Lake Reflections I

Today I pulled out this sketch that I did earlier this year (see post on 12 June 2014) and decided it needed some work.

I started with the two large trees in the foreground, which seems to frame the maple tree across the inlet.

Next I put in the distant trees, the maples and the rocks on the far shoreline and the ones in the water.















I put in the foreground shoreline and added some grasses and growies at the base of the trees and at the edge of the lake.

Lastly I added some cattails and bull rushes against the edge of the shoreline.

This original 7" x 9-1/2” pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $50.00.

Winter Wonderland 1

It won't be long before Christmas and the New Year are upon us and with that in mind I did this sketch of a snowy day.














With that in mind I think I will go out and finish up my Christmas shopping so that all I will have to do is wrap everything.

Long Shadows 4 and 5

Today I wanted to start getting in a Christmas mood because it won't be long before it is time to put up the Christmas lights and decorated the tree.

Looking out my kitchen windows I see the many white pine trees that I planted along the fence line thirty years ago, when Christine was born.

Most of the trees survived through their first year and continued to flourish and now act as a wind shield protecting us from the worst of the north and west winds.

It is wonderful to see them against the snow.

Long Shadows 4

Especially, when they are back lit by the setting sun and cast their long shadows across the white snow.















Long Shadows 5

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

Winter Woods

Today I went to KAGS in the morning for the still life class where the subject was toys.

Unfortunately, nothing that I drew worked out the way I wanted so, I took a number of photographs that I may use in future drawings or paintings of toys.

After lunch I stayed to paint with the Outdoor Painters' Group and worked on this painting of one of the many trails that can be found throughout the woods at the bottom of the front fields on my property.













I am pleased with the snow and the general composition of the painting, but before I consider this piece completed, I think it needs some time.

I will decide whether it needs some colour added into the wooded area and perhaps post it at a later date.

I would like to thank returning collector Mrs. Sheila Stanley of Norwood, Ont. on her purchase of Golden Moments (see post on 18 September 2012).

Frozen Reflections 1 and 2

The temperatures were at 25F (-3.9C) this morning when I went into Peterborough to take down my exhibit at the Dancing Blueberries.

On my way home I stopped at the small park on Water St. to do a couple of drawings of the reflections of the trees on the ice of the frozen Otonabee River.

Just off the shore of the park there was a small island and I did a part of its shoreline.

This section of the island had more coniferous trees which had lovely reflections.

Frozen Reflections 1

From there I walked along the shore of the park until I could see where the shoreline jutted out into the river.

I could see a few deciduous trees which cast long shadows across the snow as well as seeing the tree reflections onto the ice on the river.

In the distance I could see the far shoreline and I indicated the trees on the horizon  line.

Once I finished the second drawing, I had enough of being out in the cold and it was time to go home for lunch and a hot cup of tea.

Frozen Reflections 2

At a later date I may decide to make these drawings into paintings.

Against the Sky I

Today I wanted to sort through a box that was in heated storage. It contained some of my paintings that needed to be completed as well as a number of sketches for paintings that either had been completed or that needed to be developed for future paintings.










After finding this quick sketch, that was the basis of a painting that I had completed a number of years ago (see post on 03 June 2011) I may do a set of the four seasons using the sky as the background for Standardbreds jogging on the track.

At the Beach 1

Almost all of the snow has melted and the temperature today is to go up to 56F (13.3C)  which is just to tease us as tomorrow we are to get snow once again.

The sunset was beautiful this evening with the warm reds, oranges and yellows lighting up the sky before the sun disappeared from sight.

As I sat at the kitchen table watching the sun go down I thought of the sunsets we would see in Aruba while looking out over Eagle Beach from our balcony.

I did this drawing of the beach at sunset.

Since there often were people strolling along the beach in the evening I added someone walking along the shore.

Winter

A couple of days ago, when I was going through some old canvases I came across a couple of partially finished paintings.

This one needed something to make it more interesting from just a row of pine trees, so I added another layer of trees in front of the pines.

I started with titanium white and indicated the trunks of a few birch trees in the middle area and then some more larger ones just above the snow covered rock.

Next, I added a small amount of ultramarine blue to the white and put shadows on the right side of the birch tree trunks.

With a mix of titanium white, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I put the markings on the further back birches.















I darkened the mixture slightly and added a maple tree and a tree stump by the birches.

Next, I added more ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and a small amount of alizarin crimson to darken the colour for the markings on the closer birch trees and added the dark limbs and branches that were indicated in white.

In some areas I added tiny amounts of pure burnt sienna onto the trunks to give some added colour to the markings on the trees.

Using various mixes of burnt sienna and yellow ochre I put in the grasses and growies sticking up out of the snow around the closer birches.

This original 16" x 20" acrylic painting when framed will be available for $375.00.

