Summertime recap

September is upon us already!
Whew, the summer just zoomed by.
The summer holds so many tempting and irresistible distractions, doesn't it?
I'm back to Blogging and painting, not necessarily in that order!
I'm going to attempt, once again, to upload some of the paintings I completed since June. (hooray, it worked....I was worried) Did you know that if you click on a painting you will see it larger than life? You probably did but I just discovered that trick. hmmmmm.

This first painting was completed on June 21st, the longest day of the year. We (Alberta Oil Painters) met at Elk Island National Park for a summersolsticepaintoutandpicnic but were blown away, literally, by the arrival of the storm which is brewing so beautifully in this painting.


Summer Solstice Storm 2009
8x10 Oil on Board

Bob's Boat 1
8x10 Oil on Board















This is somebody's boat,
maybe not Bob's!
It's beside Bob's Point so I just assumed.
I'm pleased with the boat and reflection in this painting...it was a beautiful still evening and the sun was setting behind the trees. All the ragwort blooms were facing away from me and toward the last rays of the sun.


Bob's Boat 2
8x10 Oil on Board












This painting was in the same spot a week later but at 9:00 am. Note the yellow ragwort facing the sun...the extremely hot sun which was burning my back as I painted! The day was windy and the water a bit choppy at times...interesting change from painting on a still evening.

Blissfully few bugs again! What a great summer!

Finally I'll share with you a portrait I was privileged to be commissioned to paint. George and Elizabeth are a couple my husband and I have had the pleasure of knowing and working alongside for the past few years at a local drop-in center.

George and Elizabeth
11x14 Oil on Canvas

It has been awhile since you've seen anything from me!
My computer was sick and visited the computer hospital. When it came back, it seemed okay. Unfortunately, things aren't always what they seem! I can send a text message but I can't download any photos. It's sooo frustrating; I have so many paintings to show you!
Please be patient while I get this glitch fixed...Thank you!
I'll notify everyone by e-mail when it's up and running.
Enjoy these summer days! I'll be out painting as often as possible...look for me!

Still life

Pears with a Red Pot, 8x10, Oil on Board



This is a quick still life I did at my friend and painter-pal Tracey Mardon's house. We try to get together once a week. I found this interesting red pot (with a gerbera) and some pears in Tracey's
kitchen and, voila!

















This is a close up of the end of the pear on the left. Thought it might be of interest to see the brush strokes in detail.

Beaver Pond at McTaggart

Beaver Pond 5x7 oil on canvas
Soon you will recognize this little corner of my world...

Saturday we had quite a few passers-by including a group of "lost" hikers and a jogger jogging in circles. A bit distracting! It was undoubtedly the warm weather and the threat of snow for Sunday that brought us all out.

I've been trying to use fewer strokes and more color. This little painting is a good example of what I mean. (The color may have been enhanced; I was wearing my rose colored glasses!)

The Clay Paths

Saturday found me back at the beaver dam.

I set up under some huge spruce trees; my seat was a stump the beavers left. This painting looks at the two paths coming off the beaver dam and around the corner.

The sun was so bright that the clay looks almost white. The dogwood were red, there was a little bit of green grass along the edges of the path and the little spruce trees were finally fully green. All day the sun played hide and seek in the clouds and the wind chased the clouds across the sky. It was a real coat-on-coat-off kind of day! And still no mosquitoes. Beautiful!

Clay Paths, 8x10, Oil on panel

April's Flowers

April in Alberta. What could be browner? And you know how I feel about brown!! Isn't April supposed to feel hopeful? No snow, long days, almost warm weather, bright blue skies and yet...it's gray and gritty. In the Woodbend natural area in April, all I found to paint was the field you saw several blogs back. Then I looked through the photos I took that day hoping I'd find something a little more inspiring!

It took some hunting but I managed to find some colour, these pretty pussywillows. Each one that was in full bloom looked like a miniature flower bed.

This is the paintng I am donating to "The Cause"- to keep the Woodbend natural area from being turned into a gravel pit.

I call this April's Flowers, 5x12, Oil on canvas

Riches!

Some days there is too much to paint!

I was introduced to a little piece of heaven yesterday by a new painting buddy, Terry. I couldn't understand why he was so excited about showing us this particular spot. Now I know. There wasn't a direction you could turn without there being a subject for a sweet painting. It was beautiful!

It was also mindboggling.


How to edit any part of that scenery onto my itty bitty canvas was going to prove to be a challenge. I finally focused on the biggest tree at the end of the beaver pond on which we were standing (we actually were on a very old dam that is about 15 feet wide and thirty feet long). In order to fit this view onto my canvas I had to eliminate several spruce, a lot of beaver-cut logs, some bushes, a muskrat, two ducks, a Canada goose, a raven, four beavers and, uh oh, three mosquitoes. What I'm trying to tell you is, there were a lot of distractions!







Old Man, 5x7, oil on canvas