"Livingstone & Cavell"

A great spot in Calgary to 

sit and have coffee outside. 

There are two coffee shops and 

the best little toy store in the world. 

Watercolour, 19 x 16. 

Sold. 

"Appetizers" & "Fine Dining"

 

Two crows i found hanging around the bins on Granville Island. 

These guys are fascinating creatures. 

Both are watercolour, 13 X 16, with frame. 

Available. 

"After Dinner"

A make believe back alley somewhere i might want to live. 

Kids play outside! Imagine that? 

Watercolour, 18 X 22. 

Available.

"Polly's Dairy"

Polly's Dairy is a wee watercolour sketch.

It is approximately 8 X 11. 

The sketches such as this will often end up as larger pieces 

in one form or another. A summer version would be fun as well. 

Sold.

"Jiminy Cricket"s Birthday Surprise"

This is our wee rescue dog Jiminy. 

His story is being included in a new book
being published by a group in Kansas City. 

It is a book about animal rescue and is going to be full of stories about animals 

who went from brokenness to forever homes. 

There will be before and after pictures along with their story,
 and a painting of course! 

I am so excited to be able to participate in this worthwhile project. 

This painting is watercolour and is 10" X 13". 

"Cottage Country"

"Cottage Country". A wee watercolour 14 X 21. 

This is based on what i think an ideal place would be to enjoy winter and summer. 

Our house is the tall thin yellow one way off yonder. 

There's a pond out back with ducks. Must paint that some day. 

I'm sending this off to Ravensburger and see what they say.

 Got my fingers crossed. :)
Sold.

"The Family"

We know a little girl who is fighting a serious illness but is surrounded by her family and friends enveloped in their love. 

Their faith is seeing them through as they rest in God for strength. 

When families stand together, no matter what, miracles are apt to happen, 

like cows jumping over the moon. 

Watercolour on Arches CP paper. 5" X 7" .
NFS.

"Miss Natalie's Mis-Adventures II"

My little wife wasn't excited about the mini skirt i had her in 

in the first sketch so i revised it to better reflect her normal 

dog walking attire. :) 

Then i had her packing up for a road trip to get away from the

skunk smell. Our poor puppies were not to happy about 

the whole ordeal. Skunk is very difficult to get rid of. 

Not nice. 

She did laugh at the cartoons which helped ease the burden some. 

Watercolour and ink on sketch paper. 

"Miss Natalie's Mis-Adventure"

My poor wife and our two dogs ran into a threesome of skunks 

on the way to the dog park behind our house. 

The dogs wanted to play with them, very roughly of course. 

The wee skunks had no interest in any of that and told them so. 

But alas the pups enthusiasm combined with the skunks impatience 

resulted in the inevitable. The three of them got it good. 

Boy does that smell! 

Worst of all the, cat saw the whole thing enjoying it immensely. 

Watercolor in a sketchbook. With ink i might add! :)

"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".

"Blu Street"

This is a commission piece for a young lady who wanted one similar

a while back. Sadly, her husband would not let her have it.
 A short while later she got rid of the husband

and now has a painting! :)
Husband was gone probably not because of the painting
but it's fun for me to think so.
It has been a long while
since i painted watercolours and a village.
I was very happy to do this. They are such fun.  

Watercolour on Arches 300 lb. cold pressed paper. 16" X 22" 

"Duffy's Pond" Merry Christmas!

One more before Christmas. 

This is a commission for a young lady who wanted to 

have her son and two dogs in a painting. 

Her son is #19. 

I had fun with this one. 

It had been a long time since doing a watercolour 

and very much enjoyed working with this medium again. 

This painting is off to Kamloops B.C 

to be placed under someone's tree. 

12X20 on Arches CP paper. 

"Storms A Comin"

A Momma and Pappa herding their brood to shelter before the storm. Watercolour on Yupo.

I wrote this letter to a friend in response to her comment about how fortunate I am to be an artist even though it is not an easy way to make a living. 

I do it because i love to do it, and have always wanted to be an artist. I can't think of anything else i would rather be doing. 

Dear Judy.  Yes, you are absolutely right. I am always grateful for the art and the ability to make it. 

Sometimes, when i am painting and things are going well, i dance. No one is there, but i dance. It just is so amazing to me. Sometimes, when i do a painting, i leave for the night and come back the next day to see what i have done. Sometimes, it amazes even me, and i am not so certain that it was me who did it!

I cannot remember putting it together all that well and know there was much more to it than I, myself, and me!

