Red Lily Close Up - Floral Oil Painting

Red Lily Close Up 4x4 oil painting on panel

I am taken with painting red lilies lately. I'm quite happy with this one. The shadows and highlights turned out well. I also have painted some white lilies. I find white flowers are much more difficult to paint.

I will be at the Saugeen Artists Co-op Show and Sale, July 27 - 29, 2012. That's next weekend in Hanover. Let me know if you've seen my blog. Here's the website for the show  www.saugeenartists.ca

Red Lily - Floral Oil Painting on Panel

Red Lily, 4 x 4" oil on cradled panel 1.5" deep.

Getting ready for a show at the end of July and I've been very busy. I enjoy painting flowers... sometimes. This one turned out well. Flowers can be difficult to paint, especially in oils. I find it much easier in watercolour. This was about challenges. If we don't challenge ourselves we don't get better as artists. Lessons were learned painting this flower.

This is a small panel, I got these expecting to enter another show about small paintings but I was too busy to get the entry form done and take the paintings in. It will just appear in another show. This lily grows in my garden here in Grey County. I painted it using a photograph as a reference.

Cloud Illusions - Landscape Oil Painting

Cloud Illusions  6x6" oil on panel

SOLD

I'm fascinated by clouds.

I will be in Thornbury at the Cottage Country Show, at the arena, with quite a few of my paintings this weekend April 14 & 15th. Maybe I'll see you there. I'm bringing this cloud painting along too.

My goal with this painting was to lay on the paint thick with lots of texture and not to overwork the painting. I'm happy with the result. Although the photograph doesn't show the greens as they really are.

In the Valley - Fall Landscape Oil Painting

In the Valley 6" x 6" oil painting

SOLD

This is the same barn as my previous post from a different view. I like the layers in the background of the field and trees then another field and row of trees. The colours change when they are further away. The two small sheds near the larger barn also add interest for me.

The Old Barn Landscape Oil Painting

The Old Barn - 6 x 6" oil on cradled panel

SOLD

Fall colours fascinate me and this barn stood out in this setting because of the neutral colouring in the autumn landscape I couldn't resist painting it.

The foreground seemed to be a challenge since it is green and I tend to mix greens too bright. So I found it hard to tone it down. I'm happy with the final result.

November in the Country - Landscape painting

November in the Country 

6 x 6" Acrylic on Gessoboard

SOLD

Living in a rural area can be so inspiring. This painting was done along with some others from a series of photographs that I took in the area where I live. As someone described it as "drive off the road beautiful". I find myself stopping to take photographs while I'm going to an appointment or meeting with someone.

This is an old empty and unused barn on a rural road. There was no snow yet so the grasses were soft shades of gold.

Country Road - Fall Landscape Original Oil Painting

Country Road 6x6" Oil on panel

SOLD

This is my latest small painting, oil on cradled panel, 3/4" profile. I enjoy doing these small 6 x 6s. I try not to include too much detail and just let it happen. First I painted the panel burnt sienna. When it's dry I sketched out a few lines to indicate where the main sections were on the panel. Then I went ahead and painted the sky, trees and field in the foreground. 

I like the combination of colours of the dried grasses and brush, the bare trees in the background, the olive green cedars and blue green spruce. Some yellow leaves are still clinging to a few of the trees. I find myself really attracted to the colours of the fall. Even though the majority of the leaves have fallen there is still a lot of colour in this location.

Ox-eye Sunflower - Original Floral Oil Painting

Ox-Eye Sunflower 8 x 10 oil on Canvas

Donated & Sold 

I donated this painting to the Durham Art Gallery, Durham ON for their Art Auction event The Night of the Scorpio, on November 19th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available on their website.

It is more important than ever to support the Durham Art Gallery, the gallery sustained some damage to the building this week during a wind storm. They will need funds to pay their insurance deductible. Please support the gallery if you can.

I have a few paintings available for donation purposes so please contact me if you are looking for some art for your fundraising event.

Tamaracks - Landscape Acrylic Painting

Tamaracks 12" x 12", acrylic on canvas

SOLD 

I just completed this painting this weekend. It is intended for a local art show. (Sold at the show. Thank you art collector.)

I enjoy taking photographs of the area especially when there are big thick clouds in the sky. It makes for a dramatic painting. Right now there aren't many leaves on the trees and the grass is a bit dry looking, but I can't resist painting the landscape when the colours are so fabulous. I'm sure most people would think that once the leaves are off the trees everything is so brown. I really don't see it that way. The colours are really speaking to me right now. Today while out for a drive I was enjoying the blue hills in the distance, the purple hue from the deciduous and the light ochre grass. 

This painting was created from a recent photograph I took in the area. I hope you enjoy it. 