Trent River I

It is an overcast, but mild day of 47F (8.3C) with rain falling and I am sitting at Kent.

Due to the rain there were a number of people who can out for the last day of the Abstractions and Contraptions exhibit.












But I was still able to have the time to complete this pen and ink that I did the sketch for while canoeing on the Trent River earlier this year (see post on 28 September 2014).

This original 5-1/2" x 10” drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $40.00.

Three Mountains - Nevada

-4F (-2C) but at least there is no more snow in the forecast and the wind won't start until this afternoon which will make it feel a lot colder.














Dark Mountains I

After finding these sketches that I did when we were in Las Vegas around this time of the year and I think about how it was hot enough that we went swimming in the pool everyday and relaxed in the sun.














Early morning Mountains I

In the morning as the sun was rising I did these sketches as I looked out our hotel window at the mountain ranges in the distance.











Mountains I

I did one sketch each morning that we were there of the three different mountains: Sunrise Mountain, Frenchman Mountain and the River Mountains.

Perhaps one day soon we will return to Las Vegas, Nevada even if it is only for a long weekend.

Glowing Winter Sky

It's another snowy day and we have almost 8" (20.32cm) of snow on the ground with more coming down and no end in sight.

After doing the barn chores I thought I would like to paint in acrylic today, especially since last night I had found other paintings that were almost finished and decided to complete this painting.

On the left side of the painting there were the a number of birch tree trunks that were indicated in white and needed to be completed by putting on the shadows and the markings.















With a mix of ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson I put the markings on the closest tree and added the dark limbs and branches. I added a small amount of titanium white and did the same on the two further back birch trees. 

Lastly, using various mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna and Hansa yellow I put in the grasses, growies and twigs sticking up out of the snow. 

This original 16" x 20" acrylic painting when framed will be available for $375.00.

Snow Beauty

Today I came across a small box of paintings that were almost completed and I thought it was about time that they were finished.

I started with this one from a number of years ago (see post on 21 January 2011), which needed a few growies in the snow at the base of the tree.

Then, using water to soften some of hard edges of the snow on the tree branches.

This original 6-1/2" x 10" watercolour painting when framed will be available for $150.00.

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

OSWOA - Winter Evening 2

 A cold snowy and windy day with the temperature at 12F (-11C) but with the wind chill it feels more like 1F (-17C), but I am thankful I do not live in Buffalo, N.Y. where they are to receive at least 4 ft. (1.2m) and possibly up to 6 ft. (1.8m).

This is another of the paintings I did with my Basic Watercolour class at KAGS.

Snow scenes are usually one of the easier paintings to complete and again in this class we used a limited palette of burnt sienna, raw sienna, French ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson.














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

The OSWOA shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $40.00 and sold unframed.

ACEO - Quiet 2

I came across this painting I had started last year (see post on 25 July 2013) while painting on location with the Outdoor Painters' Group.

After looking at it, I decided to turn it upside down before lightly drawing in some of the autumn maples that I have at the front of my property.

I also drew in the base of the fence line and a couple of the other trees in the background.














Using a mix of raw sienna and burnt sienna I painted in the distant hills behind where the fence would be placed.

The lawn was painted with a wash of pale Antwerp blue and raw sienna.

A dark for the tree trunks and branches was made using French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson. This colour was lightened to paint in the fence line.














Using various mixtures of alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, raw sienna, new gamboge, cadmium red and cadmium yellow the leaves were painted onto the trees. I also painted in some leaves that had fallen from the trees onto the ground as well as a couple of leaves that had just fallen from the trees.

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

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Fire

Have you ever had a day where no matter what you try to do everything just goes wrong?

That is exactly how my day went beginning in the morning with the pump not working in the barn, the kettle giving up the ghost before I had my morning cup of tea.

Ron decided to take me out for breakfast, well the first place we went to was now on winter hours and didn't open until noon, so we went to another place.













From there we ran some errands, picked up a kettle and parts for the pump before heading home. Once we arrived at home we found that the power was out and would be restored for at least six hours.

We went back out later to have supper and by the time we returned home the power was on and Ron fixed the pump and then, we were able to relax for the evening and enjoy a fire.

Barn II

Today I wanted to put more detail into my drawing of an old barn that I did last year (see post on 25 September 2013).

I started working on the barn roof first and added a small section where the tin had been torn off by the wind and showed the wooden beams running the length of the barn through the opening.

From there I worked my way down the barn, adding the barn board onto the top section of the barn walls above the concrete base.

This was followed by putting in the windows and the main barn door.

Next, I put in the two large main trees in front of the barn, this was followed by the two trees toward the end of the barn on the right side of the drawing.















I added in the fence running from the corner of the barn behind the trees.

I put in the grasses and growies along the edges of the roadway and around the base of the trees.

The foreground of the drawing looked too plain and needed something so I added a couple of round hay bales to the left side of the drawing.

