I saw a photo of a lady bug and got the idea for this painting. Once again i used the complementary colors of red against green. i tried to do several more like this but none of them worked out so i think i was just meant to do this one. It became one of my favorites.
I love crows and ravens and often go out to gather a few photos of these very entertaining characters. This one was watching me from his perch on the edge of a garbage bin at Granville Island, Vancouver. I got a few good angles and thought he would be a handsome subject for a painting. He is now perched on the walls of a Jr. High school library so many can watch him instead.
This is a painting i did of my step-daughter Kat. She appears in lots of my whimsical landscape paintings and is such a good little model. She even approved of this one so i was pleased.
This is a portrait of a friends little girl. I thought i had gone to far with it and some of the paint became muddy. I thought i would try going in with a pit pen afterward and try to resurrect it some, and i think it worked. At least i was pleased with how it looked. It is still not finished. One day i will put in the water and beach.
My son's girlfriend has this adorable little Beagle/Pug cross. I think he is called a "Bug".
Okay, i don't always do winter scenes. Just to prove it here is a landscape i called "Sundown". I love strong patterns and the use of bold colors. It tends to make for an exciting combination. Several people requested a painting like this one after it sold. So i have work! That is a good thing.
Yet another winter scene. The gallery owner i show in was telling me winter scenes are not as popular as summer ones. People feel cold when they look at them I suppose. But i love doing them and can put all kinds of light transparent colors into the snow portions of the painting. And the nice thing is they have ben selling so i shall keep on with them. Just cause i like to do so. This too is watercolor.
I got the idea for this one from a vase i saw in a book. The patterns and colors were really dramatic and I simply had to put that to good use in this painting of a make believe winter scene. I called this one, "The Land That Never Melts". Once again it is watercolor on 300 lb. paper.
i love doing these whimsical winter scenes. They are mostly made up, but i do try to find a photo of a mountain scene or village first to start the creative process which for me is drawing right onto the paper for hours sometimes. I love this part of the painting where i can sit and put it all together before a brush is used. Time stops for me then. 
This cow was not impressed that i lay in her field like a dead gopher. She was brave enough to come up to take a closer look and that is when i got some fabulous photos of her. There was a less than brave herd right behind her. Smile! I just thought she was so beautiful and had to do this painting of her. Watercolor on 300 lb. Cold Pressed paper.
I had great fun with this one. It is called "The Wedding Party". I also had "The Groom" and "The Bride"! I have another one drawn out with the farm in the background and a few roosters waiting for the girls to finish chatting. Very whimsical once again. This too is watercolor on cold-pressed paper. The one i prefer the most is Arches.
A year ago i went to Holland to see the Van Gogh museum. What a thrill that was, and one i highly recommend. While i was there i went to a few galleries of course and in one i saw these fantastic cow paintings. I just thought they were so wonderful and heartwarming. So much so, i had to paint some of my own when i came home! So i went around the countryside and took some photos of livestock and began my bovine series. They were well received with all of them selling. Yahoo! I haven't done a cow painting for a while so I'm thinking it is time once again to delve into my files and find some interesting critters to include in a new painting. 
This is another of my reflection series. The original boat was tied up at a dock in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. It is such a joy to do the water paintings as i have fun with the colors and do not stay true to the local color instead having fun with different hues and values. A strong pattern is what draws me to a piece initially as i like to spend a lot of time with the drawing phase of things. The middle part of a painting is the hardest for me when it does not look like much at all. The ending is exciting for me because with watercolors of course that is when you can go in with those beautiful darks which makes the whole piece come together. I have ideas for another water series which i cannot wait to get started on. This piece is sold.
I took a photo of these birds on a fence when we were on vacation on Gabriola Island this past summer. I just loved the way they were gathered there just enjoying the late afternoon sun. I just had to include them 
This is one of my favorite paintings to date. 
