The Beauty of Stillness Show

The current show at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio is called "Beauty in Stillness".










The exhibit runs from 24 January through to 04 March with the opening reception on 28 January from 1-4 p.m.











If you have a chance please come out and enjoy the show.

2016 Peterborough Garden Tour

Today Cindy, Norma and I set up our display at Griffins Greenhouse and Garden Centre at 3026 Lakefield Rd., Lakefield, Ontario.














We were set up near the back of the grounds under a tent in among the beautiful flowers and shrubbery, close to the gazebo and the pond.

An added attraction on the other side of the gazebo was a group of Highland dancers who performed throughout the day, which also attracted many people.














We were fortunate to have an overcast day with the temperature at 77F (25C), without humidity and a mild breeze.

While I was there I took many photographs of the plants and displays of flowers in pots, some which were the living parts of metal sculptures scattered throughout the property.












During the latter part of the afternoon we had an unexpected visitor, a painted turtle who came out from the marsh, walked across the road and came into the tent to visit and enjoy our art show.

When he turned to cross the road again, Cindy picked him up and set him in the pond so he wouldn't get run over by a passing vehicle. I think he will probably join the other turtles sunning themselves beside the guardian of the pond, a large metal crocodile.












The gardens are a delight with many hidden treasures to be found in and among the plants; gnomes, elves and cherubs peeking out from between plants, a hidden waterfall guarded by sculptures of snails, toads and butterflies.














Wonderful wood carving of bears, raccoons and birds watching you from their hiding places in the shade of a tree, or peeking out from shrubbery. These are just a few of the many things you will find and I recommend that you take the time to visit Griffins and be enchanted by their gardens. I know I was.

Floral and Still Life Show

Today the Portrait class at KAGS was cancelled which due to the Gallery policy requires two people to sit the art show so Cindy and I were there together.

This made the afternoon go quickly as we discussed the upcoming shows, galleries we would like to visit and have an exhibit at in the future and the new art pieces we were painting.

I put in two paintings into this exhibit that had been shown at the Garden Show earlier this month.














We were pleased that a number of people came in to view the display which will run through to 05 May 2016.

If you have a chance please come out and view the show.

16th Annual Peterborough Garden Show

It was a very busy day, starting first thing this morning when we took the grids and lights from KAGS and transported them to the Evinrude Centre to set up the art display at the Peterborough Garden Show.

Fortunately, we had many people helping to unload and set up the grids which were the most time consuming part.

While we waited for artists to bring in their paintings the drapery and lights were set into place.

For the most part we tried to keep all of each artist's work together and also to have similar colours and media on the same panels.

That way none of the paintings would be over shadowed and each one would have the chance to shine in their own light.

In total it took about three hours to hang all of the 58 pieces and to adjust the lights to present the paintings at their best.

Some of the group made sure the identification tags were put into place, being careful to make sure they were with the correct painting.

Others saw that the tables and chairs were set up, covered with tablecloths and the business cards, pamphlets and brochures about KAGS were displayed.

With a final check to be sure all the lights were working, the tie ends were picked up, the tablecloths were straightened and everything was neatly in place. We left for the afternoon.

I will return tonight to sit the first shift and if necessary correct anything that needs fixing, though I doubt there will be any problems.

The hours for the show are:
08 April 5:00-9:00pm.
09 April 10:00am-9:00pm.
10 April 10:00am-4:00pm.

If you have a chance, please come out and enjoy the show.

Who knows you may find something for your garden or a painting that you will enjoy having on your wall for many years.

OSWOA - Flower Power 1

I decided that I wanted to finish this painting that I have been working on for a while (see posts on 09 May 2012, 23 January 2014 and 09 August 2015).

I started with the yellow mass of flowers on the right side of the arrangement and using aureolin and raw sienna I created flower shapes by painting in the negative.

Using burnt sienna I added the stamens to the center of the flowers.

I wanted to put in a few larger yellow flowers on the left side of the floral arrangement.

With raw sienna and painting in the negative I created the first of the two large blooms.

A little burnt sienna was added into the shadows.

Aureolin was added to the shadow colour and a few small flowers were added around the large blooms.

With various shades of green, leaves were added throughout the painting.

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.

Flower Power 1 - A Work in Progress

It is another bright and sunny day with warm temperatures 77F (25C) but the humidity makes it feel like 85F (29.4C) which is still a nice summer day.

I decided to work on this piece that I had started quite a while ago (see posts on 09 May 2012 and 23 January 2014).

Using various yellows such as raw sienna, new gamboge and aureolin and painting in the negative, I gave a little more definition to some of the flower shapes.

Then with Antwerp blue and cobalt blue I tinted some of the off white flowers.

I darkened some of the red flowers with alizarin crimson.

Using cadmium yellow, new gamboge and raw sienna I painted in the stamens into the center of some of the flowers.