Lastly, I added a tree in behind the hay bales.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Threatening Skies

We had a light dusting of snow overnight and the temperature has dropped to 19F (-7C) and our high is to make it up to 30F (-1C) but the nice thing is that we have a bright and sunny day without a lot of wind.

I pulled this painting out that I had started many years ago and it was in one of my portfolios of unfinished art work.














The only thing that needed to be done, was to put the distant shoreline on the horizon line at the edge of the lake and sign the painting.

This original 5" x 7” watercolour painting when framed will be available for $65.00.

Spice Jar 3

Today I was at the still life class at KAGS where the theme was bottles and jars.

Glass is one of my favourite subjects to draw and paint.  I like the way light reflects off the glass a how the liquids or solids inside show through the glass.

I decided to do one of the spice jars that were in the display which can go with the two other ones that I did previously.

This particular spice jar has a grinder top which makes it interesting.

Perhaps I will do a few more and exhibit them as a collection sometime in the future.

Quiet Place 2 and 3

Today I went walking through the fields with the dog.

With living on the top of a hill, I almost always see a lot of sky and often take photographs of the constant changes and the beauty of the sunrises and sunsets.















Quiet Place 2

When I returned home from my walk I did these two little drawings of the property, with lots of room for the sky.














Quiet Place 3

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

Winter Oak 1

Today I taught a class at KAGS and the lesson was on tree structure. We worked on the various coniferous and deciduous trees.

We drew four different coniferous trees first white pine, blue spruce, cedar and tamarack followed by four deciduous trees maple, birch, oak and weeping willow.















They then transferred each image onto a piece of watercolour paper.

Next week we will decide which of the deciduous will represent each season and the same with each of the coniferous.

My students will end up with two sets of four seasons of trees.

Countryside Art Group Blog - Show Updates

On the first of each month I will update the Countryside Art Group's blog with a listing of shows where the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work.

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

Serene Place 2

It is 28F (-2C), but at least today it isn't snowing and pretty much all of the snow that fell yesterday is gone.

Later today I have to go to the Annual General Meeting for the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio.

Before I went there I wanted to do a quick drawing on a small piece of tinted paper.

I kept the darker coloured areas of the paper at the bottom to be the reflected light from the sunset on the water.

On the right side I put a large island in the foreground with a number of large pine trees on the island.

I put in the horizon line and added an island onto the lake on the left side.

Rocky Shore 1

Today I was going through some photographs of the area around Burleigh Falls, with its dark water contrasting against the pink granite rocks that grace the shoreline and did this little sketch of Burleigh Bay.

I think it is a shame that the shoreline in Burleigh Bay is going to be filled in and developed into expensive homes and destroy the habitat of the Blanding's turtle (Emys blandingii or Emydoidea blandingii) which is on IUCN (Internation Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List as either a threatened or an endangered species throughout Canada.















Hopefully the groups fighting against the development and destruction of the marshland and save the  spawning areas for a wide variety of fish species and the habitat to prevent other animals species from going the way of the dodo bird - never to be seen again. 

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

Race the Wind I

It is snowing out this morning and with the high temperature for the day at 34F(1C), it will be just warm enough to melt the snow by this afternoon.

I pulled out this little drawing that I started a year ago (see post on 26 January 2013) and should be able to complete it before I have to leave.










I finished the remaining legs on the horses, added the mane and shading on the bodies and then put the grass beneath their legs.

This original 2-3/4" x 6-1/4” pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $25.00.

Barn VII

I arrived late for the still life class at KAGS today and just took photographs of the display. I may or may not do a painting from them at a later date, but at least I have the reference.

After making a cup of tea, I sat down for lunch with both the Still Life Group and the Outdoor Painters' Group, which is interesting as some just come in for the still life class, others just come in for the outdoor painters' afternoon and some of us belong to both groups.

It was soon time for me to open the Gallery, put out the signs and set myself up at the front desk on the upper level to wait for visitors.









While I wait, I pulled out one of the many barn sketches I did last year (see post on 28 September 2013).

I worked on this drawing on and off during the afternoon until I was pleased with the building and the drawing.

This original 3-1/4" x 9” pencil drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $30.00.

It wasn't long before the evening shift arrived and it was time for me to go home. Since it rained all day and the temperature stayed just above the freezing mark, 31F (-0.5C) I will be careful driving home as you never know at these temperatures and conditions if a patch of black ice has formed on the road.

Autumn Beauty 1

On Monday we had our first of six classes with Lucy Manley at KAGS.

To complete one of her paintings usually takes two sessions, but with this one I was told to leave it alone and just sign it as it was finished.















I will leave it out and continue to look at it as I feel a little more work needs to be done before it is complete.

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

OSWOA - Grey Day 1 and 2

Today is another nice day with the temperatures to reach 55F (12.8C) even though there is rain in the forecast it is still better than having it snow; although that is coming for later in the week when temperatures once again drop below freezing.














