Stingray Starfish
For my beautiful niece Janae.
Posts from the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Apr 8
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Crow #1
Crow 8″ x 8″
This is the time of the year when you see young crows learning to fly. They are so vulnerable – usually sitting helplessly on the ground until they figure it out. I watched one little guy get off the ground, only to slam into the side of a parked car. Kind of comical once I realized he was okay.
Apr 28
Winter Bales
Winter Bales 18" x 14"
After finishing my Fine Arts degree, I stopped painting for several years. The job I took to pay the bills had nothing to do with art. I kept on drawing in my spare time, but without the direction and studio space provided by art class, I did not paint. I can’t remember what inspired me to pick up a brush again, but I do remember what I painted. It was an awful picture of hay bales that I did on cardstock. It was my first attempt at working with acrylics, and it did not turn out well. As bad as the painting was, it obviously sparked my interest in painting again. After practicing for a few years, I now love acrylics and I am much happier with my latest attempt at hay bales.
Oct 6
Icy Alberta Spring
The Icy Spring 11"x14"
I photographed this Alberta landscape a couple of years ago on a cold, sunny spring day. The colour of these red graineries seems to hold the promise of warmer days. I love the way the red siding contrasts with the crisp, dry field and the icy pond.
It seems that I have mainly used the three primary colours here. I could pretend that it was deliberate, but I only realized it as I was finishing up.
Jun 21
Bridge in Jericho Park
Bridge in Jericho Park 14" x 18"
I am starting to lose track of the number of paintings I’ve done of Jericho Park. You must be getting an idea of just how much time I spend there. I love this little bridge and I’ve painted it before. It is surrounded by huge trees, making it great practice for painting dappled light and shadows.
Mar 6
Thank you Melissa. Thank you Linny.
I am very pleased to have an article posted on 365 Days of Genius – Melissa Dinwiddie’s site about creativity. Since writing doesn’t really come naturally to me, I have to thank Melissa for her encouragement and coaching with this article. If you are involved in any sort of creative endeavor, you’ll find some great articles and resources on this site.
On a related note, I also would like to thank Linny D. Vine for mentioning me on her blog. I shared some photos of the Mayerthorpe grain elevator with her and she created the most beautiful painting. Please go have a look.
Jan 15
BC Fruit
BC Fruit 11" x 14"
Yet another subject from our local farm. I had a lot of fun with these apples. It was tricky to find all the different shades of yellow and green that I saw. I was trying to make the colourful apples pop out from the background of dull brown.
Nov 22
Mud and Sunshine
Mud and Sunshine 18" x 14"
I live in a city where it rains a lot. In spite of the amount of rain, we don’t have any mud. I’m not talking about the puddles or wet bits of dirt at the side of the street. Or even the squishy paths in the park. I mean real mud. Where I grew up, several miles from the nearest paved road, we had mud. Deep enough to for a car to get stuck in or for a child (me) to get their boots stuck in while walking to the school bus. (So stuck that their mom had to walk out into the muddy lane to rescue them).
Maybe it’s these (fond?) memories that attracted me to this muddy field, south of the city. The beautiful sun surprised me on a day that was supposed to be socked-in with rain. The sunshine only lasted an hour or so before the dark clouds rolled in again. It was long enough for me and the kids to have some fun, trudging around in the mud.
Sep 13
Practice with Yellow
Yellow Zucchini - 10" x 10"
I don’t think I’ve painted anything so yellow before. I know I haven’t, because I have had the same tube of cadmium yellow light in my paintbox for a couple of years and haven’t had to replace it. Today I am off to the art store to get some more.
