Pine Reflections 1 and 2

Today I went to the back of the property to do a little sketching by the Snelgrove Brook before it becomes overgrown with all the leaves on the deciduous trees and bushes as well as the tall grasses and growies.

I decided that I would like to do a diptych of the open area of the brook at the bottom of the field just before the start of the
forest at the south end of the property.

Pine Reflections 1

I started with the closest shore of the brook on both drawings so they matched.

I put in the basic ground line in first and added a few trees and grasses.

Next I put in the waterline of the far shore making sure it matched on both drawings.

Then I started adding in the rocks against the water's edge and put in some growies in the foreground behind the rocks and then added the pine trees and deciduous tree trunks.

Pine Reflections 2

Lastly I indicated the pine tree reflections into the water.

Three Ships

I was watching Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World on television and decided to do some sketches of the various ships.

Doing these quick sketches forces me to put down the most important parts of the ships and to get the proportion correct.

Then later on when I decide to turn the sketches into either watercolour or acrylic paintings I have a solid foundation from which to work.

Storm Waves I

















Battleships I












At Rest 1

Frozen Birches

This has been a long time in coming (see postings on 13 May 2010, 26 August 2012, 12 February and 28 February 2013), but I finally managed to complete this 6-1/4" x 9-1/4" monochromatic painting of a forest of birch trees.

I did this while at the last meeting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group.

The Group will not meet to paint together again until the second Tuesday in September.

Now I have to get it framed up so I can enter it in the Monochrome show at KAGS where it will be available for $225.00.

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

Quarter Horse

Today I worked on a different kind of racehorse from the one I did earlier this month (see post on 01 April 2013) of the Standardbred.















This is a drawing of a racing Quarter Horse called Kurt King who used to race at Picov Downs many years ago.

This original 10" x 15" framed graphite pencil drawing is available for $165.00. SOLD

Crystal Clear I

Finally a nice, sunny and warmer day; I should be able to start working in my garden later this afternoon.

In the meantime I decided to work on this drawing of the tidal pool in front of our beach house that I started the last time I was at the CoCo View Resort on the island of Roatan in the Bay Islands of Honduras.












I hope to go back to Roatan again in a couple of years, the diving is fabulous whether you go boat diving or shore diving and it has become one of my favourite places to dive.

I have taken this drawing as far as I am going to for the day and now it is time to go outside and work in the garden.

Four Seasons - Buckhorn Lake Sketch

After nice weather yesterday there is now more white stuff on the ground. Although it is spring winter just doesn't want to let go its hold on the temperatures.

However, each season has its own kind of magic whether it is the view from the top of my hill in the glorious golden days of autumn; or the bare tree branches weaving a pattern of shadowed beauty across the glittering new fallen snow.

Winter is followed by the arrival of spring with its gorgeous palette of yellows and greens, the return of the a wide variety of birds and early blooming flowers; leading into the hot, humid and hazy days of summer and the exquisite beauty of the garden flowers that seem to last until the frost sends them once again into hibernation.













When I came across this sketch of Buckhorn Lake and I thought this one would be ideal to try to capture the enchantment and beauty of the same scene in each of the four seasons.

I will post each painting created from this sketch as they are completed and after I decide with which media I will create them.

Through the Storm

This painting is finally coming together after all this time (see postings on 10 Dec 2010, 23 Mar 2012, 31 Dec 2012 and 01 Mar 2013).















A little more shading using cobalt blue was put into the grey areas of the gull's back to give the bird more shape to coverts on the wings to add a little more definition to the feathers.

Then it was the small details that needed to be added to the Herring gull; the yellow rim around the eye and the small red spot on the lower part of the beak.

Next a little more definition with the dark colour on the flight feathers and then the final layer of Chinese white to the edges of the wings and on the white spots of the wing feathers.

This original 11-1/2" x 14-1/2" watercolour painting when framed will be available for $295.00.

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