This painting was composed mostly from my imagination. It's a late spring day, and the farmer has been to town and back, to get.......maybe feed? There might be some hungry critters around! The tractor is waiting for duty. Oh, for the simple country life!
I do find it fun to paint sheep! This painting is called "The Sheep of His Pasture", and is 12 by 36. It's currently on display at the Southampton Arts Centre.
Psalm 100 says "Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his: we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."
Last year I had several paintings come off my easel that I would like to share. "The Miracle of an Apple" is 12 by 12 and is hanging in the Southampton Gallery. To think that this blossom will produce a juicy apple within months truly is a miracle of nature!
It's been over a year since I published anything on my blog (thanks to a fall last summer and subsequent hip surgeries) so I have some paintings to show you. While I was recovering I had little energy to paint, but over the months was able to complete this one, that I call "Chicory Hill". I was drawn to all the blue shades in the original photo, with those yellow flowers to pop out. It's 28 x 24, all acrylic, still in my possession waiting to be juried into the Minto Arts Council Juried Show in May.
My second Portugal painting is called "Lagos Lookout" (15 x 30) which simplifies one of the many wonderful views from the apartment where I was staying. I had a lot of fun turning the hills and houses into abstract, whimsical shapes. I feel that I captured the sense of the cityscape that resembled building blocks to me. It's also hanging at the Southampton Arts Centre now. There may be more Portugal scenes to be turned into paintings in the near future!
This past winter I received 3 amaryllis bulbs! They bloomed consecutively, providing me with many days of beauty in my kitchen window, which looked out on a bleak white landscape until recently. This one provided a chance to paint a magenta underpainting, a new background colour for me to try. I hope I captured the contrast of the gorgeous flower against the wintery landscape. It did indeed provide me with great joy in the middle of January!
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"January's Joy" acrylic 24 x 12 |
My recent paintings reflect the old-fashioned snowy weather we've had in our area this winter. Snow banks are higher than usual, making driving around corners difficult, school buses are cancelled every week, and bushes are buried in white, hiding the damage that will show up in the spring. As an artist, I find winter gorgeous to admire..... from inside! I've completed four paintings that reflect this beautiful (but burdensome) season. You might get a chill while you look at them!
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"Looking Forward to a Warm Fire" acrylic 18 x 36 |
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"Mountains of Snow" acrylic 18 x 24 |
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"The Cure for Cold Hands" acrylic 10 x 10 SOLD |
I love doing these paintings of a country scene, which always need to have a barn and some livestock included! This one was finished and out of my studio only about a week, when it sold at a Saugeen Artists Guild show at the Minto Arts Gallery in Harriston Ontario in September this year.
I am delighted to be included in a show at the Minto Arts Gallery in Harriston for the month of September, that The Saugeen Artists Guild has been putting on for a few years now, each September. Hanging there are 5 new pieces from my easel that represent a fun series using mixed media. You might be able to see what the elements are in each painting if you look closely. I always start with a coloured acrylic underpainting, and then create my image by adding paper, fabric, ribbons, and even buttons and rocks! I enjoyed a week long course by Cheryl O Art this past summer where we were immersed in all kinds of materials that can be included in a painting. Each piece has two layers of acrylic finish on it to protect it. Here are the 5 finished pieces for you to inspect:
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"Boutonnieres" acrylic and mixed media 12 x 16 |
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"Crosstown" acrylic and mixed media 11 x 14 |
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"Enchanted" acrylic and mixed media 12 x 12 |
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"HOME" acrylic and mixed media 11 x 14 |
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"Lakehouse" acrylic and mixed media 12 x 12 |
I was shocked and delighted to receive First Prize at the Minto Arts Council Juried Show this past week! The painting I had entered (below) was motivated by a course I took recently from my artist teacher and friend Cheryl O Art . I was experimenting with a high horizon, whimsical building and boats, a different perspective, and adding lines of black ink at the end. It was a fun project! The Minto Arts Council arranges this annual Juried Show in the gallery attached to the Harriston Library. It's always a beautiful show of wonderful and diverse work by local artists. You can see it until May 30.
Thank you, Minto Arts!
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A Morning for Fishing acrylic 20 x 16 |
A painting I finished this winter reminds me of drives with my family, when we would occasionally hear that familiar refrain "Are we there yet?" There are hills and valley to cover in this piece, before arriving at the destination in the far distance. Maybe it's a summer cottage? Maybe a resort in the north? Maybe Grandma's house? Your imagination can fill in the blank. This painting is quite large, 2 feet by 3 feet, and will soon be travelling to the Southampton Arts Centre.
