Studies & Painted Furniture

Forelli Pear Study
9 x 9 Oil on Canvas


Detail

The dog days of summer are here and they’ve brought both exciting wild weather and beautiful weather. I love those words, dog days of summer, they bring thoughts of hot, still and slow moving summer days. This summer I’ve been trying to do field studies as much as my schedule will permit, either in paint or with pencil to better understand the various colours, textures and patterns of nature. It’s a practice that makes the eye keener and the hand faster and better able to quickly capture fleeting moments. Studies are done to learn or as preparation for a larger studio painting, it’s basically information gathering. Forelli Pear Study was done for a larger studio painting.


Canada Geese

The Canada Geese are regular visitors to our pond in spring and early summer, coming and going but usually coming when I was busy with a deadline and unable to take the time to draw them. One day they stayed for a whole morning giving me the opportunity to draw them while they fed at our pond in the back yard. They moved a lot, one feeding while the other kept watch and then switching. I plan to use these sketches for the basis of a painting one day.


Cosmic Terrestrius
Grandfather Clock, Acrylic on Wood
7' tall x 18" square

This Grandfather clock commissioned by Lime Design has been in the works for a while as I juggled illustration assignments, other commissions, classes and outdoor painting. The theme is the rhythm of life, symbolized by the tree of life which links the cosmos (the top of the clock) and the earth (the base with earth dwelling creatures). The flora and fauna all have symbolic meanings taken from various cultures, luck, love, beginnings, knowledge, imagination, awakening, growth, the seasons of life, constancy etc. Painting something like this is quite different from working on a canvas. When I'm in the designing stage I have to consider how it will look from all angles. Later on when it's time to paint I stand on a stool to reach the top spending a lot of time with my arm up in the air, later on as I move to the very bottom I lay on my side to paint the decoration at the feet. Anyone who came into the studio would think I was napping.

Still Life To The Death

Royal Turban
18 x 24
Oil/Canvas

It always amazes me that no matter how much we artists paint we never seem to run out of ideas or be inspired afresh by the things we see or experience. I'm always struck by the fragrant and juicy beauties piled high in supermarket produce sections, while browsing a Chinese grocer or gift shop, or working in my own garden. The attached painting Royal Turban is one such inspired painting. It needed no props to glorify it's incredible shape and colour, only a soft, natural, north light to show it to it's best advantage. It was a real challenge though, normally I paint from 5 x 7 up to 16 x 20 so this big 18 x 24 presented some interesting challenges.

Lighting was a bit of an issue as I'd set up my lights and was quite pleased with the dramatic look, however when I left the studio and turned out the lights I happened to glance back and the north light shining on the turban squash was quite stunning, turning the highlights to pinks and subtle lavenders. How could I not paint that? The problem with painting from life here in Canada is that the days are very short in the winter time. The days are endlessly long in our wonderful summers but so very short come winter. The brightest light came in from 12:00-2:30 which became my time to paint this incredible king of squashes, but it wasn't quite enough to light my palette adequately so that became somewhat of a struggle. At this size I knew this was going to take a while.

The next issue was the fact that the squash had already been hanging around the studio for some time as I completed illustration assignments and other paintings. When I was finally able to get to the squash it was showing signs of aging and by the time I was nearing the end of the painting it was starting to get leaky and mouldy. Each day before painting I had to wipe off the haze of mould that had grown overnight but managed to finish it before it collapsed.

When you are painting one solitary item at this size every single stroke counts. Any stroke placed badly will be distracting and bothersome. Brushstrokes in a simple background placed at the wrong angle will catch the light and stand out like a pink ruffle on a wrestler, all the more noticeable when you are painting larger.

All in all it was a great and wonderful challenge, I had my doubts but couldn't bear to give up on that squash.

Normally most of my paintings go out for sale but I don't think I'm ready to give this one up just yet. Maybe later.

Fashionista

18 x 18
Oil on Canvas

Can't get enough of that leopard print! I think pattern as subject matter is something that I'll return to again and again. Not only do I enjoy the whimical spots but I'm finding that it's a very useful exercise to explore the same thing numerous times in different ways. This time I experimented with the palette knife making some nice thick textures in the foreground.

Peach Luster on Leopard

18 x18
Oil on Canvas

Pairing this vintage Peach Luster tea cup with a leopard print fabric was just sheer fun! Patterns and interesting prints have long been part of my illustraton work but I have yet to use them as frequently in my oil paintings. Pattern as subject matter has been on my mind for a while and as I'd recently finished the wild cat print boot I was in the mood for more of the same. I'd been wanting to paint this teacup's fascinating, shimmery surface ever since I bought it and wanted to do the leopard print too so it seemed a good time to get them together.

