"... the painting has a life of its own. My mission is to bring forth this life". (Jackson Pollock)

Abstract/Realism

Dancing With Trees - WIP

Monday, September 17th, 2007

                     Dances With Trees - 48 x 48 Acrylics, finished

Dancing With Trees - a work in progress, as most paintings are, even after submitting them in to juried exhibitions! Am still having doubts about the sky; not quite dark enough to contrast with the small amounts of bright coming from sunset and stars; will study that and possibly adjust. Layers of glaze used in the recent stages: Hansa yellow light, Pthalo blue, Pthalo green, Permanent green, thio violet, Mars black, Cadmium red light, Dioxazine violet

Redbuds, misty morning

Saturday, March 17th, 2007

         

 Spring on Fire

Redbuds, misty morning, 11 x 14 oil pastels, watercolor graphite pencils

This drawing was an experiment with oil and water to see if the two could cooperate. This post shows the final piece that dulled as improvements progressed, so here it is now, begging to become a large acrylics painting.

It was about 8 A.M… the sun barely shone through the thick mist this early Spring morning. The surrounding forest was grey, and the brilliant pink blossoms of the Redbud bush pushed through it all, with the only other colors being patches of green grass starting to grow in the feild.

Dancing With Trees #1

Tuesday, March 13th, 2007

 Dances With Trees

Dancing With Trees #1, 11 x 14 Oil Pastels

… is a good example of how the right medium makes all the difference; despite a couple of days spent continually working on this one it is almost cartoonish. This subject needs to be painted because, although I do like certain things about the drawing, I’d like to attempt more realistic colors and subtleties of movement with paint.

Speeding By The Poppies

Saturday, September 30th, 2006

               Speeding by the Poppies, reworked October 2007

Speeding By The Poppies on Hwy 40, Tennessee - 11 x 14 Oil Pastels - framed, available

Critique received that this was not dynamic enough, (below, Sept. 30, 2006 version). The drawing was at a fragile stage where I was 95% happy with it, but still the critique was valid. Above: I carefully scraped a few more lines in and highlighted some that were already there but not as prominent.

                                            Speeding by the Poppies, Sept. 30, 2006 version

Tennessee Poppies

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

                    Tennessee Poppies - 11 x 14 Oil Pastels 

                 Tennessee Poppies Hwy 40- 11 x 14 Oil Pastels - framed 23 x 26 inches - available

Moon Over Myrtle - 1st stage

Thursday, September 21st, 2006

 Moon Over Myrtle

14 x 11 Oil Pastels ~ Available, framed size 26 x 22 inches

Moon Over Myrtle is another oil pastel drawing that went through transformations while posting on a popular interactive Artits’ website, wetcanvas.com - It was noted after posting this stage that the sky looked more like water, so I played around with ideas that might make it look less so, using computer alterations (a new tool for me!) as well as trials altering the drawing itself.

Coconut Palm, Costa Rica

Sunday, July 23rd, 2006

 Coconut Palm, Costa Rica

14 x 11 Oil Pastels on paper ~ total framed size 26 x 22 ~ Available

January Thaw

Thursday, June 15th, 2006

                          January Thaw - 14 x 11 Oil Pastels 

A drawing is more than the sum of its parts.

January Thaw 14 x 11 Oil Pastels is the signature piece for the series Paper Places. It changed dramatically while conversing with other Artists on a popular online Artists’ website.

Willow branches, welcome bits of color during the January thaw, a seasonal expectation in eastern Ontario, when temperatures hover around 0*C. After a period of 1-2 weeks temperatures can dip to -40*C, and the stormiest part of winter begins.

               January Thaw - a drawing is more than the sum of its parts.

“When I am painting I have no knowledge of what I am doing. Only after a moment of ‘returning consciousness’ do I become aware of what I have been doing. Then, however, I have no hesitation about making changes, or destroying images, because the painting has a life of its own. My mission is to bring forth this life”.        (Jackson Pollock)    

Dawn

Monday, April 3rd, 2006

Dawn - 13 x 37 Acrylics on canvas 

Dawn - 13 x 37  x 2 inches - Acrylics on wrapped canvas, frame painted as part of the painting.

Inspired by sparrows on the fence in our back yard, singing during dawn every morning as if to create the day with their song!

Flowering Eucalypt

Monday, December 12th, 2005

                              Flowering Eucalypt - finished 

Flowering Eucalypt, Australia - 16 x 20 Acrylics, framed , available

                           Flowering Eucalypt - Stage 2 Flowering Eucalypt - start