Sometimes, it as if they paint themselves. There is an "art spirit” that guides the hand of many, if and when we are open to it and let it work through us. The art world calls it the “art spirit” but you and i know exactly what that spirit is. :)

It really does amaze me, when i see this working. It does not always happen, for one reason or another. Perhaps we are focusing on ourselves? Perhaps we are too pre-occupied with other things?

Maybe we are just thinking about the money we can make if it sells? It is during those times that the painting does not have life and there is no light. 

There is something missing. 

Sometimes, i tell people the painting speaks to me. I have to listen and hear the voice. It tells me what to do next. I try to listen and to follow it. When i have shared this with people,  i get a variety of reactions. Mostly disbelief and a look of, “you are a tad bit crazy!”. So i quit telling folks about the voice and the spirit. I am then hopeful the paintings will speak for themselves. 

Lately, i have been gifting a lot of my work. I donate paintings to dog rescue groups, fundraisers for various charities, etc. I don’t have a lot of spare cash to give but i can give away the art. A few times i heard of someone’s dog dying and i did a portrait of the dog and just sent it to them. 

It makes me feel like i am doing something worthwhile at least. 

There have not been a lot of art buyers recently but i have been busy with such things and trying to get my work out to as many places as i can. If i have to follow in the foot steps of all those great masters who died before anyone saw value in their work that would be okay. And if that doesn’t happen which is most likely the case, i have enjoyed listening to that voice and the spirit (God), and dancing while i paint. :) 

thanks for sparking these thoughts Judy. it is something i don’t really think about all that often. 

We just have to go out there and “do it”.

blessings always, 

ross

"Hockey Night in Canada"

I forgot to take a picture of this without frame. It works so much better when i do. 

This is one of my entries in the "Oh Canada" show this weekend at the 

Ruberto Ostberg, Galleries in Calgary. 

It is what i feel represents Canada and that is a good old fashioned street 

hockey game on your typical street anywhere in rural Canada. 

This scene is based on "Victoria Street" in Nelson B.C. 

I love to do the villages and will often rely on my sketchbook 

for inspiration. Sometimes summers are spent wandering and sketching. 

This is watercolour on my Arches paper. 

"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".

"Splash 14"

I am so excited, "Splash 14" finally arrived at my door.  It was the most amazing thing to receive my copy of this beautiful book and see my painting, "Meana" side by side with some of the best watercolorists around.  Ones i have been admiring for a very long time. It was a dream come true for this artist as i had submitted once before and did not get accepted. Hooray! I've scoured these books end to end for years. To finally see this with one of my paintings was crazy. I am still gobsmacked. If you would like a copy of your own, here is a link to Northlight publishing. It is really well done with over 100 artists represented. 

www.northlightshop.com/splash-14-best-of-watercolor-w7951?lid=SLarnbl081213

"Victoria Street:

I spent part of October last year in Nelson B.C. taking care of someone's home and had some pleasant moments sketching in and around town. This painting is from a sketch i did of Victoria Street in Nelson. Nelson is a picturesque little town in the Kootenays. A beautiful spot to visit if in the area. Some great local restaurants too! I was house sitting for a lady who had a cattery. 

There were 19 of the little critters. 

An uncommon breed called "Siberians' because they originate from Siberia and resemble small lions. Some good sketching was had with them as well! 

This is watercolour on Arches C/P paper.   

20 X 27" .

"A Quiet Calling"

It was a quiet calling that lead me to this painting, not the riot of colorful misshapen villages i am getting so used to.  I felt rather at peace painting it as well! The color palette appealed to me too and i took a wee bit of liberty with the blues and used deep purples for all the shadow areas and the darks. I still have some village paintings resting against the wall waiting for some attention and a young lady's portrait which is only half done. I'll have to wait until the direction for her is clearer. She is wanting me to take my time. In the meantime it will be fun to do a few more of the trees. I can see now why people paint them so often. The vertical dominance appeals to me as if reaching for the stars or heaven. A place i might like to visit and stay a while.

Splash 14: Best of Watercolor Winner

"Meana"

I had the most exciting email yesterday informing me my painting, "Meana" had been selected for Northlight books, Splash 14 "Light and Color".  I have long been a fan of the Splash series of watercolor books having a fair number in my collection, frequently admiring the wonderful paintings and absorbing all the different techniques. Seeing all the beautiful paintings is so inspirational to me and very helpful in propelling my own work in new directions. I dreamt that one day i too would have a painting published in this way.  It seemed unlikely, as i had entered a few times before without success. Not this time! 

If you would like to see who will be included in the Splash 14 edition you can go here to the 

Artists Network

"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".