Victorian Face #10

Victorian Faces # 10
oil on canvas paper
12.7x12,7 cm /5x5 in

My 10th Victorian Face.  I think noses are difficult and am never quite satisfied.  More practise is obviously required.  I used the limited Zorn Palette again.  White, Black, Red, Yellow Ochre.

Book Day

“But above all, there lies a country fresh from the dawn, pulsating with life and colour, just awaiting the painter’s brush.”

-Betty McNaught

 My lastest book find is  Euphemia McNaught/Pioneer Artist of the Peace by Isabel Perry.  There are so many Canadian artists to learn about especially women artists who are largely unrecognised.    Euphemia McNaught had studied at Ontario College of Artin Toronto with Group of Seven members Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and others.   Euphemia ( known as Betty)  became a highly regarded artist from the Peace region of Alberta.  I was thrilled to find the book and learn more about her and her art.  The book has some great historical and biographical information about her life and wonderful colour reproductions of her art.  I am not sure what paintings are not under copyright so have not reproduced any here, just the front cover of the book.  There are many images online but not being sure of copyright issues I have not reproduced any from the book.
There is a fair bit of information on the web about Euphemia McNaught and the McNaught Homestead and its preservation.     A place to visit no doubt!

Summer Clouds

Summer Cloud
oil on ply, acrylic ground
15.3x15.3 cm/ 6x6 in
$100.

A painting  from a photo  taken late on a hot summer's day at Christina Lake.  The lovely high thunder clouds were floating around like heaps of cotton candy.  

The internet has been down for two days due to tree trimmers cutting the main line on a section of road where the trees have been left to grow too large to be safe for the cutters and the lines.  With the winter weather Salt Spring Island has been subject to this year there have been many power outages.  The power and telephone lines come down due to falling trees or branches heavy with snow cracking and falling.  Many people like the closeness of the tree lined roads but safety is important too.  

Please Contact me to purchase this painting

Snow on the Islands

Snow on the Islands

oil on ply, acrylic ground

15.3x20.3 cm/6x8 in

Cloudy day, cold windy water, snow covered islands in the distance.  From a photo taken at Beddis Beach Salt Spring Island early February mid afternoon. This year we had a fair bit of snow that lasted quite awhile. 

Summer Reflections

Summer Reflections
oil on plywood, acrylic ground
15.3 x 20.3 cm / 6x8 in.

Floating on the lake again last August camera in hand on a hot slow summer afternoon.  The reflections from the trees and shrubs along the edge took over the usual blue colour of the clear sky.  Water is interesting to paint, so many colours when one really looks.  

Victorian Faces # 9

Victorian Faces #9
oil on ply, acrylic ground
12.7 x 12.7 cm/5x5 in

Another Victorian faces portrait. Painted using titanium white, ivory black and vandyke brown.  I found vandyke brown in interesting pigment mixture to use.  This tube was grainy in texture and I thought that might have been the age of the tube.  I buy tubes of oil paint when I see them at garage sales and also inherited  quite a few so they are really old!  But I then bought a new tube and found the texture grainy, so I suppose that is a quality of one of the pigments in the mix.  The faces I paint are from mugshots at least 100 years old and freely available  on the internet.  They are all women accused of some fairly minor offence, often sentenced to horrendous terms.  I find their expressions very interesting, Some embarrassed, some defiant, some pathetic etc.   Trying to capture the expression is my goal. 

Spring Sky

Spring Sky
oil on canvas panel, acrylic ground
15.3 x 20.3 cm/ 6x8 in

I painted this en plein air from  the yard one lovely spring day last year.  This overlooks Captain's Passage on Salt Spring Island, but one cannot see the water from where I was set up.   I was determined to go outside to paint landscape, after being out with the local painters group a few times.   I was overwhelmed during those sessions and didn't come back with any paintings, but the experience was wonderful.  This last summer I did get more experience by painting  the yard.  I just don't have the courage yet to paint  alone with the thought of people looking over my shoulder.

