Flower Girl

Watercolour on paper, (14 x 11 inches)

I painted this watercolour a few weeks ago but neglected to post it.  At that time I was working on the theme of flowers and hair and will likely explore more of this subject in the months to come.

Bubble Meditation

Oil on gallery canvas (1 1/2 inch deep), 8 x 8 inches

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When the temperature begins to drop I find a hot cup of tea even more comforting.  It's so nice just to slow down and just contemplate the bubbles!

The Mason Gang

Oil on canvas (20 x 20 inches)

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My latest mason jar painting - I keep coming back for more!  The nuances of the light shining through the lettering, the changing hues of the bottles and the reflections of the bottles on the shiny surface were fun and challenging details to capture.

Emerge

Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches

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I have continued on with my exploration of abstracted florals, and this is my latest offering.  I liked the way the petals in the center are unfurling, thus the title "Emerge".

Awaken

Oil on 3/4 inch canvas, 20 x 24 inches

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Here is another of the abstracted florals, this is probably more recognizable as floral, but also more fluid like an abstract. I thought the petals seemed to be stretching like we do when just waking up, thus the title "Awaken".

Rise

Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

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A couple of years ago I had painted a few small scale abstracted floral paintings, and always meant to explore that theme futher, but on a larger scale.  Finally got a chance to do that and this is the first of three that I completed along that theme.  

Mason Jar Trio

Oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

SOLD

My latest ball jar painting, with a Canadian Star!  I love the variety of mason jars that are out there and it's always fun to discover new ones at the antique markets.  

Redhead

"Redhead"  watercolor on paper, 8 x 8 inches

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This is the last watercolor from my 30 in 30 efforts of September, one which didn't quite make the deadline.  And while I didn't come anywhere near the goal, for me it morphed into focusing more on the challenge of seeing where I could go using the watercolor medium for the first time in about nine years.  I wondered how the work I had done in oils during the previous years would influence my watercolor style and technique.  I did start out wanting to be more abbreviated and loose in my style but in the end moved more towards attention to detail (I seem to love the details).  In this piece, I wanted to play up the strands of hair and highlights and see where that took me.  Also, I loved portraying all the subtle colours present in a head of red hair. So, I'm happy with what I did manage to get done in September, even if falling well short of the goal of 30 paintings.

Peony in Watercolor

"Peony", watercolour, 8 x 10 inches

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I’m still exploring watercolours during the month of September and decided to revisit a subject I painted in oils a couple of years ago (in a much larger format) just to see how I would handle it in watercolour.  It turned out very similar to the first one – I had intended to have more variations of the pinks into blues. I think it turned out okay, but I still have more experimenting and exploration to do …

Italian Vista

Watercolour on paper, 5 x 7 inches

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I’m continuing to challenge myself by working with watercolours after a 9-year absence from them, and adding in the further challenge of doing a landscape, of which I have probably done twice before in my artistic endeavours.   I find the greenery tricky to pull off, as well as resisting the urge to paint every little detail in the whole scene – which isn’t very practical on a 5 x 7 inch image!  

Ripe Heirloom

Watercolour on paper, 5 x 7 inches

This is my latest little watercolour for the month of September.  The subject is a beautiful heirloom tomato grown by my father-in-law, who was gracious enough to gift us with a few of them from their garden after my own first attempt at growing tomatoes yielded four very pathetic golf-ball sized pretenders! 

Sunny Starfish

Sunny Starfish, Watercolour, 5 x 7 inches

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Here is my latest little watercolour for the 30 in 30 challenge.  It took a lot of restraint for me to not go too deep “into the weeds” to try and bring out every detail – that is also part of what I am trying to challenge myself with this month.  I wanted to try and keep it fairly simple but still have enough interest to make it worth painting. 

Roman Face

Watercolour, 5 x 7 inches

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A little section of a larger sculpture that was photographed by my daughter and her boyfriend while on holidays in Rome last year. 

Green Abstract (Comfort)

Watercolour, (7 x 5 inches)

SOLD

I am continuing to explore my floral-inspired abstracts and this is the latest study that I completed.  I liked how it turned out so I may try it out in a larger scale oil painting in the weeks or months to come. For now, this little piece will be my latest (and overdue) installment for my 30 in 30, which is already downgraded to 27 in 30 – I got distracted by the long weekend! 

Beach Road

Watercolour on paper, (5 x 7 inches)

Not for Sale

The picture I used as a reference for this painting didn’t actually have water in it – there was a bend in the road and the view beyond was originally more greenery and trees.  I thought it needed something else, so it became a beach!  

