"Our Back Alley"

My wife suggested i do a painting of our back alley

so I didi! I began with a sketch which was fairly accurate as far as our alley goes, but then the fun begins when it is transferred to the paper. We do have a hole in our fence for the dog to look through, and a tree house for our youngest, Katarina.  We discovered a lady bug colony in the tree house yesterday and everyone was pretty excited to see how they nest for the winter, all huddled up in a cluster of a couple hundred or so. The tree house is now called the "Lady Bug Hotel".

WIP "Harbor Town II"

      

My first WIP. I know, I should have started the photos at the beginning,  but took this photo at this stage because i got stuck and did not know where to take it from here. Thought i might post it for fun,

as i so enjoy the WIP's others have shared with us.

This is the finished painting.  Someone came in and bought it right off the easel which was pretty exciting. I think i shall start "Harbor Town III" now.

My Step-daughter Katarina by Upper Lake Kananaskis dreaming of flying perhaps like Harry Potter does, or just feeling the cool fall air on her face enjoying the youthful promise that is hers and hers alone. She is unique in all the universe and a very special child indeed. We, the world, are so lucky to have her.

 

Saundra Lane Galloway, of "Art For Life" gave me this "Kreativ Blogger"award way back on Sep.22 and i have now just figured out how to do this and pass it on. I'm certainly more comfortable inside my studio than with a computer, but have been so happy to have discovered this wonderful world of blogging and think often of my fellow bloggers and their own courageous journeys in the pursuit of their passions.  There is such a wealth of information here and it so wonderful that all are so willing to share their experiences with each other. I hope to do the same in return and look forward to meeting others with the need to create. Thank you to all, and especially thank you to Saundra for this unexpected award.

Here are the 7 things i am supposed to share about myself. Even my wife is not privy to these but she will be now once she reads this... smile!

1) I have secretly always wanted to be a rancher. That might explain my attraction to cow paintings.
2)I paint far more in my head than i do for real. I'm a tad bit lazy.
3)My favorite buffet item is the deviled eggs.
4)I cannot resist chocolate and have secret stashes.
5)I would love to own a mint 1976 BMW 320i.
6)A log cabin in the mountains with no phone or TV is my dream abode.
7)I love the Tazmanian Devil on the Bugs Bunny Road Runner show.

Now i must select 7 recipients and i thin this may be very difficult indeed as all whom I've bookmarked are tremendous bloggers, artists. But here are the seven in no particular order

1) Laurie Pace  Her blog "Wonders of the Heart" was one of the first i discovered here. It is inspirational  for sure both spiritually and painterly. You will not be disappointed. Her paintings are breathtaking.
2) Edgar Whitney  Edgar Whitney is no longer with us, but his blog is a tribute to a great painter who left behind a legacy of a life lived for the art of watercolor.  A worthwhile blog to visit for sure. I love his paintings.
3)Tina Mammoser  This young lady cycles the coastlands of England and does very dramatic landscapes and seascapes. I thoroughly enjoy her daily musings.
4)Sheri's Showers of Love  This lady runs a day-car and posts stories from her busines about the kids she has in her care. Heartwarming and thought provoking for sure.
5)Sandy Maudlin's Art Journey  Her paintings are simply gorgeous and she paints the way i always hoped i might. But i cannot, so i enjoy looking at what she is up to from time to time. She also offers workshops! Worth a look!
6) Sam Dolman  Okay, I have to mention here a fellow cow guy. I started painting cows and have since stopped but when i saw Sam's art work i thought "How beautiful!" and began to paint bovine's once more. His are superlative.
7)Ron Morrison   This fellow paints old abandoned cars. He does an amazing job of it too as they are filled with light and color. Not your average car painting.

These are but a few. I know there are many more and i am thankful for all who drop by and for those sites i visit regularly for daily inspiration. God bless each and every one.
Ross
   

"Stacy Lake". A wee village somewhere in the mountains where i might like to live!

Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches cold pressed.

This is still one of my favorite paintings. I grabbed my camera last November when it began to snow really heavily. I went downtown and took a lot of photos of people walking the streets. This young lady was dashing to the Starbucks to get a coffee and i thought it would work well as a watercolor. The end result was most pleasing to me. I've many more photos from that day and plan on doing some more along the same theme. Watercolor on 300lb. Arches cold pressed paper.

