Blog Up and Running Soon

I have had a number of issues recently with my computer and camera. Both problems should be rectified by next week and I will once again be able to post daily to my blog.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Lake View

Today I was sitting the Changes art show at KAGS. It is the final day of the show and will come down tonight to make way for the new show opening on Sunday.














While there I was working on a number of black and white sketches.

This original 4-3/4' x 6-3/4" pen and ink sketch when framed will be available for $125.00.

Forest Shadows

This is a painting I started earlier this year (see post on 19 February 2011).

I added more foreground trees and lifted a couple of birch trees out and added some dead tree trunks.

This original 5-3/4" x 6" watercolour painting when framed will be available for $125.00.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork. I hope you will return often.

OSWOA - Impressions 1 and 2

Today I was painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group and decided to do a before and after set of paintings.

Impressions 1

The first was what the country side looks like before man comes along and changes things with no regard for the land.

The second shows how the sky, land and water are turned into a toxic wasteland as man destroys the beauty without care except for his own greed.

Impressions 2

If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here are all original watercolour paintings using Artist quality Windsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $30.00 each and sold unframed.

ACEO - Distant Hills 1 and 2

This is a painting which shows how to create the illusion of distance by keeping the sky fairly high key.

Having the far off hills a little darker but still fairly light in colour, soft and without a lot of detail.

The foreground is darker in value with fairly detailed trees.

Distant Hills 1

This is another example of creating distance even though the colours are much brighter.

The sky has more detailed clouds. There are different layers in the background; each showing a little more detail the closer they come to the foreground. The closest trees again are more detailed and have a much darker value.

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here are all original watercolour paintings using Artist quality Windsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Distant Hills 2

Blue Thunder

Today I was just in the mood to play with colour so I chose to use French ultramarine blue and Antwerp blue.

I mixed up pools of each colour and then poured them over wet watercolour paper and rolled them around allowing the paint to mix on its own.

As the shine started to leave the paper a sprinkled salt into the paint and set it aside to dry.













Once the background was dry I went in and drew a galloping horse and inked it in to complete the painting.

Thank you to returning collector Mrs. Christine Connelly on her selection of this original 5" x 7” mixed media painting for her home.

Melting

Melting is an original 5-1/4" x 6-1/2” framed watercolour available for $145.00.

This is one of the paintings I worked on while at the Among Friends Art Show and Sale (see posting on 21 May 2011) and at the Shades of Summer Show (09 August 2010).

It needed a few more growies in the foreground and the tree shadow to be darkened down a little more.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork. I hope you will return often.

Maple Tree

This is a maple tree is on the fence line of my neighbour across the road. It is right on top of the hill and there is very little around it to act as a wind break, which is why it leans toward the south.

This original 3-1/2" x 6-1/4" framed, pen and ink drawing is available for $85.00

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and look at the artwork.

The Window

Today is the second day of the Art Cunanan workshop. We worked on three different paintings today.

This is a quick watercolour painting of sunlight shining through a window.

I would like to thank returning collector Mme. Cecile Desrochers of Ste-Ramon, Quebec on her purchase of this painting.

Horse Sketches II

While waiting for my friend Joanne to get her horse ready for a riding lesson I did some sketches of the other horses as they relaxed in their stalls.

It was interesting to see the different attitudes of the horses as well as the different types of heads depending on the breed all within a short stretch of the barn's alleyway.

Horse Sketches II is an original 9" x 12" graphite pencil drawing and is available matted and shrink wrapped for $95.00.

A Spring Bouquet

While autumn is rapidly approaching and the colours will soon change on the trees, I am thinking about the flowers of spring.

I recently planted a number of bulbs and will have to wait to see them poking their way up through the snow in late March.

The snowdrop and daffodil bulbs I planted inspired this painting of the earliest of my spring flowers.

This is an original 5-1/2" x 15" framed watercolour painting and is available for $275.00.

Please excuse the slight blurring as I had forgotten to take the picture before I framed it up and it is through non glare glass. SOLD

Rural Winter

We are already past the middle of September and the leaves are starting to change. It won't be long before there is snow on the ground.

I just felt like working on something loose and easy without a lot of detail and this is the result.














This original 3" x 5" framed watercolour is available for $125.00.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

Swampland I

This is a section of the Snelgrove Brook at the bottom end of the lower field on the farm side of the property.

You can walk to the edge of the water and go fishing for Brook Trout.












The birch trees in this painting are no longer there, as the beaver which lives in the Brook have taken them down and used them in building their dam.

Swampland I is an original 3-1/4" x 5-1/4" matted and shrink wrapped, pen and ink drawing available for $25.00.

Wash Day I

We left St. Paul, Minnesota last night and are on our way back home.

