Jenny

Jenny is our 11 year old rescued greyhound who we have had for three years. A track winner in her day, she can still run faster than most dogs if she wants to. But she doesn't want to. A trip to the off leash dog park will finding her schmoozing with the people, while the other dogs run and play. I had her certified with St Johns Ambulance as a therapy dog, and for a year and a half made we made weekly visits to a seniors home where she was a good fit. She is a senior herself, after all. It is not commonly known what an excellent pet greyhounds make. They are especially quiet, gentle and make few demands of your time. In spite of their reputation as performance athletes, they are not at all high strung, nor do they require huge amounts of exercise. One of the oldest breeds, they have proven their value as a companion to man. If you are interested in learning more about greyhounds, look for books by Cynthia Branigan, such as Adopting the Racing Greyhound.  Her website here tells more. We adopted Jenny from GRA in Ontario.

Seasons of Fruit

As with January Fruit, this painting was several months in the making, nearly spanning all four seasons.  Although I am happy with the results, compared with the one on 300 lb paper, this 140 lb (thinner paper) one took a lot more effort at every stage of the process. Perhaps more beginners would stay with watercolor if they started out on the thicker, easier to use 300 lb paper. A thought.  Both half finished paintings were put aside, however as we embarked on a major cross country move, from Ontario after 15 years back to B.C., my home province. As the dust settles, I find myself returning to painting pets......

January Fruit

In the spirit of experimentation, I decided to do two very similar paintings: the same plate of fruit staged with the same winter sunlight, painted with the same pigments. The big difference would be the paper. Watercolor paper comes in different thicknesses, or weights, and textures. The one I prefer (300 lb cold pressed) costs considerably more than the more commonly used 140 lb. Since I still had a stash of 140 lb tucked away, I though I'd better make an effort to like the stuff enough to use it up at least. How different was it, really, from the other kind? By painting the images at the same time with all things being equal, I would find out. The plan was to paint a little on one, and then while that one was drying, I'd paint a similar passage on the other. It started out that way, but before long this one had taken a strong lead, getting way ahead of the other. Like anything requiring a lot of concentration, I get into the 'zone' and the momentum just carries me along. It would be several months before either painting would be completed, since I was about to have yet another moving experience. This one, by the way, was done on my much preferred 300 lb paper.

Insulators

These are from my collection of old (antique)? electrical insulators. I love the imperfections in the glass, and how they look in a sunny window. Like this. I have about twelve or so, and no two are exactly the same. I chose a pretty complicated subject, what with the crocheted tablecloth silhouetted  behind the glass and all. And yes, it was time consuming! Not the best choice for trying out a new painting surface. Here I have experimented with illustration board instead of my usual watercolor paper. It handled differently, but worked out in the end. But now its back to good old Arches 300 lb 100% cotton rag cold-pressed watercolor paper. It is good to try new things. And its good to come home too. Learn more about the history and value of insulators here.

Ordinary Treasures

Isn't it something how light and shadow can turn the ordinary into something extraordinary? These are the tools in my kitchen, in the pottery jar that holds them at the ready beside my stove. They are common, simple, utilitarian. But look what happens to them when they are given a chance to shine. This is what I love to do as an artist - have the viewer see something simple in a whole new way; a whole new light. I know that I for one, view these tools differently now when I see them in my kitchen. I am reminded of  their moment of glory.

Home

This will always be home, although I haven't lived here for decades. Bought in the 1950s and owned by my dad, I can still go home. But not quite. This is a composite painting, taken from pictures dating from 1957 to 1973. The house and yard never quite looked like this at any one time. Paint and flowers change, shrubs come and go. In fact, the house is now all yellow siding with bay windows.
And yet.........this is the home of my childhood, of my memories. I can always go home.

Sylvan's First

From January 2010 to December 2011, (nearly two years!), I didn't paint a single thing. Why? I don't really know. Was I too busy? Traveling the world? Taking up new pursuits? No, no and no. I always knew I would come back to it; it's become a part of who I am. Maybe I was looking for a certain kind of inspiration. More emotional depth, perhaps. More of the artist's soul. I'm still not exactly sure.
In December 2010, I became a Grandma for the first time with the birth of Sylvan. This painting was my gift to him on his first birthday. Not only my first painting of my first grandchild, but my first painting of myself, as well.

Not So Far Away

I just love this pose of JB, comfortably leaning on his elbow(?) not unlike some people I know. If I had accidentally called him JR (as in JR Ewing), I wouldn't have been too far wrong. And yes, there's a story. There's always a story.

One day a while back, I got a nice email from Corinne, someone I didn't know. It seems she had travelled to Vancouver from her home near Dallas Texas sometime last fall. There she met someone that I also didn't know who had seen my paintings in a gallery in Ontario late last summer. Somehow pet portraiture came up in their conversation, and I was mentioned. Once home, Corinne emailed me, asking if I would paint a commerative portrait of her and husband Dave's late orange tabby, JB.

So from Ontario to Vancouver to Texas to Ontario and finally a painting delivered to Texas. Is is just me, or is the world getting smaller?

Sushi

This commission was done for Sonya, my supervisor at work, as a Christmas gift for her neighbour Sheila who owned Sushi. One of the challenges of this painting was to realistically depict the depth and intensity of the very dark fur, as well as capturing the detail of the light fur without it looking washed out.

Shanty

My cousin Heather asked me to do this commission of Shanty, in her memory. A great family dog, Shanty loved to go out on the sailboat, and run along the beach with Heather's boys, Cameron and Stewart. In fact, the photo that this painting was based upon, was taken just after one such west coast run. Ultimately, however, she was Heather's dog, and I was honored to paint this tribute to a beloved canine friend.

