"Ford Country"

A whimsical watercolour of a make believe

village alley, somewhere in Canada. 

Watercolour under wax. 15 X 21

Available. 

"Queen Street"

A wee watercolour based on a drawing i had in my sketchbook of Victoria Street 

in Nelson B.C. 

I've used this scene several times but like to re-visit a painting from time to time 

and improve upon it or add things i thought should have been there 

the first time. 

Each time i do one new ideas come to mind 

and i make a note of them and to do another new painting down the road. 

While doing this one i thought a gas station would be fun to do

with rocking chairs out front and a dog or two. 

In a lake side community and of course there would be ice to skate on 

or a summer scene with diving platform and swimmers. 

Such fun, this art business. 

Watercolour on Arches 300 lb. CP paper. 15" X 19".

"Shinny in Trinity Newfoundland"

We are having a Canada show at the gallery to coincide with the Olympics in Sochi.
25 artists are coming up with paintings they feel represents what Canada is to them.
So many things came to mind but i kept coming back to hockey.
This is a scene of kids playing pond hockey which probably happens in most small villages and towns all across this great land
on any given night throughout the winter.
I based this wee village on Trinity Newfoundland. 

Watercolour on CP paper, 15" X 20".

"My Town"

The beginning's of a whimsical take on my town, Calgary. Some of the recognizable places are evident like the "Saddledome", "Bow Tower", and "Calgary Tower". The houses in the middle ground represent inner city communities of Sunnyside and Hillhurst. These i plan on doing brightly colored and fun. The city buildings will mostly be grays, blues, purples outlined in white and a sky filled with dancing images and stars. Not too sure what to do with the foreground yet and have to be careful. A painting like this can become too busy in short order. The rows of houses will be the focal point of it all. These are fun to do and i have hopes of doing a series based on local, familiar areas. We shall see. I get sidetracked so easily. Sigh! Hope all are having a great day with new paintings all around. God bless, and Happy New Year.

"South Middleton"

Just finished this one about an hour ago. I am trying to take photos of them right away, title them and file them away as soon as they are done so i do not lose track. The other day i took a bunch to the framers and realized i had not done the filing and titling etc. Got too hasty i did. 

I tried different color combinations with this one and found it to be quite lively when done. I enjoy experimenting with different colors and mixes. That is my main focus when i paint. Layering in bright vibrant color. I enjoy seeing how they react next to one another. This painting is 7" X 29". 

It is late and i am fading as the gallery has been my home for many days now. Might have to call it a day. Good night all and God bless.  

"Mill Street"

This little street was compiled to fill an odd sized piece of paper i had laying around. It is 6" X 29". I think the format works well because folks will often have an odd wall or wall end they cannot really do anything with. It was mucho fun to do and there are two more in the works in similar formats. A winter scene, and a summer scene. Tonight there is an opening at the gallery and i am holed up in the basement wanting to paint but think it may be a bad idea as there are many art officienados milling about. The folk club sounds like a good alternative for me just now so i shall bid you adieu and go listen to some great music. An artist has to re-fill those idea wells you know.  By for now all, God bless and happy painting.

"Roundstone"

One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to go! Hehe! That's about where i'm at just now. There's many more i would love to do but only enough time for the four i most need to have done. Show time is in 24 days and counting. I have 32 in the bag. It's off to the framers now, and he is always so happy to see me these days. The framer i have is excellent and reasonable too, which be so important when framing 30 or more. Yikes! Scary thought actually. My credit card is rather hot these days. Hopefully enough sell to pay for the frames at least. Ahh, the life of an artist. Can't be beat. Cheers everyone. Until next time!

"Flossiemouth"

A wee harbor town somewhere far away. Housing prices near the water are on the rise but a homey place for a fair price still can be had if one persists in their search. Moving inland a street or two is also an option. Not certain yet if i would rather live in "Flossiemouth" or the soon to be built "Freeburger". As soon as i have a photo of this new village i will post it here.