While Ron stopped to clear the load through customs at Port Huron near Sarnia, Ontario, I worked on this drawing of an old farm house with the laundry on the wash line blowing in the breeze.

While I enjoyed being away for the week in the truck and being able to spend extra time with Ron it is also nice to be back home on the farm.

Wash Day I is an original 6" x 9” pen and ink drawing which when framed will be available for $165.00.

Sail on the Horizon I

We left Winnipeg in the evening and are heading to St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ron will drive through the night and I will get some bunk time then, since there is basically very little to see at night.
 
In the morning at a rest stop I noticed on the map that there was a place called Little Canada which was just outside of St. Paul.

After Ron dropped the trailer and handed in the paperwork, we went out for lunch in Rosedale.

Afterward we went to find Little Canada. It was less than 15 minutes away and I got pictures of the city sign with the name on it.

While Ron slept until his load heading back to Canada was ready I worked on another sketch that I had started in Cuba.

I inked it in and once the ink is totally dry I will remove my pencil notations.

Sail on the Horizon I is an original 6" x 7”  pen and ink drawing which when framed will be available for $165.00.

Farm Yard I

After having breakfast we are leaving Nippigon and heading to Winnipeg where where we will drop the load and pick up another one heading into the USA either to Minnesota or Wisconsin.

On the outskirts of Winnipeg my camera died. I really cannot blame it for giving up the ghost as it had taken over 25,000 photographs at that point. After dropping the load we went out to get some lunch and then Ron bought me a new camera.













He slept in the bunk while I worked on this drawing of one of the local farms that I had sketched during the summer. I will erase the pencil lines once the ink is totally dry.

Farm Yard I is an original 6" x 9” pen and ink drawing which when framed will be available for $165.00.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Contrast I

We left North Bay early in the morning and are headed on our way to Nippigon. With being in the truck it gives and entirely different perspective of the road.

You are so far above the level of the cars you can see the traffic well ahead of you.

I have been taking a lot of pictures along the way. The colour hasn't changed much up here but we are getting a few snow flurries and rain mixed with snow.

While Ron was fueling up I inked in this sketch I had started when we were in Cuba. The only thing I have to do to finish it is to remove my notes for when I will do this one as a painting. I will do that the next time we stop.

Contrast I is an original 8-1/2" x 9-1/2” pen and ink drawing which when framed will be available for $165.00.

Caribbean Evening

It is September and the leaves are slowly starting to change and it won't be long before there will be snow on the ground.

I cannot help but think of the Caribbean and the warm weather that is fairly normal down there.

This is a scene I would often see in the evening from our balcony window. The palm trees silhouetted against the twilight, with the sea breeze causing them to sway and rustle softly.

I completed this original 10-3/4" x 13-1/2" watercolour painting today while with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group. When it is framed it will be available for $345.00.

Now I am getting a couple of sketch books together to take with me tonight when I go with Ron in the truck to Winnipeg for a couple of days.

OSWOA - Little Brown Mushrooms

This is a painting I started at the Peterborough Riverview Park and Zoo, as part of the 9th Annual Worldwide Artist Paint Out, sponsored by IPAPO.

Today I finished the painting by putting the grasses around the mushrooms and decided that it didn't need to have a background added.

I think at a later time I would like to do a series of the different types of mushrooms, perhaps next year.

If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here are is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Windsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $30.00 and sold unframed.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and look at the artwork. I hope you will return often.

ACEO - Autumn Colours 4-6

Summer is drawing to a close and the yellow school buses are on the roads once more taking the children to school.

The swallows and hummingbirds will soon be gone on their long journey south; and I can hear the flocks of geese calling to each as they fly across the sky in their V formation. It is time for me to start putting the feeders back out again for the many birds that spend the harsh winter here in Canada.


Autumn Colours 4

The squirrels are busy hiding, chestnuts, walnuts and acorns for use later in the winter. But I also know they will be regular visitors to the feeders as well when the snow gets deep and food is scarce.

The temperatures are dropping at night and there is a hint of frost in the air in the mornings and the days are warm but without the humidity; good weather for working outside.

With the cooler temperatures the leaves are starting to change from their summer greens into the bright and beautiful warm autumn colours of yellow, red and orange.

Autumn Colours 5

With all of the changes that are happening it is a small wonder why this is my favourite time of the year.

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here are all original watercolour paintings using Artist quality Windsor & Newton paint on either 140lb. or 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Autumn Colours 6

Autumn Sky

I started this painting last year (see posting 10 Aug 10)and left it to decide what it needed.

While I was at the Peterborough Riverview Park and Zoo, as a part of the 9th Annual Worldwide Artist Paint Out, put on by the International Plein Air Painters Organization I added a few leaves to the bare branches to give it a little colour and movement.