The reflections in this tea cup kind of reminds me of Neil Hollingsworth paintings in which he paints reflected surfaces so admirably. I bow to you Neil.

Not Made For Walking

Not Made For Walking
8 x 10
Oil on Canvas
SOLD

These boots weren't made for walking in all day but in reality they are surprisingly comfortable. I bought them in a small village in Tuscany at the urging of a friend who insisted I go into the shoe store. I resisted thinking I had more shoes than I needed but finally gave in. I walked in and there they were right in front of me in all their supple, leathery, luxurious smelling glory. There was no doubt that they were coming home with me. I might just do a big painting of these.

This was another great exercise in painting quickly and decisively. It does me good to do this.

Summer's End

Fern Study
8 x 10
Oil on Canvas
SOLD


Tipsy
9 x 12
Oil on Canvas

Fern Study was done on the porch in the shade on a blistering hot 31 degree day. This quick study had an imposed time limit in which I had to be selective about what items would be in the background and foreground and how much of the fern I would actually paint. A fantastic exercise in being decisive. Painting loosely like this isn't about being messy or careless with the brush it's as much about control and careful planning as is a tighter painting.

Tipsy was painted in the studio but with no time limit. Careful planning was also done here to create a fun shape which the pear provided with it's elongated body. Playing on that shape with the tilted Chinese teacups made this whimsical piece great fun to do.

Summer is pretty much over and fall is on our doorsteps. The task of cleaning up the garden and putting the plants to bed is about to start. I wonder what fall views will inspire new paintings this September?

Thanks for all your wonderfully encouraging comments over the past year. It's so rewarding to hear that people, are indeed, touched by art.

Artists on Rails

Morning Plums
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
SOLD


Morning Pear
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
SOLD

The dog days of summer are here and a somnolence has set in making me feel like lazing in the hammock on the shady porch doing nothing but read and listen to the bees buzz and bump around in the flowers, however, I have weeds to battle, paintings to paint and fun projects to do.

Three days were spent as a visiting artist on the Artists on Rails tour going to Jasper, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. I was invited to participate in this project which is to provide tourists with some of the culture of Alberta as they travel through the province. Painting and visiting with the guests on the train as we travelled to Jasper on Via Rail was a fabulous experience.

Above are two of the paintings from the Early Morning series which were part of my display on the train.

Early Morning Paintings

Pucker Up
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
Sold


Morning Tomatoes
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas

These two little paintings are part of my Early Morning series that I started this April. I began a series of small paintings with natural morning light and artificial light. I prefer the natural light but it doesn't always cooperate. For one thing the sun only peeks through that window for an hour at the most. To make things really interesting the shifting morning clouds makes the light vary dramatically moment to moment with sunlight one minute and cloud the next. After some frustrating days with inconsistent light I started to experiment with artificial light and I'm not quite sure if I like it. At least it stays still.

Dandelion Field Near Leduc

Dandlelion Field Near Leduc
8 x 10
Oil on Panel

One glorious late afternoon some friends and I painted this field of dandelions while the mosquitoes had their way with us. The farm cat, not wanting to be ignored for puddles of paint leaped onto an easel and promptly left haughtily with ochre and green feet. What was beautiful to us is no doubt less than enchanting for the owner of this dandelion filled field.

Early Morning Mandarins II

Early Morning Mandarins II
Oil on Canvas
5 x 7
Sold

This painting as born after my frustrating experience of chasing the sun for days trying to paint as much as I could in one hour. I decided to paint the oranges again with a loose and a much livelier look in one go. The oranges are alive and well unlike the rather worked to death ones in the previous painting. I like these quick, little paintings, so spritely and alive.

Early Morning Mandarins

Early Morning Mandarins
Oil on Panel
8 x 10
Sold

I set up this still life in the afternoon and got a good start but when I went into the studio the next morning at 6:00 the light was peeking in the north window making the jug and oranges glow beautifully. Well, I just had to start another painting. The sunlight only slants through that window for about an hour so I went in every morning and painted quickly to try to capture this brief moment. The main challenge was the light which both moved as the sun climbed higher and dimmed considerably when drifting clouds passed over the sun. The scene changed from moment to moment. This is not by best painting by any means, it is very laboured looking but it does illustrate the challenges that artists must deal with.