Hazy Daze

A painting I was commissioned to do for my office. This was the smaller "sample" which has since found it's way to my daughters home. :) I love the colours in this, but I am still struggling with the acceptance of my work. I am seriously considering lessons. I think I have reached an impasse where my talent is concerned and I now need to work on technique and building of my knowledge of colour tone, highlight and blending. :) I'm certain this will bring more satisfaction within and also a greater degree of respect for the craft.

Fish Ladder

A painting requested by my mother to give to a friend of hers for her birthday. I'm finding balancing the colours found in nature with my own internal palette to be quite trying at best. The thing is to take the picture away from the real life scene and examine it for its own elemental merit. I decided getting the water just the right colour was unecessary, as the colours that emerge as I paint are far more interesting and beautiful. This turned out with more green than expected, but the murky brown that the river looked on the day of photographing left much to be desired. 

Anyone familiar with the Port Hope area will reconize the Ganaraska River and our infamous fish ladder. I wish I had a photograph of this from the seventies. I believe their was a foot bridge that spanned the width of the river at the top of the ladder. In any case, this holds a bounty of memory and emotion. I hope Cheryl enjoys it.

Serenity

I did this for someone special who told me that water is his inspiration and serenity. I hope that when he looks at this, it calms and soothes the soul and inspires him in the best ways possible. I let go of the perfectionist in this and I love how it turned out. More than I have in a long time. This is closer to where I want my paintings to be. I haven't given this to him yet, but hopefully he finds as much pleasure in it as I did creating it.

I love the colours I found in the sky. I think I probably spent the most time on it. The sun gave me the most grief. It is so hard to capture the exact movement that I want. *sigh* It's still something I truly enjoy doing. When I paint, I feel more free than at any other minute in the day. :)

The Bridge

FINALLY!!

I am finally done with a painting I began about two months ago. The link (just click on the title, "The Bridge"),  provided will take you to the artist's blog who inpsired this. Scott is a gifted photographer and sees art wherever he is. I am thankful that he allowed me to use one of his photos for inspiration. 

I am not certain why this gave me such grief, but the black eyed susans were so unforgiving. I stopped when I was almost finished the bridge and had everything else painted in EXCEPT those blasted beautiful flowers. lol It sat in the living room just mocking me everytime I looked at it. I finally managed to coax the muse to help me finally finish it and now it gives me some satisfaction when I look upon it. This photograph simply does not do it justice. I couldn't capture how truly beautiful the colours look on canvas, but this is the best I can do for now.

Now I must visit this actual bridge and see how beautifully life imitates art. :P Thanks Scott!! :D

Sunrise on Lake Ontario

This was the result of a "practice" piece I did. One gorgeous October morning I rose early to capture the beauty of light rising over the lake. This is my intepretation of that photo op.

Colour is so extraordinary. I love experimenting with it. Maybe I'll get more daring and do some very different colour combinations one day. For now, I'll just be satisfied with working on the skills I am readily eager to hone.  :)

Dolphins at Sunset

This was a definite learning experience. I spent a very long time working this over and redoing much of it. It still didn't turn out the way I wanted or envisioned. But so many have expressed appreciation for this, I couldn't ignore sharing it. I'm still learning about colour and how to create motion in my paintings. And as frustrating as it is, I am still loving the learning experience every time I place paint to canvas. Stretching boundaries and finding my niche, so to speak. And I read something recently that made me realize perfection isn't everything.


 "Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything." ~Gustave Flaubert 


Somehow I must learn to be satisfied with less than what I perceive is perfection. To accept and embrace the style that is inherent in my art.

Snowy River

Did this a few weeks ago, but had to wait to post it, because it was a gift. I didn't want to chance the receiver seeing it. This is my first "fight" with painting snow. I never realized how many different shades actually go into giving snow a realistic look. Up to this point, this is the one painting I've had by far the most issues with. I wasn't even sure I liked it much when I finished it, but it has grown on me and I'm learning to let that perfectionist go (slowly). The recipient was very much pleased and that is truly what matters with this one. I'm sure "snow" will become easier to define, the more I paint of it.

Sunshine On the Porch

Wanted to paint the old mill up at the fish ladder in Port Hope, ON, but it seemed so arduous a task. I thought starting with the front door/porch area might be good practice. Port Hope is full of heritage buildings and I find them completely captivating. This is not exactly how I would have liked, but it was a definite learning experience. I'm finding that painting, as with most art, is typically subjective and there is no right or wrong way. Once the perfectionist is able to let go, the possibilities are endless!

Terralta Cottage

Today I finally  finished something that has been in the works, (at least in spirit), for many years. I had always wanted to place my childhood home, Terralta Cottage, located in Port Hope, ON,  on canvas, but never had the audacity to even contemplate the attempt. I was pleasantly surprised with the result, however. Again, as per usual, my fears were all ill based. Confidence and I are not well acquainted......yet, (or should I say still?). But with each experience, I gain more and more respect for the craft and my interpretation of it.

As for the house, it holds so many memories as well as a few ghosts. I spent thirteen years in this home with my family from age 4 to age 17, so it has quite a bit of nostalgia attached to it. Clicking on the title provides a link that will lead you to a little history and pictures of how the home looks today, (after a couple total renovations-- one of which I was lucky enough to be given a tour of). The painting depicts most closely how it looked when we occupied the residence.

This place will always hold a bit of mystery and in a small way, a large part of my childhood happiness within her walls.

Northern Exposure

This was my version of the Northern Lights. I will do this again as there are so many different combinations of colour that are found in the Northern Sky when the lights can be seen and I want to capture as much as possible. This is one of my favourites. I adore the use of shadow and light in both paintings and photographs. Sometimes a simplistic colour scheme brings about the most dramatic results.

Stormy Sea

I was commissioned to do this painting for a friend of mine. We grew up in the same small town and she wanted a painting of the shore where we used to spend a lot of our childhood days. There is something incredibly nostalgic about looking at this. The lightning was her idea after the painting was already finished. I thought I might ruin the sky by adding it (and nearly did), but in all, I think it enhances the emotion of the picture. I love painting water. It has so much motion and variation of colour.

Lookout Point, Eagle's Nest, Bancroft, ON

This was a much larger undertaking than I had originally imagined. I wanted to do something unique for my father for Christmas and since he had requested not to be given very much appreciated, but cluttersome "dust collectors", I decided a painting of his hometown would be a better alternative to a gift card. The mixing of colours just about drove me crazy, but the end result was worth it, I think. I chose the autumn as it is not only my favourtie season, but the number of trees lining the side of the mountain, are more easily observed in full fall colours.