This is an original 4" x 7-1/4” matted and shrink wrapped watercolour and is available for $65.00.

Calm Water - Revisited

Today I was picking out mats for a number of paintings that are finished and need to be framed.

After looking at this one for a while I felt that it still looked as though the main island was too much like a triangle in shape and needed something more (see my postings on 12 August 2010 and 02 November 2010).














I will frame it at a later date and now I have to go and set up the new show at KAGS called Changes.

I would like to thank new collector Ms. Teenie Gibson of Bobcaygeon, Ontario on her purchase of Water Jug I.

Horse Sketches I

This is a series of sketches I did while watching a program on television about dressage horses.

A couple of them have potential to be developed into paintings, which I may do at a later date.

Horse Sketches I is an original 9" x 12" graphite pencil drawing and is available matted and shrink wrapped for $95.00.

Red Sponges

I am another month closer to going to the CoCo View Resort in Roatan to dive.

The colour on the reef is unbelievable as is the variety of marine life. The closer you are to the surface the more brilliant the colours.

As you go deeper into the silent world the reds seem to lose their colour and gradually go through the various ranges of maroon until at depth they appear almost black until the flash of your camera lights them up with so you can see the rich brilliant red again.

This is an original 18" x 22" framed acrylic painting and is available for 350.00.

Soft Coral 1

One of the things that never fail to amaze me is the wide variety of colour on the reef.

The sharp contrast of the brightly coloured corals, sponges and plant life against the dark rocks or the white sand on the sea floor. An added bonus is the brilliant glowing jewel tones of the fish as they swim among them.

It is a small wonder that I look forward to going back to the CoCo View Resort.

This is an original 18" x 22" framed acrylic painting and is available for $350.00.

Jackknife Fish

It is because of the wide variety of reef fish that are so easily found on Newman's Wall, the CoCo View Wall and on the Prince Albert wreck that I enjoy going back to the CoCo View Resort.

The Jackknife fish is another one of the fish that I find while scuba diving in the Caribbean.










This is an original 18" x 24" framed acrylic painting and is available for 400.00.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often. SOLD

Bright Afternoon

Today is the last day of the Kawartha Arts Festival. The show was well attended on both days even with the hot, humid and rainy weather.

Bright Afternoon is an original 14" x 18” framed acrylic painting. Please excuse the darkness of the photograph but it was taken just before the painting left with new collector Stephanie Yoshida of Port Perry, Ontario.

I would like to thank Ms. Sherry Garron of Windsor, Ontario on her purchase of Branches 2.

And thank you to another new collector Mrs. Katherine Livingston of Fenelon Falls, Ontario on her purchase of Mystique 1, Distant Hills 1, Winter Scene 1 and Against the Clouds 3.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Show Updates

I have updated the Buckhorn Artists' Group blog with a listing of shows some of the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work in during the month of September.

If you get a chance come out and visit them at one or all of the shows.

Confirmed Shows for 2011 - September

This is a listing of confirmed shows that I will be exhibiting my artwork at this year. I will update the list as more shows are added.

MacKelvie Gallery, Keene, Ontario
PioneerVillage
04 Aug - 06 Oct Lang Pioneer Village Museum, Keene, Ont.

Fenelon Falls Fairgrounds, Fenelon Falls, Ont.
KawarthaArtsFestival
03-04 Sep Kawartha Arts Festival

Peterborough Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough, Ont.
IPAPO
10 Sep 9th Annual Worldwide Artist Paint Out, International Plein Air Painters Organization

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery, Peterborough, Ont. 2011 Listings
KAGS
11-29 Sep Changes
Opening Reception 11 Sep 11 from 1-4pm.
30 Oct – 16 Nov Outdoor Painters' Group Show
Opening Reception 30 Oct 11 from 1-4pm.
04-23 Dec & 02-12 Jan 12 Winter Celebration
Opening Reception 04 Dec 11 from 1-4pm.

More Work Horses in Winter

Today is the beginning of another 30 day painting challenge and I am off to a good start with four completed pen and ink drawings.

The drawings are all of local work horses.


Skidding Logs 1

They are more in a series of draft horses working in the winter that will eventually be worked up into either acrylic or watercolour paintings (see posting on 23 June 11 for the first four drawings).


Down the Trail 1

I will post the final four of the winter work horses when I have the drawings completed.

In the meantime perhaps you would like to guess which of the drawings are of the Percherons or the Belgians. It is a given which one is the only Clydesdale. Let me know which team you think they should be.


Through the Woods 1

These original pen and ink drawings when framed up will the available. Skidding Logs I and One Horse Sleigh I are $145.00 each and Through the Woods I and Down the Trail I are $125.00 each.

One Horse Sleigh 1

I will continue to post the painting I finish each day during the course of the month. I hope you will return often to see the postings.