ACEO - Snow Man 1 and Snow Lady and Child 1

Today I had a dentist appointment in the morning and for noon I had to be at the Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio for a meeting.

Since I wasn't going to go home just to come back down to Peterborough again I decided to wait at the Gallery and paint.

Since Christmas is just a little over a month away I thought I should finish these two paintings that I have been working on for quite a while (see posts on 23 February 2013, 12 and 18 February and 18 August 2014 and 25 August 2015).

The snowman painting didn't need a lot done to it in order for it to be completed.

I painted in the branch arms first with burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue.

Grasses and leaves were painted at the base of the snowman using mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna, and alizarin crimson.

Snow Man 1

Now it was time to work on the next piece with the two snow people.

I started with the bonnet and painted it with raw sienna and burnt sienna. The ribbon was various shades of raw sienna and Antwerp blue.

The toque and scarf on the snow child were painted in with mixes of French ultramarine blue and Antwerp blue.

Working back and forth between the two snow people I started by putting in the carrot noses with cadmium red and cadmium yellow.

The shadows were painted with French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna; then alizarin crimson was added to the mix and the eyes, mouth and buttons where painted with this dark mixture.

Snow Lady and Child 1

The grasses were painted with various mixes of raw sienna, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.

Lastly the branch arms were painted in with burnt sienna and blue.


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 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Seahorse 6

Today, I wanted to do some drawing so I pulled out some small pieces of paper and started with a seahorse.

It didn't take very long to get the basic shape of the seahorse drawn slightly off centre of the paper.

Working from the left side of the paper across, I added a few strands of sea grass, one going away from the seahorse, the other going behind it.

Next, I put one blade running up behind the seahorse and I wrapped its tail around it.

This was followed by putting two more pieces of seaweed at another at an angle behind the seahorse. 

Late Fall

I wanted to finish this painting that I had started a number of years ago.

First I removed the masking fluid from the birch trees and the leaves in the foreground.

Using various mixtures of raw sienna, new gamboge and alizarin crimson I painted in the remaining leaves on the trees in the foreground.

Next I made a grey of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and put it onto the shadowed side of all the birch tree trunks.

With a darker mix I added the markings.

This original 11" x 15" watercolour painting when framed will be available for $245.00. SOLD

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Please Mom?

Today, I am doing a double shift at the Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio which is open from 1-7pm on Thursday.

While there, I thought I would spend my time working on a drawing of Christine holding a Poodle puppy.

My father had always wanted a white poodle and needless to say my parents ended up purchasing Teela.

Christine showed her in Junior Showmanship classes and in Conformation classes to earn her Canadian Championship, while I showed her in Obedience Trials at the same time and she earned her Companion Dog title.

After she earned her titles, she was bred to my male, Sootie and she produced a litter of five puppies; three males and two females.

I was given my choice of one of the puppies from that litter and I kept one of the females and called her Ariel.

All five puppies (Ariel, Crystal, Midnight, Skippy and Stormy), from that litter ended up earning their Canadian Championships, making both parents Top Producers.

Farm by the River I

Today I was driving along River Road and noticed a farm on the far side of the Otonabee River downstream from Lock 26 Lakefield.

The farm buildings were framed by a couple of large trees on this side of the river.














So I pulled over and did this little sketch before heading into Peterborough.

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

Elements of Nature Art Show

Today I was hanging the Elements of Nature show at KAGS which will open tomorrow.












I was able to get my eight feet of space in my favourite place on the alcove on the far wall.

This year I am donating the painting Northern Winter (see post on 11 April 2012) as the draw prize for the show. 















The show features paintings from twenty three members of KAGS Outdoor Painters' Group.

It also has a silent auction from the members  with 25% of the proceeds raised going for prizes for the Best of High School art held each year in May at KAGS to encourage our youth to enjoy creating their own original art.














I hope to see some of you on Sunday 15 November 15 for the opening of the show or that you are able to visit the show before it closes on 29 November 15 at 4p.m.

Display Case at the Peterborough Public Library

Today Norman, Cindy and I went to the Peterborough Public Library at 345 Aylmer St. N. in Peterborough, Ontario to set up an arrangement of art supplies, paintings and posters in the main display case by the main entrance to promote the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio.

With having had a meeting last month about how we would set up the display it didn't take long to bring in everything we needed.
















The display case is 120' (936.6m) long and 4' (1.2m) wide. We rearranged the shelves first and then set up the two largest paintings and the KAGS banner.

From there we started working from the right side of the case to the left, beginning at the bottom.














We put one of Norma's oil paintings toward the back and placed a couple of canvases in front of it, then her paint box beside them followed by my wooden case of Prisma pencils with a couple of water colour sketches and a small block of watercolour paper.

To complete the right side we added a small painting to the shelf, a container with a set of small watercolour brushes, bottles of varnish and paint thinners, a couple of tins with watercolour pencils, a wooden box with various sponges, rulers, pencils and other basic tools.














Lastly we added the poster for the upcoming Elements of Nature Art Show which opens this Sunday 15 November 2015.

Now it was time to complete the left side of the display.














We started by putting two posters with information about KAGS, its beginnings and what its mandate is, complete with a map and all the ways of contacting us.

On the bottom shelf we continued with more art supplies and paintings including another container of brushes, a painter's apron and a water bowl; followed by my wooden case of pastels with pen and ink supplies and some scratch board tools on the lid.














This was finished with a couple of blank canvases and a small painting on an easel.

On the shelf we set up two easels one with a partially completed watercolour painting and the other with a small oil painting. Next to this was another collection of brushes, more little boxes of pastels, drafting tools, and a couple of metal boxes of water soluble pencils and a photograph on stretched canvas.















Lastly we scattered a few small arrangements of silk autumn leaves throughout the display and tossed some individual leaves randomly among the art supplies.

The total time to set up the display took us just over an hour and next week when we return to take the display down it will probably take about half that amount of time.