This afternoon I taught the basic watercolour class at KAGS and with this class all my students had never painted in watercolour.













I had them start with small paintings no larger than 8" x 10" which is a lot less intimidating that doing a first painting on a piece of 11" x 15" (a quarter sheet) watercolour paper. This way they can also finish the painting within the three hours of class time and can have another painting started.













Grey Day 1

I also limited the number of paints used to a maximum of three colours in order for my students to learn the wide variety of colour combinations they could achieve with a few colours. In this case we used burnt sienna, raw sienna and French ultramarine blue.














I had these two samples of skies using various mixes of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna that I did with another class (see post on 11 December 13)  and then showed the class how to do various types of clouds and allowed them to make a choice for their painting of how they would like the sky.













While their painting was drying I showed them how to put in the trees lightly with pencil and how to mix the colour for painting the trees.

After my students completed their painting I gave them homework. To do the another two more paintings using different combinations of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna for the sky only and that next week we would learn about putting in water, rocks and different types of trees.













Grey Day 2

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

The OSWOA shown here are original watercolour paintings using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $40.00 each and sold unframed.

ACEO - Approaching Storm 1

I wanted top complete a painting today and I picked out this one that I had drawn earlier this year (see post on 20 April 2014).

I didn't want to use a lot of colours in this piece so I used a limited palette of burnt sienna, raw sienna and French ultramarine blue.

After wetting the paper, I used a grey made of burnt sienna and the blue and brushed in the underside of the clouds, leaving the tops of them the white of the paper.

I used the same cloud colour to put in the waves on the lake, leaving areas of light and dark.

With various mixtures of raw sienna and the blue I put in the pine trees on the islands and on the distant horizon line.

Using the green mix, I thinned the colour with water and brushed the pale green over the water of the lake.

I decided to use a small amount of alizarin crimson on the rocks of the island.

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

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 90lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

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 November.

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

Confirmed Shows for 2014 -2015 - November

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.

Kawartha Arts Network - Art On Kent, Lindsay, Ont.
KAN
30 Oct 14 - 22 Nov 14 Abstraction and Contraptions
Opening Reception 01 Nov 14 from 1-3pm.
27 Nov 14 - 10 Jan 15 Affordableism
Opening Reception 29 Nov 14 from 1-3pm.
09 Apr - 02 May 15 Local Floral
Opening Reception 11 Apr 15 from 1-3pm.
02 Jul - 01 Aug 15 Annual All Members' Show
Opening Reception 04 Jul 15 from 1-3pm.
03-31 Dec 15 and 07 Jan-16 Jan 16 Affordableism
Opening Reception 05 Dec 15 from 1-3pm.

Dancing Blueberries, 360 George St. N., Peterborough, Ont.
27 Oct - 26 Nov 14
02-28 Oct 15

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery, Peterborough, Ont.
KAGS
01-20 Nov 14 Outdoor Painters' Show
Opening Reception 01 Nov 14 from 1-4pm.
30 Nov - 21 Dec 14 and 07-18 Jan 15 Free Expresions
Opening Reception 30 Nov 14 from 1-4pm.
18 Feb - 15 Mar 15 Motion in Stillness
Opening Reception 21 Feb 15 from 1-4pm.
18-29 Mar 15 Small Treasures
Opening Reception 21 Mar 15 from 1-4pm.
Closing Reception 28 Mar 15 from 1-4pm.
08-30 Apr 15 Emerging
Opening Reception 11 Apr 15 from 1-4pm.
10 Jun - 05 Jul 15 Warm and Cool
Opening Reception 13 Jun 15 from 1-4pm.
26 Aug - 27 Sep 15 Faces and Figures
Opening Reception 29 Aug 15 from 1-4pm.
11-29 Nov 15 Outdoor Painters' Show - Elements of Nature
Opening Reception 14 Nov 15 from 1-4pm.
02-20 Dec 15 and 06-17 Jan 16 Winter Show
Opening Reception 05 Dec 15 from 1-4pm.

The Lindsay Gallery, Lindsay, Ont.
LindsayGallery
03 Dec 14 - 31 Jan 15 Then and Now All Members' Christmas Show and Sale

Peterborough Theatre Guild, 364 Rogers St., Peterborough, Ont.
Theatre
11 Feb 15 - 31 Mar 15

Township of Douro-Dummer Library Art Gallery, Warsaw, Ont.
17 Feb - 31 Mar 15
Opening Reception 20 Feb 15 from 7-8pm.

Norwood Skillet, 4247 Highway 7, Norwood Ont.
25 Mar - 27 May 15

Millennium Park, Peterborough, Ont.
Purple Onion Festival
20 Sep15 from 11am-4:00pm.

Please come out and enjoy the artwork displayed at these shows.