Artwork

Two weeks of summer vacation – much of it at Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National Park – gave me plenty of time for a watercolor sketch or two – or ten! Here are four to share with you.

Beach Brolley Bonanza

I love umbrellas at the beach – even though mine went airborn while I was working on this painting. Misfortune was narrowly averted. Rest assured no people or animals were injured in the creation of this image!

Pastel Pastiche

What to do after the morning juice, cereal and  journal?  Break out the paints and the sketchbook, of course.

Kapasiwin Beachfront

Rowboat, paddleboats, kayaks, canoes, tiki huts. Tiki huts? What’s with that? I thought the boreal forest was a palm free zone!

 

Beach Bush Beauty

When you’re at the beach, you spend most of your time oriented to the sun, gazing out over the water. There’s even more to discover,  if you turn the other way.

Lakes, rivers, trees, skies, spring – such inspiration for the artist’s eye and soul. 

The first – Along the South Saskatchewan – near Riverside Country Club. I’d really rather paint than golf!

The second – Birch Bay – on the northern shore of Waskesiu Lake in Saskatchewan’s boreal forest.

Both beautiful spots on two different warm spring days.

A few weeks ago, I posted to the blog a painting of the gondolas in the Grand Canal of Venice, inspired by a photo that I took from the vaporetto on the day of our arrival in the magic city.

If you’re interested in art, yourself, you might enjoy the backstory in the process of transforming the inspiration into a final product.

So, here are three images that tell the tale.

Firstly, the original photo snapped from the vaporetto as we floated our way towards our hotel.

Secondly, the pencil values sketch in black and white and shades of grey that I used to rough out a more edited composition and to work out the relative values of the darks and lights.

Thirdly, the final product – which of course contains a few surprises and diversions that unfolded as the paint went on the paper.

This will be the fourth year that I’ve contributed a painting to the Women’s Mid-Life Health Centre fund raising art auction. Dr. Vicki Holmes and her colleagues do a wonderful job of delivering mid-life women’s health services all year round; and the art auction committee delivers a lively annual event and an incredible selection of art.

This year’s auction is scheduled for Saturday, April 4th. If you’re in the Saskatoon area, be sure to check it out.

What you see here is a preview of my 2009 contribution: The Sun Seekers. It’s a bit of a departure from my usual style. Read on for the backstory to the painting…. (more…)

What better way to wile away a few hours on a cold Saskatchewan winter evening than by painting up a little main street Venice.

This painting: The Grand Canal – Waiting For The Gondoliers.

There’s nothing like a few hours spent with the paint brush recapturing the atmosphere of a Sweet September evening in Provencale France to spirit one away from the January snows of Saskatchewan.

As I recall, we strolled down Boulevard Marceau in St Remy de Provence past Espace Anikado just as the sun was dropping to the horizon. There was plenty of time to soak up the sites as we were really going nowhere in particular – just putting in time before the hour of our dinner reservation rolled around.

The Europeans eat later in the evening than we do here on the Canadian prairies. Perhaps it’s for just this reason – to give themselves the space of grace to relax and stroll the street, window shopping and people watching, in anticipation of a leisurely hour or two at table.

As I write this, I see the weather forecast for tomorrow in St Remy is sunny and 10 degrees Celsius. Perfect conditions for a stroll before dinner. Hmmm… certainly gives one pause.

We visited the famous Guggenheim Gallery while in Venice. After viewing half of the exhibition, we parked ourselves on the outdoor terrace that fronts onto the Grand Canal for a bit of a rest.

I pulled out my sketchbook and my paints and put together this little vignette of the scene across the water.

Since the paint was stilll damp, I carried my open sketchbook in hand while we toured the remainder of the gallery. Do you suppose that qualifies as my first international art exhibition?

Nah, I didn’t think so!

I got up to watch the sunrise three days in a row at our country hotel in the Tuscan hills. The last day I couldn’t resist making the time to paint the place as it appeared in the warm morning sun.

And this is Podere Salicotto near Buonconvento, IT. A fabulous place of wonderful views in an unbelievable ‘top of the world setting’ graced with the superb hospitality of Silvia and Paolo.

You can see more of this fabulous place at: http://www.poderesalicotto.com/

We spent five days staying at Mas St Antoine near Avignon in southern France. It’s a wonderfully peaceful spot – well located for seeing the sites of the region – hosted and managed by Kerrin and Keryn a very hospitable Kiwi couple from New Zealand. You can learn more about the Mas at http://www.massaintantoine.com/

Here are a couple of images from our stay. (more…)

This climbing clematis caught my eye on return from a morning walk.

The sketchbook and paints called. I answered.