I will post this painting again once I have completed the yellow flowers in the middle sections of the floral arrangement.

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

White Flowers 2

Yesterday, I did a painting of white flowers and after looking at it today, I decided that I would like to do another painting similar to it and make them a matching set.

I started by lightly sketching in a large semi abstract flower at the bottom right side of the paper.

From there, I added another flower on the left side, finishing slightly above the middle of the paper.

Above these two flowers I added two smaller partially opened flowers, leaving some open space at the top and on the right side of the paper.

Once again using Cobalt blue at the top of the paper I painted in the sky.

Using alizarin crimson with a small amount of the blue I painted in some areas of the petals.

Adding varying amounts of Cobalt blue and alizarin crimson together I indicated the edges of petals and the shadows.

I left areas of the white paper for the highlights.

Using various mixtures of Cobalt blue, French ultramarine blue, raw sienna, new gamboge and aureolin I painted in the various leaves and stems.

Lastly, with burnt sienna and raw sienna I put in the stamens on the larger flower at the bottom of the painting and a few on the middle sized flower on the left side.

This original 11" x 15" watercolour painting once it has been framed, will be available for $295.00.

Tulips - A Work in Progress

I have everything ready for Christmas tomorrow and I thought I would have some time to paint today, so I pulled out this painting that I had started earlier this year (see post on 25 October 2014) and removed this masking fluid from the flowers.

The drawing needed a little more work before I would be happy with the way it looked.

I had just started into it when we had some unexpected company arrive and that ended my doing any more work on this piece.

I will post this painting at a later date once more work on it has been completed.

Tulips - A Work in Progress

Hallowe'en will be upon us shortly and I wanted to do something with blacks and oranges, so I decided to I would paint black tulips which bloom each year in my garden but have warm oranges, yellows and reds in the background to make them stand out.

I drew out the tulips, transferred them onto the paper and using liquid frisket I masked out the edges of the flowers and the stems.

Next I used various mixtures of Antwerp blue, French ultramarine blue, Cobalt blue, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, raw sienna, new gamboge and aureolin to paint in the background wet on wet.

As the background was drying I sprayed a little bit of water in some areas to create interest. The paper was then set aside to dry.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have removed the masking fluid and started to paint the tulips.

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

Flower Power 1 - A Work in Progress

It is a warmer day today starting off at -10F (-23.3C) and we will see just how warm it does manage to get, but I won't hold my breath waiting.

Today I worked on this small painting that I had started a couple of years ago (see post on 09 May 2012).

I started by adding a few green leaves and painting in the negative to create some petals.

Using raw sienna I started giving the yellow flowers near the top of the vase some shape by adding shadows and a small amount of definition to the centers.

With a little burnt sienna I added the stamens into the flower centers.

I will post this painting again as I do more work on the flowers and the vase.

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

Field Poppies - A Work in Progress

The temperature continues to sit at 22F (-5.5C) and it is snowing again.

To get into a brighter mood I decided to work on one of my favourite flowers the poppy (13 December 2013).

I had started this painting back in November of last year as part of a class demonstration.

In a small plastic container I first mixed a puddle of pure raw sienna and then set it aside. In another container I mixed raw sienna with Antwerp blue for a brighter green colour. In a third container I mixed together French ultramarine blue and raw sienna for a darker more olive coloured green.

Then I wet the paper with water and while the "glow" was coming off the wet paper I mixed some pure burnt sienna in one section of my palette, in another section some pure French ultramarine blue and I made a dark mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

First I poured the raw sienna over the upper part of the paper and toward the right side, being sure to leave some areas of white.

Next using the bright green I poured it into the center of the painting and rolled it around. Then with the paint brush moved some soft lines outward in leave shapes.

Using the final container of dark green I poured it mainly towards the bottom of the painting and rolled some of the paint toward the center of the painting.

Lastly using a brush and each of the colours mixed on my palette I painted in various soft leaf shapes. Once the paper was completely dry I removed the masking fluid.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of the painting has been completed.

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

Pansies, Poppies and Hibiscus - Four Works in Progress

These are the four paintings that were used during the final watercolour class I taught at KAGS on the 26th last month.

My students had been told the week previous to bring in one piece of paper with a drawing of poppies and that they were to be masked out.

On another they would have drawn pansies.

Purple Pansies

The first thing I had them do when they arrived was to mix a yellow and a red in two separate containers and wet a piece of paper.

Then they poured the two colours over the paper and rolled the paint around to mix the colours.

The result was a peach colour and then set it aside to dry. 

Field Poppies

I demonstrated how one petal at a time is worked and then the next petal to be painted is not touching the first petal so the colour does not bleed into it.

Next I demonstrated how to paint the colour patterns on the pansy petals and that the lines need to curve in order to give the illusion of shape.