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"Are We There Yet?" acrylic 24 x 36 |
Most of the time, paintings we work on during a course or workshop are just for learning, not for progressing to a finished, signed piece. But after taking Cheryl O's course last year I actually ended up with paintings I was very pleased with! I have posted a couple of others, and here are two more, now hanging at the Southampton Gallery. I'm late posting them by several months, but I still wanted to share this different style that I had so much fun with! The composition involved a high horizon, and an unusual perspective, as well as some abstract and geometric shapes.
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"A Morning for Fishing" acrylic 20 x 16 |
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"Sunset Sail" acrylic 20 x 16 |
I hope to create more of these fun pieces in the future! I chose interesting photos of food that I like and think others might like too. You can see them at the Saugeen Artists Guild pop-up Christmas Store in Hanover which is open until December 23 2023. They are 8 x 8 inches each. And mouth-watering!
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The Best Use for Cherries acrylic 8 x 8 |
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The Best Use for Chocolate Chips acrylic 8 x 8 |
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The Best Use for Potatoes acrylic 8 x 8 |
For two months this pop-up store gives folks near and far an opportunity to purchase unique, handmade items. Our inventory includes paintings, of course, but also woodworking, jewelry, leather pieces, pottery, ornaments, purses, and lots of cards! In November we're open from Wednesday to Saturday, and in December you can visit every day of the week. Hours are 10:00 to 5:00 except for Sunday, 1:00 to 4:00. Come and meet the artists on duty!
Here is what our store looks like this year:
At my August course in London with Cheryl O Art, I did some fun experimenting with a new style! These are two that came out of that course, which are quite unusual for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed working on something new. They are a stylized and abstracted view of landscapes, with bright and sometimes unusual colours. These are now on display at the Saugeen Artists Guild's Christmas pop-up store, which "materializes" in Hanover every year, after a long busy week setting it up, and runs from November 3 until December 23. There are 20 artists with varied products, all unique and handmade. You can find us (and many of my paintings) at 189 10th St. Hanover.
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"Queen Annes' Country" acrylic 12 x 16 |
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"Farther In" acrylic 12 x 16 |
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| The Simple Life acrylic 18 x 24 |
After spending time at Loyola House, the Christian Retreat Centre where I love to spend time when I can, I had a few great photo references. This painting is from a photo I took on a walk through the cedar bush along the river. Just at the end of this path is a large, green, sunny open field. It's an analogy of leaving the darkness and coming into the light. I love to paint scenes that remind me of a special time or a meaningful reflection.
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"Cedar Path" acrylic 16 x 24 |
Of course I had to paint some flowers this summer! It's such a joy for me to set out my hanging baskets and deck planters and try to tame my wild gardens around my farm home. That labour of love is very similar to painting the scene on a canvas! I picked these two beauties to paint, on 12 by 12 gallery canvases.
"White Tulips" was painted from a lovely bouquet a friend of mine gave me early in the summer. I just loved the way these tulips gradually leaned over and pointed towards me.
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"White Tulips" acrylic 12 x 12 |
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"Summer Colour" acrylic 12 x 12 |
My latest paintings definitely look into the past, which seems to be a theme on my canvases lately.
My newest one is of a curious building in Cargill, Ontario. Apparently it was a general store once, but has long been abandoned, leaving the old crocks and mason jars on display in the windows. I had fun painting it in a wonky style. Across from this structure is The Mill Pond Gallery, a beautiful and inspiring art gallery, where this painting is now hanging. It also includes a great Café, and ice cream stand. Here is a short video of an interview with Kevin McKague, the owner of this quaint spot. I highly recommend it as an art experience for locals as well as tourists this summer. |
"Cargill Curio" acrylic 18 by 24 |
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Tenacity acrylic 16 x 20 |
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Redeemed acrylic 20 x 20 |
...............Number 4 is "Just Around the Corner". If that chicken could dream, what might it hope for?
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"Just Around the Corner" acrylic 28 x 22 |
.............Number 5 is "The Master's Voice". Sheep are so much fun to paint! They have unique personalities. I love the way they're streaming out of the barn into the sunshine, ready to follow their leader, their Shepherd.
These paintings are now hanging at the Southampton Arts Centre.
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"The Master's Voice" acrylic 34 x 21 |
