Patch

I took this photograph of one of the male barn cats called "Patch", who is quite a character.

He usually follows me around when I am in the barn doing chores, and on this day he decided to find a comfortable spot where he could be out of the way and at the same time he could keep an eye on me while I threw hay out of the mow to feed the horses.















As soon as I was finished, he followed me down the stairs into the main barn and waited for me to get out his kibble and feed him. With a final pat I left him to enjoy his meal.

This photograph when matted and framed will be available for $80.00.

OSWOA - Sunlit Buildings 1

I started two paintings with Doug Mays in the spring (see post on 07 May 2015) at which time he showed us how to change a painting from day time into night time.

This painting is the one which I decided would be kept as the one for the daytime and once I have it completed I will work on the other. 

Working with various shades of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, I put in the barn board texture with a dry brush.

I added a little alizarin crimson to get a an almost black colour and painted in the window sills on both buildings, under the eaves, the missing boards on the barn doors and where the tine had lifted on the roof.

Next I used a grey mix with the barn board colours but more to the brown and painted in the tin roof on the barns. I painted the rusted areas using pure burnt sienna.













I removed the tape from the window on the closest barn and painted the light area with raw sienna and added the dark colour to both windows.

With the darkest mixture I painted in some of the dark tree trunks and branches into the background forest.

With various mixtures of raw sienna, burnt sienna, French ultramarine blue, Antwerp blue and aureolin the greens and yellows of the overgrown grasses, weeds and growies were added to the painting.

Lastly, the dirt pathways were added to the painting.

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.

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

ACEO - Pasture 1 and 2

Today I wanted to complete these two paintings that I had started a while ago (see posts on 07 July 2012, 17 March 2013 and 21 August 2015).

I started with this one first, which is of the north gateway in the field behind the barn.

Over the years the trees on either side of the opening have grown and formed a canopy of leaves and branches; which in each season has a beauty of its own.

My favourite of course is autumn when the maples are in their fall colours of red, orange and yellow.

Pasture 1

For the second one I wanted it to be more like one of the lower fields with trees along the fence line and one or two trees in the pasture but near the edges.

I used greens made of French ultramarine blue, raw sienna, Antwerp blue, new gamboge, alizarin crimson and cobalt blue.














Pasture 2

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

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 Winsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Loon Call Lake Turtle I

Yesterday while we were out on the lake we came across a turtle sunning himself on a partially submerged log.

Usually they disappear into the water as soon as we start to get close to them. This one seemed unconcerned and we took two passes by him before he decided to leave.













I have the drawing of the turtle and now I have to do some research and find out what kind of turtle it is, so I can do an acrylic or watercolour painting from this drawing.

Loon Call Lake VIII-X

With today being nice and sunny with a mild breeze blowing, we decided to take the canoe out and go on one of the lakes as we will not have many more days like this before it gets too cold and windy.

We headed up toward Apsley and we were trying to decide whether to go to Coon Lake, Long Lake, Loon Call Lake or Wolf Lake.

Since it has been at least a year since we visited any of these lakes and all are beautiful.

We finally decided that we would try Loon Call Lake since it was one of the smaller lakes (see post on 18 August 2014 for more information about the lake).

Loon Call Lake VIII

As with all of these lakes the launch is easy to access and there is plenty of parking.

As usual we paddled to the far end of the lake with me occasionally taking a few photographs of some of the beautiful rocks and trees reflected into the water.

After we had lunch we allowed the current to carry us back down the lake with Ron fishing and me taking photographs and making sketches.

Unfortunately for Ron, this was the first time in a number of years that he wasn't able to land at least one fish. Although, he did have a few that followed his lure back to the canoe.

Loon Call Lake IX

I was fortunate to have gotten three sketches that I can use at a later date reference for either a watercolour or acrylic painting.














Loon Call Lake X

On the way home instead of heading south towards home for supper, we decided to go north on Highway 28 and found the Swiss Bear Restaurant and Bakery on the Highway near Apsley. The food and service there were both excellent.

Koi 10 and 11

Today we brought in all the hay for the horses into the barn in time for the winter. It is a nice feeling to get that job completed and out if the way.

After supper while relaxing and watching television I started doing some simple drawings of koi.

I was interested in capturing the movement of the fish as it moved through the water.

To see how the fins rippled and moved as it went up to the surface as well as when it moved down to the bottom of the pond.

Koi 10

I also tried different positions and angles of the fish.















Koi 11

I would like to thank returning collectors Mr. and Mrs. Jiri Spirk of Lakefield, Ontario on their selection of Sunlit Sails (see post on 22 February 2010).

In the Kitchen 1

Today I was at the still life class at KAGS and the theme was once around the kitchen.

There was a wide variety of things to draw and paint, including pots and pans, knives, cooking utensils and cutting boards, a collection of fruits and vegetables as well as a number of herbs and spices.















I chose to do a grouping of a small copper pot, with two different types of spice grinders, one for herbs de providence and the other for a mixture of various types of peppercorns.

I was pleased with the result and in the future I may do a couple more drawings of things that can be found in a kitchen.