I love the light that is present here. It seems so relaxing in a way. I just realized the other day that I have been using a lot of Daniel Smith, Cobalt Teal blue! It is my favorite color choice just ahead of my many reds that show up everywhere too. Will have to try one without the blue for a change just to see what happens. It is also fun to go round the palette and try forgotten colors. A short while ago I took my forgotten tossed aside tubes of paint and created a second palette of these very fine colors. I call it the "fun palette" and go to it whenever i need to get out of a slump or change the pace a bit. Works ever time! Give it a try!  A very nice grey can be had by mixing Cerulean Blue with a little Cadmium Red Light. Try adding a little Viridian to the mix to green it up a little. Makes for a lovely grey in varying shades.

Hope all are well today and staying ahead of the Christmas rush. A beautiful season that has been bullied to death by consumerism and tolerance. I try not to get too caught up in it all. God bless each and every one. Remember the real reason for the season and to all a good night.

"Montague"

This time i think i would live in the little purple house down the path on the right. It would be closer to the dock and i could get onto my boat anytime and sail away. But then maybe one would not want to sail away if living in Montague? I tried something a little different on the foreground with the squares of color. Kind of like pointalism but on a larger scale. It made for a very interesting texture and pattern.

"Paisley"

This is a little make believe Sea side village. I think i may move into the little pink house in the middle.
It has a great view of the harbor and all the comings and goings. This is a watercolor on Cold Pressed paper and is about 8" X 24". Instead of using mostly warm colors i concentrated on cooler ones this time and it turned out to be refreshing change from my ever glowing color selections. There are a few more with similar color schemes in the works! Hope all are well on this beautiful 6th of Dec. Only 18 more days till Christmas! God bless each and every one.

"A Safe Harbor"

My last painting to post for a while till i can make some more. I have a show to prepare for in Feb. and have to have about 30 at least. So far i think i have maybe 10 hidden away. Yikes! Better get to work. My 17 year old daughter always confides in me about boys, school troubles, school joys, and all that goes with being 17. I am a good listener but the other day i thought i would share with her the stresses of being a lonely studio artist preparing for a show and the task of coming up with new ideas all the time. Hehe! Thought i would turn the tables on her and see what she did. She simply said in a young persons idealistic way of seeing the world, "why don't you just paint what's on the inside?" and then went back to complaining about her biology teacher. They are so cute aren't they? I thought about what she said all day and realized she was so right on. I spend too much time looking at art on the web and in books. Ultimately painting is an inside job. I now have it written on a card and posted in front of me for a reminder. I told her the next day how smart she was, to which she promptly replied "I know!".  Smile!  I am going to paint what is on the inside now. Hope to post it here for you soon. Blessings as always. ross

"Anne Street"

In my sketchbook i find all sorts of little drawings and doodles that long to be made into paintings. This was one such sketch i found from way back. The idea was to try and do a whimsical street scene towards the end of day when the last light is fading. It is about 11 X 14 and done with watercolor on 300 lb. Arches CP paper. My sketch books are running out of fresh ideas though and i think it may be time to get into the habit of using them again. Coffee shops are great places to sit and doodle or draw people. Just have to try and not let them know what you are doing. Smile! Next up; "Painting what's on the inside!'. God bless! ross

 

Boats and reflections are a bit of a passion for me and i love doing them even though they take a while to make. This one is on a full sheet of 300 lb. arches CP paper. My initial plan was to make it quite dark but as the painting progressed it was wanting to stay light. Have to listen to the painting and let it guide me. I love when that happens and a new direction is unfolding as paint goes to paper. I thought i might post the photo i worked from here too for you to see. It was one i took a few years ago in Vancouver and always wanted to do something with it. Hope all are well out there in studio land. Blessings. Ross

"The Underlings II"

It has been a while since i have posted anything and thought it about time. This one was from some doodles i did of birds flying around and had fun with the scene they were flying around in. It is done with watercolor, acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper. I find it so freeing to just paint and not worry about realistic renditions and such. Hope all are well. Blessings always.