Baby

I was heading to Port Perry to meet Ron for lunch for our anniversary and as I passed through Fraserville I stopped by the side of the road where a couple of Standardbred mares and foals were grazing in a field.

One little guy came right over to watch me for a little while and I did this quick sketch of him before he left to return to his mother.

Hopefully, he will mature into a fine racehorse and do well as a trotter or pacer. Who knows, he may even become a well known-stakes winner and sire many sons and daughters of his own to follow in his footsteps.

This original 4" x 4” graphite pencil when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $30.00.

Dry Dock - A Work in Progress

Today I worked on the stripped section of the east wall and managed to get the bottom section completed. It is hard to believe that small section took a little over two gallons of paint.

After lunch I wanted to paint for a little while before I went out to work in the garden and I decided I wanted to work on a wreck in dry dock I had seen in Roatan.














I started by washing in the sky and water with Cobalt blue.

Next mixing various greens with French ultramarine blue, Cobalt blue, raw sienna, alizarin crimson and new gamboge, I painted in the trees behind the boat.













Using French ultramarine blue the lower part of the boat was painted with a little burnt sienna added along the waterline.

Above that a greyed green was used where the algae and water stains marked the sides of the boat.

Now it is time to go work in my garden and I will post this painting at a later date once I have completed work on the boat.

Article About Above and Below the Reef Show

This is an article published in Kawartha Lakes This week:

Inspired by beauty on both sides of the waves

Carol Rutherford and Susan Sydney join forces for Above and Below the Reef exhibition at the Lindsay Gallery

Kawartha Lakes This Week

(LINDSAY) When Susan Sydney and Carol Rutherford join forces, so does the beauty found Above and Below the Reef.

Currently on exhibit at the Lindsay Gallery, the work of the two artists showcases their ability to bring the wonder and delight they see in the world around them; be it an interesting gentleman spied by a Havana, Cuba bus stop or a fishy game of hide and seek among the coral.

Growing up in an artistic family - and encouraged to pursue her abilities - Ms Sydney began accepting commissions for animal portraits while still in high school. Primarily self-taught, the Bridgenorth resident has never stopped learning and has taken a variety of classes and workshops to further enhance and evolve her skills.

Several years ago, Ms Sydney combined another passion - scuba diving - with her penchant for art.

“I’ve always wanted to learn to dive...when I saw a sign for Adventure Divers, I just had to take the chance,” said Ms Sydney.

It opened up a whole new environment from which she has garnered excellent subject matter.

“I just love wrecks,” she said of one of the best places for her to find inspiration. “It opens up a whole new world. A lot of my work is from pictures I have taken while underwater...There’s this huge world we haven’t yet explored and it’s always changing.”

Ms Rutherford, a trained commercial artist, has been recognized for her ability to meld character and content onto canvas through texture and colour, both of which fit perfectly into her joy of travel; particularly in the Caribbean. Her work has earned her numerous awards, including the Buckhorn Fine Art Festival, the Hastings Waterfront Festival and the Norwood Fall Fair.

When it comes to finding inspiration, Ms Rutherford considers herself fortunate that there is no shortage where she travels; providing one is willing to look with more than just the eyes.

One afternoon, while having a beach-side lunch, looking out onto the ocean in Cayo Largo, Ms Rutherford was serenaded by a man and his violin. The image not only inspired her to paint the musician, but the music he evoked through his bow further inspired another painting; Equine Agua, which is included in the exhibition.

Ms Rutherford hopes those who view the pieces which have been brought together to compose glimpses of what lays above and below the waves will have their senses heightened.

“I know I feel the most alive when I’m able to experience the culture and beauty of other countries,” said Ms Rutherford. “I hope we’ve been able to convey how we both feel [with this exhibition.]”

Above and Below the Reef runs until Aug. 24.

The gallery is located on the second floor of the Lindsay library and is open Tuesday to Saturday.

For more information, call 705-324-1780 or visit www.thelindsaygallery.com.

Above and Below the Reef
Catherine Whitnall
The beauty that Susan Sydney and Carol Rutherford have viewed - both Above and Below the Reef - is a key component of the delightful exhibit of work by the two artists, currently on display at the Lindsay Gallery

Final Day of the Shades of Summer Show

With it being a half day at the show today I spent the morning doing more work on the house (see postings on 06 Aug 2013, 10 Aug 2013, 11 Aug 2013 and 17 Aug 2013). Both the west side and the north side of the house are completed.














Although there is still a lot more of the house to be stripped and scraped before it is completely finished and can be painted but we are making good progress on it and hopefully will have it completed before September.














These are two more paintings that I started and worked on today but didn't have the time to complete, which I think I will use white gouache on to make it a snow scene just after sundown.














Dusk 1

We had the largest attendance at the show with seven originals selling from Irene Smith, Barbara McGregor, Heather Grant and Pat Harvey. Pottery was sold by JoAnne Connell Northey and small items were sold by Diane Collins and Lorraine Ryan.














Dusk 2

The hours for our show are:
18 Aug 13 - 12:30pm - 5:00pm.

Rocky Shore 1 - A Work in Progress

Today we had a fairly large number of people through our show so I didn't have very much time to work on my paintings.

But I did manage to get a little more work done on the background of this small piece (see post on 17 July 2013).

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

Four originals were purchased from Penny Little, Pat Harvey, Tom Young and Heather Grant.


JoAnne Connell Northey sold pottery and small items were sold by Irene Smith, Lorraine Ryan, Diane Collins, Penny Little, Helen Sheppard and Pat Harvey.














The hours for our show are:
17 Aug 13 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
18 Aug 13 - 12:30pm - 5:00pm

When I left for the art show Ron was going to work on painting some of the trim in the morning and in the afternoon getting the paint stripped off the first section of the east wall.

He accomplished a lot today on the house.

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

Algonquin Sunrise

Temperatures are finally starting to get back to warmer and more seasonal, which is a good thing.

Today I sat at the back of the building working on a number of small paintings. This is a painting of one of the lakes in Algonquin Provincial Park in Whitney, Ontario.

This original 5-1/2" x 7-1/2" watercolour when framed will be available for $145.00.














We had a steady number of people going through the show today with five paintings purchased from Irene Smith, Barbara McGregor, Lorraine Ryan and Bonny Windover. Small items were sold by Barbara McGregor, Diane Collins, Irene Smith, JoAnne Connell Northey and Lorraine Ryan as well as pottery from JoAnne Connell Northey.

The hours for our show are:
16 Aug 13 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 13 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
18 Aug 13 - 12:30pm - 5:00pm

I hope to see many more of you at our show before it ends on Sunday.

Dockside 1 - A Work in Progress

Today is another cool 46F (8C) but sunny day with temperatures finally making it up to 66F (19C).

The show was fairly well attended today with seven originals sold from Rebecca Bilcox, Irene Smith, Joanne Connell Northey, Barbara McGregor, Penny Little and Heather Grant. Small items were purchased from Pat Harvey, Diane Collins, Barbara McGregor and Lorraine Ryan.

Unfortunately with talking with a number of our visitors I did not have very much time to work on painting. But I did manage to get a little more work on this piece (see postings on 16 Oct 2012, 09 February 13 and 20 May 2013) that I had started earlier this year.

I will post this piece with its companion piece at a later date once more work on them has been completed.

The hours for our show are:
15 Aug 13 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 13 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 13 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
18 Aug 13 - 12:30pm - 5:00pm

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.