Plein Air Painting

Wind-blown Aspen
8 x 10
Oil on Panel

Spring is in full swing and it is glorious! The birds are all so busy they simply don’t know which way to run and the choir of mating frogs in our backyard has been a wonderfully lascivious concert that’s come to an end now that they’d done their job and created hundreds of tadpoles.

The last couple of weeks have had me outside doing some studies of beautiful Alberta. Painting outdoors is always a challenging event and last week was no exception with a relentless and gusty wind. This little study features the ubiquitous aspens of western Canada bending in that wind.

I was recently a finalist in Canadian Brushstroke magazine’s still life competition for my painting Tipsy. To sign up for this FREE Canadian art magazine go to http://www.brushstrokemagazine.com

Subject Matter in Art

What makes an artist choose a subject and paint it in a particular way? Artists all have their own reasons for how they compose or make subject matter choices in a painting. Sometimes we work on a theme for a while, sometimes we paint what simply catches our eye and other times there are more complex ideas at work.


Gathered Up
5 x 7
Sold

Gathered Up was a simple reaction to the fresh loveliness of these tiny little crab apples that grow next door to my Mother's house. They were arranged simply as they might have been when they fell from the tree.


Reflections on Black and Yellow
Sold

There were more complex ideas behind Reflections on Black and Yellow which is about contrasts of all kinds. The gleaming reflections in the smooth, shiny black cup contrasting with the broken up reflections in the lumpy surface of the dazzling yellow lemon, all on a neutral background. Contrast in all ways, light/dark, bright/dull, colour/neutrals, and shiny/textural.