"Polly's Dairy"

Watercolour of a make believe farm

somewhere in Alberta. 

Most likely near Water Valley. 

13 x 20. 

Sold. 

"Bud's Service"

A wee village somewhere in Canada

near a lake. 

Most likely Alberta. 

Watercolour, 24 x 16. 

Sold! 

"Serenity", "Peaceful" and "Tranquil".

    

These are Eiderdown's. A very beautiful bird. 

All are watercolour on paper, 12 X 16. 

Available.

"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.

"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

"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".

"Harvest Time"

My cousin suggested to me a wee painting with stooks, wagon, horses, grain elevators, and prairie fields, at harvest time. We are originally from Saskatchewan where all these were a common scene in the early 1900's. This is what i came up with using some old photos, as i had no idea what a stook was until now. Southern Saskatchewan is really quite flat for the most part but i took some creative license just to make it a little interesting. Not that Saskatchewan is not interesting mind you. :) :) There are places where the terrain is varied. Further north you will find lots of lakes, forest and such. It is really a beautiful place and worth exploring if possible. This is watercolor on Arches 300 lb. cold pressed paper. It is 8" X 22".

"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.

"The Trouble with the Universe"

I always used to wonder what the trouble with the universe was. Now i know it is all the cats fault. He appeared in the lower right corner of my painting as i was putting these rather shifty looking characters into a universe of their own. This is also a palette painting. They were just there one day looking up at me.

The gallery has some speed daters here tonight. They are all quite lovely and many have come down to see the artist in the basement. They wanted to know if i would like to come up and mingle with them. I thought better of it, preferring to keep my "Mysterious Artist" profile intact and remain the cellar dweller. Besides, i don't think my wife would like it much even if i did sell a few paintings because of it. Smile!

I greatly admire the speed daters for their courage and desire to change their situation. I also enjoy hearing the wonderful sound of people having fun and laughing. It makes a cellar dweller quite happy it does.

Now, what to do with that darn cat.....

WIP

I have now done three passes on both the sky and the foreground. To create the impression of a sidewalk i just avoided the area that would be the curb. The sidewalk surface has the same colors as the foreground but grayed a bit with some blue. For the sky i was trying to get mostly violets and purples but it got a little dark on me which is okay. I'll add some red and blue highlights here and there. As i do the washes i am leaving small patches untouched which creates a patchwork effect somewhat like broken glass. I also put a single wash on the buildings, using yellow, blue and green with a little pink. Much more to do and this one takes time as i have to wait until everything is completely dry before going over it again.

"Jimmy"

Thought i might post this little gal real quick as i just think she is such an adorable little pup. I love painting dogs but found Bull Dogs to be more fun than any other! That is for now at least until i do a Whippet or something like that. Smile! What the heck, they are all fun and different. This one is 21" X 21" on my usual 300 lb. Arches Cold Pressed. Okay, now i have to get back to work as there are only 15 more days for me to paint and i still have four to do. A couple of them are not cooperating just now. I'll keep on them till there is a sign of life. By for now. Blessings all.