Dusk, North Sky, August 15



Acrylic and pencil on Whatman paper 10 x 13.75 inches, with the little on-site diagram used to make the work.....in the last bits of daylight the quality of air changes so quickly, the light changes noticeably almost minute-to-minute. Where I was standing on the highway, I could feel the coolness as the dew dropped. The horses were all in paddocks close to the house, keeping them safe for the night.

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Kestrel Place

 ....on my usual walk to this field with a distant view....some new companions. 2 kestrels sound their territorial alarm when I come within a short distance of this place. They have been dive bombing me regularly, sometimes coming quite close....I can hear the air of their wings as they pull out of the dive at the last second. Acrylic and pencil on matte board gessoed both sides, 8 x 8 inches.

Towards Lake Ontario

These last 2 small works were done on unprimed paper....that's what I started painting on many years ago, but almost everything lately has been done on primed paper. It felt good getting back to the 'raw' surface. Every little change in procedure is significant in the flow of the work.

Sheds in the Rain

June 26th

I was walking by the field adjacent to me....a place I don't often walk. It was evening and there was much mist in the air, and the foreground field was a yellow that didn't seem appropriate for this time of year....I don't know what the crop is. Just the relationship of the yellow, grey of the sky and dark of the trees (I wrote black on the diagram) created a sensation. I diagrammed it quickly. It was all blended more than this...intermingling with lots of thick air.

It helps to make these little diagrams. I never know how I will work....perhaps from a photo, perhaps from a more complete and complex sketch, or maybe from a chicken scratch like this....but only if the memory is strong enough to hold the image over a few hours or a night.

Larger Landscape Paintings

I was pleased to do these 2 larger paintings (22" x 30")....I don't always have that much time....more are likely coming this summer. As well, I plan on doing more oil paintings on panel this summer.

Another idea I've been playing with for a long while is buying an Epson printer and making 8" x 10" prints with archival inks and paper, giving people a chance to get the images even more cheaply. I still have to do some thinking about this but I like the idea....

Lost Dog Hill...Spring

I'm standing on the summit of a hill in the field next door. Just at the point in spring when some new green is ready to emerge...

Home Field

9" x 7" acrylic on gessoed heavy artist's paper. After doing the little magnet images, this felt large! Home field from the county road.

Prime

Today I am very rich in little panels. Tomorrow I might show you what a fridge door full of painted ones looks like.

I took a break (sort of) from making these today, and made a larger painting instead. But I still couldn't resist making 2 small ones after the bigger painting was done.

Some New Paintings

I've been working on 10 or 12 works that will be sent to the
Nahcotta Gallery tiny art group show in the new year. I won't be able to go, but I think it'll be fun to check out...send me a photo if you're there. I've always liked tiny art shows....little treasures all jammed together. I'll post the series here over the next few days. These are acrylic collage paintings on pine panels 7.25" x 6.5". These 2 show that dry, quiet November period...an odd time really...rather hard to live through, but quite beautiful in its way.

Young Aspens

On the daily route.....a young aspen grove....looking through into the deep valley below.

4" x 4" acrylic collage landscape, external paper size 5" x 5", listed on Etsy now.

Making a Painting...Final Stages.

I like working in the early afternoon....I turn the radio on to CBC talk...and settle in for an hour or two. The end stages of a work can be tricky....it's possible to do too much...or to quit too early.

A landmark hill very near me. Collage painting made from hand-painted papers in acrylic, 7.25" x 9.75", on single-ply archival matte board gessoed both sides.

Remembering July

Acrylic collage painting, on single-ply archival matte board, gessoed both sides, 8 x 9 inches.

Remembering the wild greens of early July last year.....looking south and east at the cedars that have grown so tall.

Methods

1) I used to prepare painting papers and paint directly in front of the motif while sitting in the car, or I'd spread a blanket and paint on the ground.

2) I still use the camera a lot and always have, but there are times when working from the photo just doesn't do it. The data might become too flat, too complex and convoluted, or it just might completely obscure the few essential elements that initially sparked interest in the motif.

3) The top photo is a memory painting and there are countless of those also. Most of the ideas come while I walk. Something seen makes an effect that lingers and the work is painted immediately upon returning home.

4) I'm forgetful and therefore I always have a sheet of typing paper folded up in 4 in my pocket, along with a pen.....I need that in my job to note down things that would otherwise be missed. Plenty of landscape impressions get recorded in this way as well....but they do not become paintings unless the painting session immediately follows....wait a day or even a few hours and the idea is cold. And sometimes on a walk, 4 such 2 minute drawings will be made, but perhaps only 2 become paintings.

Painted Collage Papers

The collection of painted papers is growing.....perhaps out of control. Even at school, every time the students leave all sorts of mixed acrylics that can't be put back, I'm feverishly spreading it all out on sheets of typing paper. Works great for collages....and I've recently started putting gesso on both sides of the heavy stock I use for the collage paintings.....the slight curve of the paper caused by gluing always annoyed me.

I have a longstanding fascination with collage....there seems so much potential in the colours arrived at accidentally, put to new purpose. It's like solving some sort of riddle. The little works in the background all start as collages.....3-10 shapes quickly cut and glued, and then some paint.

Field, Late June

From a special time, summer 2008.....my time was my own and the season was still young. In late June the field was at its richest green, in a very quiet, isolated area....hard to get to. Acrylic on gessoed paper....the paint is handled quickly and each work is completed within an hour or two. There is a reason the work is small....it needs to seem easy, almost accidental and insignificant...and related to play. If things get over-controlled the work is dead before the paint is dry. The small scale encourages surprises.

Spring Thaw, March 15, 2009

This series of landscapes has been continuing for years and over time, much has changed in terms of procedure. There are about 4 or 5 favourite methods that I juggle to keep the whole enterprise fresh. This picture measures 9.25 x 7.25 inches and is done on single ply, acid-free matte board gessoed on both sides to keep the surface nice and flat. Pieces of hand-painted acrylic papers are cut and torn, then glued into place....I have a box of about 1000 sheets by now....I don't know where I'm going to keep them all...the pile keeps growing. Direct acrylic painting is added in the last stages. New sheets of coloured paper are painted with whatever colour remains on my palette.

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