a wonderful bird...

...is the pelican...
its beak can hold more than its belly can....
(a quote from Ogden Nash, I think...)

And they are wonderful birds - they look so primitive and ungainly, but in the air their flight is so beautiful to watch.

A stormy damp purple day and a group of these amazing birds taking flight...

Purple Rain

Acrylic and mixed media on mounted paper

20 x 28 in; 50 x 71 cm

Another Coastal Image

The reflections along the coastline as we explored Kyoquat Sound last September gave me so many ideas to bring back to the studio. This is another interpretation of the "green wall" along the shore - and the beautiful broken reflection patterns which are so fun to paint!

Tideline III
60 x 24 in.
oil on canvas

New Work in Oil

Tideline II, Kyuquot Sound, BC - 24 x 60 inches - oil on canvas

I brought home lots of inspiration from our paddling trip to Kyuquot Sound, on the NW side of Vancouver Island, this summer. This is not plein aire - it is 60 inches wide! - but I can see how my plein aire work is paying off in the studio work. I really enjoyed the bright greens hovering over the water. The vegetation is cut off by the salt water at the high tide line, and at low tide you can poke around right under it in your kayak.

Invitation to an Art Show

I will have a number of these paintings for sale at the Leighton Centre on November 7 - 10 am to 4 pm.... for more information check their web site at leightoncentre.org...
Hope you can make it to this event!!!

Some final posts for October....

Rundle is one of the most painted mountains around... but this stormy day offered some unique lighting for a sketch

Yet more fall colour....

Here is another 8 x 10 "sketch"...
And the 11 x 14 painting from that sketch....

More Fall Colour

I thought it might be interesting to see how the small plein aire "sketches" evolve in the studio... so this entry is on that topic - taking an 8 x 10 "sketch"...
...to an 11 x 14 painting - not much bigger, but a very different context, in the studio..

Aspen in fancy dress

Fall in the foothills - eye candy everywhere!!!

Painting Week on Gabriola Island

Many of the waterfronts around Gabriola are sculpted from a lovely reddish rock. At low tide, the shore is a great place to explore for interesting forms and reflected colours.

Painting Week on Gabriola Island

There are gorgeous old apple trees on many of the small farms around Gabriola Island. Clearer weather and more light - I was able to get more insense with my colours...

Painting Week on Gabriola Island

The weather on Gabriola cleared a bit more every day, and I was able to get some more distant views from the higher points on the island.

Painting Week on Gabriola Island

I am just back from a week of painting on Gabriola Island, BC (off of the west coast of Canada). The week started a bit rainy and misty - which meant working under my umbrella and using softer colours. This is an early morning view to the southeast.

West of Calgary

Brushy Ridge

8 x 10 on panel

OK - It's not in the mountains... but I don't get up there all the time... This was a pond I passed while out taking photos for some writing work I am doing - a nice spot for a quick sketch in paint. Brushy Ridge runs north from Highway One toward Cochrane.

August hike in the Canadian Rockies

Molar Meadows
5 x 7 on panel

My first blog entry!!! I am hoping to use this space to share my plein aire work, and the resulting images from places that are special to me. This 5 x 7 acrylic is from a lovely day up the Icefields Parkway west of Banff - toward South Molar Pass. Lots of late summer flowers - asters, paintbrush, etc. It's a nice memory from a gorgeous day to get this blog rolling!!!