"Barnumtown"

This was another re-do of an older painting i had laying around. I'm finding that by re-doing these pieces it is showing me that often there is so much more that can be done and perhaps i am hanging incomplete paintings. I was at a workshop on the weekend with Brent Laycock and a fellow student asked him, "when do you know that a piece is finished?". He said, "when i cannot do anymore to it.". Also by doing this i realized a lot of the paintings i had done did not have enough dark value in them and tended to be in a safe zone of mostly middles. There needs to be contrast and the tension created between the darks and the lights can be dramatic. As in life, we do need those shadows don't we?
I'm excited to put to use these new understandings and look forward to the next discovery.
This is watercolor on Arches 300 lb. cold pressed paper approximately 8" X 22".

"On High Alert"

This beautiful fellow was a commission for a veterinarian. The pet was not well and sadly had to be put down. The vet wanted to do something nice for the owner and had me do this painting for her. I'm hoping it has the essence of the dog. I'll include the photo here for you to see as well.  This is watercolor on Arches 300 lb. CP paper.  

"Our Town II"

Wahoo! This one fought me tooth and nail. Sometimes they can be a wee bit unruly but perseverance pays off in the end. So often i wanted to quit and start over again. I had an idea for this one which wasn't quite working. The values were all wonky with background things being too warm and pushing forward etc. After much adjusting i think it works okay. This is our great city of Calgary with a little whimsy thrown in. Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches CP paper. 22" X 30".