And now for something (almost) completely different

"Beach Walk", watercolour, 4  5/8" x 6 5/8" (inches)

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For the month of September I will be participating in the “30 in 30 challenge” on Leslie Saeta’s blog.  So, in theory, I will be posting a painting every day both here on my blog and on the 30 in 30 Blog as well.  This is a challenge that Leslie has offered up twice a year for the last few years now, and I am finally attempting to take part!  I’m not promising that I will actually post a new painting every day, but I will challenge myself to at least paint a lot more frequently and hopefully get close to that goal.

 

But for the first time in over nine years, I will be doing some of that work using watercolours, just to change things up.  Still, some of the work you’ll see will be oils, but hopefully a lot will be watercolours like today’s painting  ...change is as good as a rest.

Mop Tops

Oil on 1/8 inch panel (8 x 8 inches)

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I love the hair on these guys and the wonderful red colour too!

Ewe There!

Oil on panel (10 x 8 inches)

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I love the way these two are hanging out like they’re posing for a family portrait.

Peonies in a Vase

Oil on 3/4 inch canvas (30 x 20 inches)

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My love affair with peonies continues, but I so wish they could stick around longer than just a couple of weeks, though I guess if they were here all summer, we might take them for granted.  I love the way they look and smell and since the time they have with us is so short every year, the next best thing is a painting of them ...

Fairlane Fans

Oil on 3/4 inch Canvas (24 x 18 inches)

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I love the look of the vintage Ford Fairlane and was lucky enough to grab a shot if this beauty in full sunlight.  My favourite part was the reflected images in the shiny chrome – what a beauty!

Circle of Shells

Oil on Panel (12 x 12 inches)

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I have been wanting to paint a shell picture again for a while and this set up gave me the opportunity to really focus on all the interesting bumps and colours on each of the shells.

Golden Flute

Oil on Canvas (10 x 12 inches)

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Once upon a time - many years ago, I played the flute … a little.  I took lessons for a couple of years and really enjoyed every minute of it, but as years went by the lessons and the flute were put away and sadly I barely remember any of what I learned back then. But I still have the flute and in recent weeks decided if I can’t play it anymore I can at least paint it. I loved capturing the reflected lights as well as all the interesting details. In reality the flute is actually a more common silver plate, but I decided to play around with the colours and painted it in gold tones to contrast nicely against the blue background.

Sunny Fruit Bowl II

Oil on 3/4 inch canvas (10 x 10 inches)

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This is a re-working of a painting I had done a while back - I always wondered if the background was a bit too dark for the overall composition. So I worked on the lights on the fruit as well as adding in some lighter green/blue into the background.  I feel like the changes allow the painting to live up to it's title - "Sunny" Fruit Bowl.

Sweet Clementine

Oil on gessoed panel (6 x 6 inches)

Just a simple little clementine – I’ve been wanting to paint one for a while!

Punch Buggy Yellow

Oil on panel (9 x 12 inches)

SOLD

There’s something about a beetle car that makes me want to paint it.  This one was basking in the sunshine at an antique car show and it caught my eye right away.  I think it’s all the curvy lines that makes it an interesting subject for me plus the nostalgia that they seem to radiate.

Roman Garb

oil on 3/4 inch canvas (12 x 24)

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This painting is based on a photograph taken by a friend of mine while on holiday in Italy.  I loved painting the folds of the “fabric” and all the light and shadows. 

Fiddle Fraction

Oil on Panel (8 x 8 inches)

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I think musical instruments not only make beautiful sounds but can also be beautiful pieces of art in and of themselves.  I noticed this violin at an antiques fair last summer and although it obviously wasn’t a prized Stradivarius or anything remotely similar, its shape, colour and potential all called to me in chorus.  I knew it would make a great subject.

Rose Teacup II

Oil on 3/4 inch canvas (10 x 10 inches)

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A new version of a painting I did a while back.  Though I was happy with the original, after some consideration, I felt that it needed an extra layer of highlights and some minor adjustments, so I finally went ahead and did that.  I’m really happy with the results, so sharing it here.

Stacked Stripe Teacups

Oil on Panel (10 x 8 inches)

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I love these striped cups and the way they reflect in the light.  Always a challenge to paint the gold that runs along the coloured stripes too!

One Winter Morning

Oil on 1 3/4 inch stretched Gallery Canvas (20 x 20 inches)

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This painting was based on a scene I woke up to during the first winter that we lived in our current house.  That winter was a particularly cold one, ushering in the phrase “polar vortex”.  Despite the bitterness of the temperature, everything seemed to come to life with the light pulsing through the naked trees and scattering itself into hundreds of glowing diamond pieces across the backyard.