Mrs. Tillson's Inspiration

When I tour a heritage home museum such as Annandale in Tillsonburg, formost in my mind is the question: Who were these people who lived here so long ago. I want to know what their lives were like. How they were like us; how they were different. What did they value? Are we ultimately the same?
Through careful artistic sutdy, painting a portrait helps me to know my subject better. This painting is a tribute to Mary Ann Tillson who was directly inspired by Oscar Wilde in the decoration of her home, Annandale House.

Catnap In China

Moments like this don't come along very often. It's one thing to arrange teacups, but quite another to pose a cat. So when I chanced upon Orville as he is seen here, I had to find the camera fast.
My goal in this painting was to capture the glow of the sunbeam, as well as the warmth of the areas in shadow.

Cobalt Blue

Although this is not a large painting, measuring only 7" x 11", it is a tribute to my brushes and paints. In fact, you could say that I used these brushes to paint these brushes. As for the paints, the few shown here are a primary color representation of the dozens of tubes that I own. I confess a weakness for collecting paints. To me the tubes are like seeds of color waiting to grow into a vibrant painting.

Update: On June 29 I received notice that Cobalt Blue has been accepted for exhibit in Open Water 2009, the 84th Annual Open Juried Exhibition of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. The exhibition runs from September 5th to October 24th at the Leighton Art Centre in Calgary, Alberta.

Only 63 paintings were accepted out of over 300 images that were submitted!

Tea Cups and Yellow

While working on the previous two paintings, I kept thinking of yellow. It was something like a food craving; I needed to paint bright sunny lemon yellow. Perhaps the time of year had something to do with it. There won't be daffodils for another month, and winter has been so long and drab. The landscape all around is a monotone of yellow ochre, or the color of mouldy straw. But that is okay. I can paint yellow. I can paint in colors that sing like canaries until the spring comes.

Blue China and Glass

As soon as I finished Bookland, I wanted to do another still life. There is something especially rewarding in painting my own arrangement. Painting the things that I own deepens the experience as well. For example, the tea cup on the left is special; it was a wedding shower gift given to my grandmother some eighty years ago.

Late winter may be a dull time of year overall, but there is brilliance and beauty if you take the time to look for it.

Update: In May this piece was one of 48 out of 188 entries selected for Woodstock Art Gallery's 51st Annual Juried Exhibition, Visual Elements. This was a thrilling first for me!

Journeys Through Bookland

I have been collecting china tea cups on and off for years, planning to do more still life compositions similar to the first painting that I did over thirteen years ago. Tea cups and books. When I found the old children's book "Journeys Through Bookland", (printed in 1922) in a thrift store, I had the inspiration I needed.

This is a personal piece for me, representing some of my favorite simple pleasures. A pot of tea, something historical to read, a winter sunbeam and a sleepy cat. The title of the book is important as well, since nearly every day for me is a journey through book land; I work at two libraries.

Practically speaking, this was probably the most detailed piece I have ever done, taking many hours to complete. Wicker again! What was I thinking?! It measures 16" x 30", which for me is large.

And thank you Orville (the cat) for holding your pose while I arranged the pieces.

Crabapple Tea

For a long time, I had wanted to paint reflective glass. Like the distorted patterns found in waves or other reflective surfaces, painting glass is like entering the world of abstract art within a realistic painting. I once saw a painting done depicting a jumble of copper pots, as if it were the subject matter of a very difficult jigsaw puzzle. Looking carefully, I could see the artist herself reflected in a multitude of bizarrely distorted ways, stranger even than in a carnival mirror.

I chose a simple enough subject, yet was surprised by how detailed and complex it was to paint. Not easy, but satisfying.

Watersoluble Oil

About three years ago, I bought a set of 'water mixable' oil paints. Seemingly a contradiction since we all know that oil and water don't mix, these paints really do just that. Oil painters can now paint without harsh chemicals, and watermedia painters, such as myself, may cautiously dip their toe in the mixable water, so to speak. So even though this blog entry is technically an oil painting, it still qualifies as 'light painted with water'.

I knew I wanted to give these oil paints a try when I bought them, but I had no idea it would take so long to get around to it. Oils have intimidated me. That is what other painters do. The ones who went to art school and learned all the rules. So when I finished this painting, using my self taught transferable skills, I gained a new sense of confidence. I felt like saying: HA! I just did an oil painting, so there!

In some ways I liked the experience, and in other ways I did not. I soon realized that what I liked about it were the ways in which it was similar to watercolor painting, and what I disliked were the ways in which it was not like watercolor painting. It was a nice place to visit, but it just wasn't home. Transparent watercolor remains my media of choice.

Pink Iris

Overall, 2008 had been a slow year for painting. As the year drew to a close, I finally finished this beautiful iris that had been started many months before during the studio tour. It sat, propped up on my drafting table, calling out to me to come and paint. It was nearly complete, but I knew it needed something more. At last, I darkened the background, and the petals burst forth in colorful triumph.

Luke's Hope

My daughter Annie, see blog entry November 20 2005, met Luke a year after that portrait was done. Two years later, on a snowy stroll through Niagara-On-the-Lake, they became engaged.
By the end of that uncharacteristicly overwhelming week, Luke had also bought the home that they will share after the big day in August.
Luke is a great guy and perfect for Annie, but what to get a son-in-law-to-be for Christmas?

A house that was new in 1904, is now new again. New with the hope of a couple beginning a life together. New with the anticipation of family and friends and music and laughter and life. A house with a heritage, now a home with a future.

His gift was a painting of that hope.