"Sur La Table" 18 x 24, oil

This is my last new piece for the Eastside Culture Crawl - Nov. 16-17-18-19. 2017. I have loads of new work and I am hoping many will go to new homes!

'One More Mile' 12 x 24, oil (1713)

Remembering a long distance walk in Scotland.

"Collection", 24 x 18, oil

This still life piece shows a selection of my MANY jugs, as well as one of my collection of Japanese dolls. This particular one is pretty neat as it is made entirely of paper. Everything in the painting, except the pear, was a thrift store find.

"Blue Jug", 16" x 16", oil

I have a large collection of jugs and other 'vessels'...I don't seem to be able to resist them so there is probably a deep seated issue there, somewhere(!). I have done a few still life pieces lately which feature some of my collection. It will take many more paintings for all of them to get some screen time.

"Across the Way" 10 x 20, oil on canvas

A landscape done from my photo, with some memories added. This is one of number of new works that will be available at the East Side Culture Crawl in Vancouver, Nov. 16-20. I really enjoyed the challenge of painting the land so it 'fell away', with abstraction in mind.

"Brilliant!" 20 x 16, oil (177)

Inspired by walking in Britain in the fall. This piece has thick, juicy oil paint which makes it dimensional and tactile...both are good things... Painting for the Eastside Culture Crawl in November.

"Trio" 6" x 8", oil (176)

Tea, anyone?

"Elementary", 6" x 8", oil (175)

"Just the facts, M'am"...

Coffee Time 6 x 8", oil (173)

Small painting, ready for framing...available.

Saki for Seven 6 x 8", oil (172)

Small abstraction...

Barbara Hepworth Garden, 24 x 24", oil (174)

I visited the Barbara Hepworth Garden in St. Ives, UK, this past April while studying at the St. Ives School of Painting. I was captivated by the form and power of Ms. Hepworth's work and came away with many photos, including many of individual pieces, trying to capture (for my memories) the angles and the depth of the sculptures. She was a fascinating woman and, apparently, somewhat challenging. Her work can be found around the world. If you make it to St. Ives, this Garden is a 'must see'.

Tulip and Tea 6 x 8", oil (171)

One of many new small pieces. These will be posted for sale on Daily Paintworks, and unsold pieces will be pulled for the Eastside Culture Crawl in November. I am trying to keep better track of things posted for sale, and then shown at an event. Poor monitoring can be VERY embarrassing! So I am going to use a numbering system rather than just the title...keeping my fingers crossed...

"May Day", 24 x 24, acrylic on canvas

This piece went through some major changes as I couldn't resolve one area. I worked and reworked it, then I simply painted over the offending area in white, and started it from scratch. I'm happy with the result.

"Butterfly Dreams", 24 x 24, acrylic on canvas

Another happy painting. There can never be too many happy paintings!

"Sakie", 18 x 24, oil on canvas

The third of a trio - a mini series, if you will. I have a small collection of beautiful Japanese dolls - a few are quite old - and they were used as inspiration for the paintings. I look at the dolls often just to enjoy the fine craft and the beauty of the design.

"Ritual", 24 x 18, oil on Canvas

A hot morning beverage, preferably a brown liquid...a ritual that takes place around the world.

"Summer Dreams" 30 x 30, Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Only two days until the New Westminster Culture Crawl where I will have mostly new work on display. This is the largest of this batch of work and it will brighten up the darkest corner!

"Still Water" 24 x 18, oil

My studio time this summer has been limited due to excessive heat - the building is like a furnace in this summer heat wave we are having. It's a good thing I installed air conditioning (and sold my dining room table!)  to make space to comfortably paint at home or I would have minimal new work for both the New Westminster Culture Crawl (August 12-13) and the Eastside Culture Crawl (November 16-19). As it has worked out, I have a stack of new work, and this is one I particularly like.

"Clear Sky Above" 18 x 24, oil

A Cornwall inspired abstraction. I love these shapes. Travel is just the best source of inspiration.. not only from the sights and sounds, but from exposure to new artists and art.

"The Fleet" 18" x 24", oil

More memory inspired work from my time in Cornwall. Abstracting work is surprisingly challenging.

"To The Sea" 16" x 20", oil

I have done a number of new pieces since returning from my painting trip to Cornwall this past spring, and these will be shown for the first time during the New Westminster Culture Crawl on August 12-13. All (or almost all) of my work is available for sale. 😊

"Path" 5 x 7, oil

This is an itty-bitty landscape painted en plein air. Small and sweet -  I like it.

"Chimblies" 10 x 10, oil

I visit Britain every year and this last visit had me in St. Ives, Cornwall, for the better part of two weeks while I painted and studied at the St. Ives School of Painting. I brought home a wealth of subject material and many of the photos I took were specifically done with an eye for abstracting. My idea of 'abstracting' is telling the story, but not exactly as it is.

"Radar" 12 x 12, oil

I donated a custom pet portrait for a fund raising event for Kiwassa Neighbourhood House in Vancouver, and the successful bidder sent me a photo of his friend's dog, 'Radar', to be done as a gift for the friend. Well, when I opened the emailed photo I laughed out loud. If I do say so myself, this portrait is an excellent representation of this too-cute-dog and his out of this world under-bite!

"Cold Spot" 8 x 10, oil

The water-filled creeks around the village of Whistler BC are often this iced-blue colour. It has always made me thing of glacial silt, and, although I am not sure that is the cause of the colour, the water is painfully cold...glacial, in fact.

"Bright Eyes" 8 x 10, oil

Another floral piece - or is it? I painted this with the simplest of shapes and colours to show how easily we interpret those elements into what we think we see. A container with green and red coming out of it - what else could it be, even without petals and stamens.