Hibiscus 1

Next I gave each student a piece of torn paper to use as a template.

They were shown how to paint around the template with mixtures of red, yellow and blues and allow it to mix on the paper

I quickly showed where to place the stamens and the direction of the curve for the lines in the petals.













Single Poppy 1

After letting them work on their own paintings for a little while, I had them come back and did a demonstration of how to work on a poppy.

I painted in the dark centre first and then added a few of the darker shadows.

Next I worked on the poppy petals showing how the creases have shadows, lights and highlights.

I will post these paintings at a later date as they are completed.

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

Yellow Vase with Flowers - A Work in Progress

Today at KAGS the theme for our Still Life class was dishes and flowers. Margaret brought in a lovely display of dishes and flowers and I brought in this vase with a large variety of silk flowers.

I used the table runner from the display with the dishes and changed the colour of it from pale cream to a bright green and combined it with the vase. I liked the way the light passed through the linen material and the cast shadow that showed on the table.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it has been completed.

Lilac Reflections - A Work in Progress

I washed in the background using various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, Antwerp Blue and alizarin crimson then set it aside to dry.

Once it was dry I used a mixture of alizarin crimson and Antwerp blue as the under paint for the lilac flowers. While that was drying I added some French ultramarine blue to the lilac mixture and painted the vase.














Next I washed in raw sienna and Antwerp blue into the leaves. I left this colour for the high lit areas of the leaves.Then added French ultramarine blue and painted the mid tone of the leaves, then with a little burnt sienna added to the mixture and the dark shadows were painted.

I started adding in the shadows on the lilacs, which were a mixture of French ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson.

I will post this painting at a later date once more work on it has been completed.

Roses 2 - A Work in Progress

Many of the roses are in bloom in my garden.

I did a quick sketch of a few of them onto watercolour paper and will post this painting at a later date once paint has been applied and more of it is completed.

Flower Power

No rain, but the crowds just aren't coming out with the threat of a thunderstorm in the air.














I decided that I would try and finish some of the paintings that didn't need a lot of work to complete and I chose this one that I had started last year (see post on 04 May 2012).

This framed, original watercolour painting is available for $175.00.

By the Window

While sorting through some files I came across this painting that I had started a couple of years ago (see post on 25 August 2011).

It didn't need much to have it completed so I decided to work on it and the bonus was that I already had a mat and frame that the painting would fit.

I painted in the background in the lower left side window pane and added a little more colour to the other three window panes to have them with similar colours throughout.

Lastly, I added greenery in among the flowers and painted in the negative to give definition to the daisies.

This original 4-3/4" x 9” watercolour when framed will be available for $125.00.

Enamel Water Pitcher

After doing yesterday's small still life I decided to work on another piece a little larger in size.

I made a few changes; since I already had some reference sketches and photographs of the old enamel water pitchers they have at the church for holding flower arrangements.

Once again I drew in the pitcher and where I wanted the daises I made small circles to keep those areas white.

For the background I put down washes of raw sienna and burnt sienna and before the paint had a chance to dry completely I added washes of French ultramarine blue with a touch of alizarin crimson to warm the shadows.

A pale wash of shadow mixture was applied over the tablecloth and used to give shape to the pitcher.

With French ultramarine blue and a little raw sienna the green of the foliage was applied and the petals of the daisies were painted in the negative.

Using raw sienna the centers of the daisies were painted. While they were still a little wet using pure burnt sienna the shadows were added, as well as the rust spots on the enamel of the pitcher.

The shadows on the daisies were put in with a pale wash of blue, then alizarin crimson was added and a darker shadow was put at the base of the pitcher.

Burnt sienna was added to the shadow mixture to make it darker and the handle and edge at the top of the pitcher were added.

This original 5" x 7" framed watercolour is available for $95.00.

Water Jug II

This is a small still life of a copper pitcher with red silk flowers that I worked up from photographs and sketches I did last year of various containers with flowers (see posts on 13 and 14 March 2011).

I lightly drew in only the pitcher.

Using French ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson I washed in the background with vertical strokes, keeping it fairly pale.

The copper pitcher was painted in with layers of raw sienna, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.

Once the pitcher had dried the red flowers were painted with alizarin crimson and the shadows washed with a hint of blue.

The leaves and stems were a mix of French ultramarine blue and raw sienna. The shadow was brushed in using the blue. Lastly cadmium yellow was used for the center of the flowers.

This original 3" x 5" watercolour is available matted and shrink wrapped for $20.00. SOLD

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Mid Afternoon Snack

This was part of a much larger arrangement of still life items that was set up this morning for the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group.

I chose to work on this section because I liked the way the dark blue cup was reflected off the white pitcher holding the bouquet of mixed flowers.

I also liked the way the light created the shadow patterns on the folds of the material.

This original 7" x 9" framed watercolour is available for $195.00.

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