Friday, April 20, 2012

Early Fall Harvest 30x30 Acrylic on canvas




Autumn was just beginning in Southern Alberta last year when I snapped this photo while out for a country drive. I think it was the positions of the hay bales and the flow of the landscape that caught my eye, because as you followed the hay bales, your eyes moved on up to the Foothills and the Mountain beyond. I remember at the time that I thought this scene would make a nice painting and I always meant to paint it eventually.

A few weeks ago, I began reading a particular book about landscape painting. I decided to try out the advice given in the book and decided to paint this scene from my photo.  The canvas is large and it took me 2 full days ( of course, with breaks in between ) to paint it. I think the finished painting looks better up close than what it may look like on computer monitors, because its very colorful and realistic looking. I also toned the canvas before starting as the book suggested, and allowed bits of color to shine through the painting, which adds the vitality to it. I hope you can see that.  All in all, I'm very pleased with the results and now I look forward to my next project and trying more of the techniques offered from the book.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

LEOTIE 22x28 Colored Pencils on Starcke Fine Grit Sand Paper



This is the second drawing that I did of a young Aboriginal girl, some years ago, while taking art classes.
With the exception of only a few people, this drawing has never been seen by anyone else that I know since then. I had her tucked away in a special box and put away on a shelf in the basement of my home all this time. When I found her again, I noticed some of the colors had faded and some parts of the drawing were unfinished.
I decided to revitalize and finish what I had started and now she looks beautiful again. Not knowing what to title this drawing, I researched Aboriginal female names and among many, I chose to call her "Leotie", which means, "Flower of the Prairie". A beautiful name fitting for a lovely girl and a fabulous drawing.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

French Pears, still life 10x12 Colored Pencils on Canson Mi-Tients Paper



Last Sunday at the studio, I brought along these two red pears to draw. I set them down on the table in front of me. I got excited to see how the work lamp above me was casting blueish shadows of the pears on to the work table. One pear was a little lighter than the other but they both took on a nice reddish brown tone from the lamp as well. I decided to do something a little different in that I only colored in the table on the bottom half of the drawing, preferring a white color, and leaving the top half of the paper untouched. The color of the paper is in a warm yellowish beige tone and it makes it look like a painted wall. Doing this cut my time considerably and allowed me to concentrate on the pears themselves. A good drawing tip I think..., by just letting the paper speak for itself.  Enjoy!