November Country Day - Fall Landscape Acrylic Painting

November Country Day - 6 x 6" Acrylic on panel

SOLD 

A scene in Grey County near Priceville. This painting was created using a photograph that I took last November as a reference. There was no snow on the ground, the grass was a light ochre colour and the trees were a purple hue in the distance. No leaves were left on the trees. I saw beauty in that. I did 4 small paintings similar to this from that day's photography. This was my favourite of the four. I'm not surprised that it sold.

I need to work on my titles a bit more, I'm not loving it.

November Field - Fall Acrylic Landscape Painting

November Scene, 6 x 6" acrylic on panel

SOLD

Oct 8 & 9, 2011
11-5 pm each day.
The Art Map Fall Open Studio Weekend.
Visit over 20 locations in Grey & Bruce.
I will be open on Saturday and Sunday. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

This is my latest painting. I enjoy painting small little landscapes, birds and flowers.
This time I painted the panel burnt sienna instead of a black background. I wanted to do this in a very loose style. I've completed 3 panels and have one more to go. Also I normally paint with water mixable oils. This one is acrylic. I needed these to dry quickly.

Peony - Original Oil Painting

Peony - 8 x 6" oil on panel

Purchase Painting

August 6 and 7
My studio will be open for The Art Map Open Studio Weekend.
11-5 pm, daily
Stop by to say hello and see some new work. See The Art Map website for maps and location information.

Lily - Original Oil Painting

Lily 6 x 8" on hard panel.

Purchase Painting

I am participating in the Bruce Peninsula Art Show this weekend in Lion's Head. I've always enjoyed visiting this show and seeing the many artist's work there.

Since my last post I have been working on a large piece that took a long time to complete.

I just completed a couple of smaller paintings on hard panels. The lily is my latest painting. I have to say that I love the result. I like the texture of the brush strokes and the colour. I'm learning that the colour of paintings don't have to be accurate to life. I broke away from the actual background colour in this painting. It's hanging in Lion's Head this weekend.

Theodore - Original Oil Painting

6x6" Oil on Canvas

Theodore is our family cat. His brother is Simon and looks very much like Theodore. When people see the two of them they say "Oh, they're twins." They're both about 16 years old. Theodore is a very affectionate cat. Theodore's health is fading a bit. We take care of him to our best abilities. He's laying on our dog's bed, one of his favourite spots to sleep.

Cypress Lake - Landscape Oil Painting

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas 16 x 20"

This painting is back home now. I picked it up from Meaford Hall this morning. It is one of my favourite paintings. It took time to get the highlights and shadows right. When I started working on it, I thought that it would not turn out well. I worked on it and spent time looking at it carefully. I'm really pleased with the final result.

A bit about the day... It was windy, the water was rough and a few waves were breaking in the background. You can see a few whitecaps in the distance. The water was a beautiful emerald colour, and the shadows in the water created a wonderful blue, a great August day. These things drew me to paint this scene.

Perfect Pair - Still Life Oil Painting

6x6" on gallery wrapped canvas.

I've just taken a new photograph of this painting. It seems to be difficult to get a good quality photograph of some paintings. The colour is better on this one. The one I had posted previously seemed too bright.

The title was suggested to me by a member of the Saugeen Artists Co-op.
I did this painting from my arrangement of pairs. The stems were exactly as painted. I thought it looked a bit odd. But now that I look at it again, I wonder how it would look had the stems been going in different directions. Maybe a bit distracting.

The Meadow - Rural Landscape Oil Painting

SOLD

This painting is oil on gallery canvas. I love the shape of the barn and how it is sitting on the hill overlooking a small valley. The grasses are swaying in the gentle breeze. The painting measures 30 x 24 inches. It was purchased by a very nice couple who have visited my studio several times.

Misery Bay - Summer Landscape Oil Painting

While on vacation my husband and I hiked to Misery Bay on Manitoulin Island.  There was not much sand but a rocky beach with lines in the rock from the movement of glaciers. It was a really interesting place.

Day Dreamer - Original Oil Painting

Day dreaming sitting on a rock, on a lazy summer day by the lake. I like this image because it reminds me of the fun times we had at the lake, exploring and splashing in the water.

Nuthatch, 6x6 Original Oil Painting

Nutchatch 6 x 6" Original Oil on Canvas

I first paint the canvas black and then paint the subject of the painting. The background is painted last. I try to let the black areas show thorough the painting and not paint the black again. It's a bit tricky to do. It's like painting inside the lines before the lines exist.

I love the loose quality of this painting and the colours. Lots of textures appear on the surface of the canvas. This painting is on gallery wrapped canvas with black painted sides. Nuthatches frequently visit my bird feeders and for a while I took photographs of them. The birds look great hung together, but they are great on their own as well.