"Pondside Irises" 8 x 10, oil

These irises were painted en plein air at the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, where I did much squinting in the full sun. I worked at straight forward brush strokes, and, once again, leaving the stroke once it was down on the canvas. The result is an impasto effect with thick, sculptured paint. Very tactile.

"Big Pinks" (Hollyhocks) - 8 x 10, oil

I love hollyhocks, even though growing beautiful hollyhocks here is challenging as they are prone to fungus and rust. Too much moisture, or so I am told. Well, given how our climate is changing to hotter and drier, these pretties just might get another chance in my jungle of a garden.

"Creekside" 8 x 10, oil

This study was purpose driven in that I wanted to practice laying down a brush stroke and leaving it. They say that practice will make perfect - so, back to the easel for me!

"Finn Slough 2", 8 x 10, oil

Another from the afternoon out in Finn Slough. As scenic as the community of Finn Slough is, what  pleased me the most was the amount of bird song in the air. So much more than 'in town', it reminded me of being in the countryside in England.

Finn Slough 1, 8 x 10 oil

Finn Slough is a small community on the Fraser River, without 'official' status, and under constant threat of eviction, even though it has been an occupied community for 100 years. Although the residents do not 'own' the land, there are many "private" and "keep out" signs, which are understandable, given the curiosity of visitors to the area. I found a perch on a small foot bridge and set up for a day of plein air painting. I managed two pieces before retreating from the heat, and here is the first. By the way, all the residents who stopped to talk to me were most welcoming.

"Miko" 18 x 24, oil

The second of three...confession - the third is not finished yet.

"Hisami"18 x 24, oil

This is one of three pieces inspired by some black and white Japanese postcards in my collection. I spiced up the frou-frou details and worked at keeping much of the context abstracted. The traditional style of geisha portraits calls for clean lines, which I applied when working the face, however I used more loose, and less formal, brush marks throughout the rest of the piece.

144 Square, oil on canvas - Review of oil paint brands by wonderstreet.com

Wonderstreet.com (http://wonderstreet.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-brand-of-oil-paint) has done a review of many popular brands of oil paints, from student grades to the highest brands of handmade paints. I have used various colours in most of the brands and found the reviews to be pretty spot-on. While many artists swear by the high end handmade paints, some of them are very stiff and require oil to be mixed into them to make them more workable, while other brands are too oily, and some are perfect right out of the tube. Some of the colours are simply so luscious that they are well worth the effort to either soften up, or soak up excess oil, but usually I want to get right into painting. My own preferences are for Winsor and Newton, Gamblin, M Graham, and Rembrandt, with special colours in Old Holland, Holbein, and Williamsburg. Different things work for different work and I like to stay flexible with my selections.

When it comes to 'student grade' oils, many workshop instructors stress in BOLD type for students to avoid such a choice, yet many fine, successful artists use Winton Oils (Winsor and Newton student grade) when covering large canvases. I spot the tubes in videos of studio visits. I have used them for background work on larger pieces and they have worked well. The pigment load is definitely not what you find in the artist quality, but there is a place for them.

Materials choices are highly personal and the Wonderstreet review is very useful, particularly for painters starting out in oils.

"Tulips in the Spotted Jug" 16 x 20, oil

Something just for fun. The tulips, table, jug and oranges were the still life, and the rest was just fun.

"Song of The Sandias" 8 x 10 oil (LPNM Challenge 7)

I've spent the last two months completing a number of commissioned pieces and I have fallen a bit behind on the Let's Paint New Mexico Challenge, hosted by the wonderfully talented New Mexico artist, and my friend,  Dee Sanchez. I've skipped ahead and done this, the most recent one. Now I'll try to backtrack and catch a couple more. The approach is loose and juicy, with LOTS of paint.

"Diversion I and II", 24 x 36, oil (Commissions)

Paintings 2 and 3 of the commissioned trio. The paintings are continued on the wrap around canvas which is not my 'normal' (ha!) process, but it looked quite effective on these pieces.

"Oasis" 36 x 24, oil (Commissioned)

This is one of three pieces recently commissioned by a downtown corporate office. One area in the large collection of offices is sorely lacking natural light, and the staff asked me for some colour. This piece will hang alone, while the other two will share a wall, but with a division between. See the next post...(All three were delivered today and were well-received, thankfully).

"Sweet Dreams" 18 x 24, oil on Canvas (17-5)

I could have named this one "Wishing and Hoping", but I'll use that for another piece. The news is playing in the background and this scene is more enticing than ever.

"Off Road, NM" 6 x 6, oil on gesso board (17-4)

A second painting for the 2017 "Let's Paint, New Mexico" Challenge hosted by NM artist, Dee Sanchez. I am keeping them small and loose. Takes longer than one might think! Each brush mark 'counts'.

Sentinel 30 x 30, oil (17-3)

I took the source photo for this painting a few years ago along the Northern California Coast. I have painted it once before, on a smaller scale, but this bigger format, with a shifted composition, was fun.

Heaven Sent (17-2)

The Wainwright Coast to Coast walk across England is just shy of 200 miles in length. The range of scenery from St. Bees to Robin Hood Bay is vast and this is from one of my favourite photographs (one of my 500-1000 FAVOURITES). I used the photo as my screen saver for my last year at work, and it made each day a bit nicer. Beauty is like that. 8 x 10, oil.

Blaze (17-1)

A 9 x 12 oil sketch done from a photograph as it's just too cold to get out to paint right now. My plein air kit sits packed and ready for more action in 2017, but it is an exceptionally cold winter here - the coldest (and with the most snow) in a decade, which, curiously, follows the hottest summer. Hmmm...

Blue Cat

This is a 'just because' painting. I did the sketch as a pencil drawing and then thought, 'why not'. And I was in a blue and orange mood. I like to think this new year will be filled with lots of 'why not', and 'just because' work. Available.