I did quite a few cow paintings for a while and they were pretty popular. I've started to do some more just because i had so much fun doing them. I've tried the chickens, roosters and horses but not any of them seemed to be so well received like the cows have been. I called this one, "Asleep in the Manger". My nephew is the proud owner. Bless him.

This is one of my first landscapes. It was the one that started me on the path of patterns so to speak. I've received two commissions since to do a similar type of painting. They just keep getting bigger too!

A make believe town at a bend in the river.
Some of the town folk and their dogs are out on the ice enjoying the sunny day.... a solitary crow watches from the rooftop.

Watercolor on 400 lb. cold pressed paper.

 I've been busy at the studio this month trying to get work ready for a very patient gallery. My paintings are now taking longer to do, as they keep getting more detailed. 

Just love doing them though! 

Watercolor on 400lb. cold pressed paper.

"Kensington Hill"

 I'm looking forward to continuing on this theme of whimsical villages. I have a few more designs in various stages of completion just now. I'll post them when they are done. This is watercolor on 400lb. Arches cold pressed paper... 

Pleasant Ville

 This is watercolor on 400 lb. Arches Cold pressed paper. I just love that heavy paper. 

'Proctor"

"Proctor" A small lake side village in the central part of B.C. I spent an afternoon there drawing one day and then used the drawings in several paintings. This be one of them...

Just finished it today. 

"Girls Night Out"

My most recent work. Think the paint is still a bit damp.  These chickens are fun to do. I've added the roosters and small farm in the background to add interest. This is watercolor on 400 lb. cold pressed paper.  Just gotta love that real heavy paper....

 I call this one "Small Town".  Another in the whimsical take on small villages, winter scenes. I enjoy doing these and love to see them evolve.  There are several more on the drawing board just now. 

I called this guy "Strider". I found him hanging around a garbage bin one day and took a few photos. Thought i might try to do it all in blues and purples as opposed to black which i think worked considering the night time angle....

This is my one and only oil painting. I think i will have to break them out again as i really enjoy the freedom you have with oils. My son's dog is a Boxer we call Pezzo and he was a very co-operative little model for this painting. I just love this little guy.  

Rush Hour

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.

Janus Crow

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. 

Katarina

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. 

Faith

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. 

Farley

My son's girlfriend has this adorable little Beagle/Pug cross. I think he is called a "Bug".

"Peagle" does not sound nearly as nice. His name is Farley and he is quite a character, always on the move. Hence the butterflies. I thought it worked as he looks a bit weary or befuddled all the time. Must be from his constant antics. This was done with watercolor on Arches 300 lb. cold pressed paper. 

Sundown

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.    

Mount Joy

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. 

The Land the Never Melts

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. 

I called this one "Mount Joy". It is watercolor on paper. 

A dog commission i did of a little Beagle. Her owner loved red but i just got lucky with the background because i did not know she liked red till the day i gave her this painting. God is good! 

Meena

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.

Wedding Party

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.  

June

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 one I called "June" and she was done in watercolors on Arches 300 lb. Cold pressed paper.    

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 

in a painting and called this one "The Gathering". It is watercolor on 300 lb. Arches cold pressed watercolor paper.  

Low Tide

This is one of my favorite paintings to date. 

It is an imaginary harbor town loosely based on 

Staithes in England. I love to do whimsical type of paintings and once the drawing process commences the ideas start to flow and the villages take on a life of their own. I've done quite a few similar ones and most are sold so i shall keep on with it i suppose.

Still Waters

One of my first reflection paintings. I loved doing the patterns and the different shapes. It started a new path for me in a way and i ventured out to the coast several times to gather new images. Early in the morning is best when the light is fresh and new and the water still. 

This is a watercolor on 300 lb. Arches cold pressed paper.

Painting Boats!

I loved painting boats but one day discovered there was a lot more going on in the water instead.

So i began paying attention to the reflections in the water and lowering my camera a bit.

The result was an epiphany of sorts. The reflections in the water were far more fascinating to me than the boat on the surface.   I then began to paint these reflections and the patterns i saw there.

 A series of reflection paintings emerged and i have since made several trips to the coast to replenish my supply of these types of photos. Hopefully i'll be able to post some of these paintings soon but am still working on that. Until then do take care, and may God bless.

Bella & Paulo

My beautiful Bella with Paulo in the background. 

She is unhappy because i have to leave without her.

She always wants to be with me and i would love to take her all the time but in the studio she would just end up covered with paint. Sigh! Poor Bella.