girl on my way to work down in Honduras one morning and was quite taken with her demeanor, she looked so forlorn. I fell in love in with the children down there, they made a huge impact on me.

Paintings from Shellmouth Retreat

I mentioned in a previous post titled "Observation" my interest in Goldfinches that were visiting the weedpatch next to my home. I was enamored by the contrast of their feathers against the purple flowers of the thistles that they enjoy eating so I decided to do an oil painting based on that vision. I found a canvas that I had started a number of years ago that fit the theme and finished it off with the painting knife. The painting sold instantly! I did another in watercolor and it also sold. I will have to do another for myself.

In Between

I am just recently back from my annual Art Retreat to Shellmouth, Mb. As usual I had an amazing time. We had quite a crowd this year and many more young people, including my daughter Sacha, which added a nice flavour to the whole event. I am quite excited about the painting to the left, it has a strange appeal to me and I plan on exploring this idea further. I tend to suffer Retreat withdrawal for a number of days after getting home as it is quite an intense affair. Long hours painting and visiting with old friends and not a lot of sleep can catch up to you. Even so I wouldn't give it up for anything!

Summer Art Retreats

Another few days and I'm off to the annual Shellmouth Art Retreat. Time to get my canvas's stretched and gear organized as I never know exactly where the muse will take me. This usually means taking everything except the kitchen sink down there! One whole week of painting and hanging out with dear old friends. My daughter Sacha will be making her first appearance there and I am quite pumped about that as I know she will have a great time. I get lots of work done at the retreat, usually a painting a day. This painting is yet another view from my studio window portraying the afternoon sun playing on the trees and lake. Enjoy.

Observation

This morning as I sat on my deck drinking a good cup of coffee I found myself thinking about the art of observation and how much this informs my life as a whole. There were the robins singing their lovely songs, a warbler hovering above a Canada thistle and eating the seed head. Actually it was that warbler that got me thinking about observation. Firstly, here was this beautiful yellow bird flying above a purple flower head - a perfect complementary pair in more than one way I bet. Nature gave the thistle its thistles to protect it I assume, but it also gave the thistle the warbler, who in the process of munching on its flower also helps propagate its species. And on and on it goes. The way that warbler gives out a joyous song as it bob's up and down as it flies away. The purple martins performing aerial acrobatics that would make Cirque du Soliel envious. Pelicans slowly circling above the lake and climbing higher and higher until they disappear from view. I have to think that I have been observing events such as these all my life and they are as important to me as breathing and my art making is all the more satisfying for it. The above painting was done many years ago while I was on a crazy fishing trip with my brothers and our sons. That is a story for another time!

Pastel painting

I've made a box to hold all of my pastels in an orderly manner and had a chance to check out its suitability at our retreat down in Eastend awhile back. It actually worked quite well for me and I will only have to make a few small adjustments to make it right. Had a great time down in Eastend and was sorry to leave the place, as usual. Seems like you just get settled in and its time to go home. This pastel was inspired by the view from my studio window and employs a new method I am playing around with.

Spirit of Manitou Studio Trails Tour

Today is the start of a two day event (July 9-10) called the Spirit of Manitou Studio Trails Tour being held in the Resort Village of Manitou Lake, Watrous and outlying area. If you are close to us why not consider coming out and visiting the studios of all our wonderfully creative folks here? We had a wonderful turnout last year and are hoping for the same or better this year. I am set up at the Renown Room of the Manitou Springs Resort, along with Helen Herr, a wonderful artist and poet.