Tomatoes are Red Too

Tomatoes are Red
15.3x15.3 cm  / 6x6 in.
oil on board, acrylic ground

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and sending out  lots of Love on this day of love.  I don't have any heart paintings but tomatoes are red too!  A few weeks ago when I did a tomato painting I did a few more placed on different colours.

Summer Nocturne

Summer Nocturne
oil on plywood, acrylic ground
15.3x15.3cm / 6x6 in

The moon through the clouds on a summer night at Christina Lake.   I couldn't resist trying to take a photo and was surprised to find it was good enough to use as a reference for painting.  The next thing will be to paint  en plein air with a head lamp.   The  February full moon it was too cold to be outside although I know there are those that do paint in all sorts of weather.  

Autumn Walk

Autumn Walk
Oil on ply, acrylic ground
15.3x15.3cm, 6x6 in.

I used a reference photo of a Sept. afternoon hike in the dry hills above Grand Forks, B.C. The alders had mostly turned colour, the grass was dry, the day was hot and still.  The cicadas were in full voice.   The clouds were over the mountains further north and right above us was a hot blue sky.  We saw wild mountain sheep, but they raced up the hill so quickly I didn't get a good photo.  A lone cow meandered up the hill to join her herd farther up. It was a beautiful day.  When I paint from photos I am transported to the place and can feel the atmosphere. I hope that is what I manage to portray in my painting. 

Today I did my shift at a hospital auxiliary thrift shop.  I am pleased to be able to give some time to this worthy cause and now that I am part of the volunteer team am in awe of how much work goes into making these amazing shops possible.  I had no idea!  It take so many people to manage, and run this place!   So please if you are someone that donates or shops at a thrift shop be kind to the volunteers!   They do this freely for you.  

Beddis Beach

Beddis Beach
oil on ply, acrylic ground
15.2x15.3 cm/6x6 in

 My photo reference for this was taken a few years ago on a September morning at Beddis Beach, Salt Spring Island.  It could have been the other day.   The morning was was so grey with the reflections on the water  typical on a stormy morning.  The water is grey, the sky is grey with hints of the blue sky behind and a blush of pink from the sun somewhere behind the clouds.    With the high wind and pouring rain today I wasn't going to attempt any plein air painting yet. ;)

Lilies
oil on ply, acrylic ground
15.3x15.3 cm/ 6x6 in

A favourite summer pastime is to float around on the lake or tube down the river.  I floated (lots of sunscreen) taking my camera in a waterproof bag and taking many photos of the native lilies growing along the lake shore near the nature park.  The days were hot, the lake warm, the sun sparkling on the water with reflections of the large puffy clouds that never seemed to shade where I was but made beautiful patterns on the water.  A kayak or canoe would be a great way to paint the scenes en plein air.  Perhaps I will rent one next summer. This photo has a bit of glare and the colour not quite right.  Taken with my iphone because it isn't quite dry and I cannot scan it yet so will replace with a better photo soon. 

On another note I took a beautiful snow walk today before the rain comes again.  I have been avoiding it because I don't have snow boots  on the island, only gum boots and the roads are slippery.  Well I was doing quite well, but just before the beach I guess I was just a little too confident and down I went.  No harm done excepting a bruised hip and slightly sore wrist.  The snowfall continues! 

 

#262 Peaceful

Peaceful
oil on linen prepped with traditional gesso
15.3x15.3 cm / 6 x6 in. 

The slow days of late  August at Christina Lake.  Most of the tourists and summer residents have departed getting back to jobs, kids to school.  The lake is quieter but the days are still full of heat, the lake is warm and we swim every day well into the autumn.    My reference photo was taken late in the afternoon and clouds were building and shading the lake but highlighting the sky.  I spend a lot of summer time at the lake but have never been brave enough to go out on my own plein air painting except close to home.   Perhaps this next summer?

#261 Storm Brewing

With the snow causing havoc on the roads I haven't gone out anywhere for days.  The west coast islands are usually known as the Wet Coast, but not this frozen  sort in February.   I don't mind, it is giving me  a lot more concentrated painting time.  I have been working from my reference photos of the summer skies, which are bright with blues and puffy clouds or spectacular sunrises and sunsets.  The skies out there right now are a pretty uniform grey.

This  another late August sunset with clouds gathering in a threatening manner. It was probably all clear by morning.

Storm Brewing
oil on acrylic ground on ply
15.3 x 20.3 cm/ 6 x 8 in
(click to enlarge)

#260 Sky on Fire

Last summer I painted a few skies en plein air  at the cottage at Christina Lake and at different times of the day.  I posted those last fall.  There were so many beautiful skies and clouds and I took lots of  photos for painting reference.      The memories of the beautiful warm summer days and evenings are great right now while it is snowing out!
I painted this from a photo taken of a  late August sunset.  A low storm was approaching from the south bringing smoke laden clouds from wildfires farther to the south. The colours were amazing and trying to capture a sense of the drama is a challenge.

Sky on Fire
oil on acrylic ground on plywood
15.3x15.3 cm/6x6 in.

Victorian Faces #8

Victorian Faces #7

12.7x12.7 cm, 5x5 in.

oil on acrilic gessoed  plywood

This one was painted using black, white on a yellow ground.  All my Victorian Faces postings are out of order. This was the 5th one I painted Sept. 22, 2016  and # 241 of the total.  Something I have realized about myself and posting paintings - I like to let them sit awhile before I decide if they are done.  I take a photo and find a glaring error so like to fix as much as possible. Perhaps I shouldn't number them until I am really finished.  But then I forget to number them at all.    Of course they are never perfect and if one keeps tweaking which invariably ruins the painting and the initial idea gets lost in too many "fixes".  Hopefully as my brushwork develops I will like the first results better.  

The colour reproduction on this one isn't quite right - it isn't really quite that dark and I don't seem to be able to adjust the balance properly.  This is a scanned painting and usually they come out very well.  

Throw-back Thursday

I like the idea of Throw-back Thursday.   I would like to recover past posts from disappeared blogs and re-create an online painting archive.

In the autumn of 2013 I took up a 30 in 30 painting challenge for the first time.  I don't think I managed all 30 days, but it was still a great exercise.
This was the first day, painting from life, set up outside in the fresh air.  I can recall very clearly painting this - the difficulties with paints and colour and why didn't it look like what I had envisioned, etc. etc.   In the end I loved it and still do. I was thrilled someone else liked it enough to buy it.   I hope they still do!

Soldoil on board
15.3x15.3cm, 6x6"

#255 Red-Orange & Blue-Green

Finally!  I am cold free and have the energy for painting again.  That was one nasty cold and I hope that is the last for the season.
Still life painting seemed a good way to exercise the brushes again after so long away.  I painted and scraped quite a number over the last week.  When I  then decided to look at the Daily Paintworks site Weekly Challenge I found the Complementary Colours Challenge and as there were fresh tomatoes a few were nabbed for the studio.  (hothouse of course at this time of year for B,C,).  There are so many reds and hothouse tomatoes are never the luscious colour of summer garden tomatoes.    These were an red-orange.  I compared them to a colour wheel  and  came up with a green-blue complement.   Luckily  I had a backdrop of a similar green-blue.

Red-Orange & Blue-Green
15.3 x 15.3 cm/ 6x6in.
oil on acrylic gessoed canvas on ply

Last year I decided to have a look at my paintings and counted up what I done.  I had lists of the ones sold and unsold and the ones that I have kept as a marker of my progress.  There were many scrapped that didn't make the count.  Anyway I came up with a number and and this  is #255.  Doesn't seem like a lot in the scheme of things.