Low Light Painting

I am taking Catherine Gibbon's Low Light Outdoor Landscape class again for inspiration.  This is a good class for me because it gets me out painting in the evenings when the light is warm and the shadows long. It is also challenging because the light is changing so very fast.

Tuesday was a chilly and very dull grey early spring evening so there were no shadows and very little colour. I didn't want a dull grey painting so I decided to work with a limited palette based on two complimentary colours a red violet and a yellow. This painting is 11" X 14".

This second painting is the same location but using a different but still limited palette. This one is 9" X 12". I think that I managed to get the feel of the evening with both of these and the limited palettes made it much more relaxing and fun.

I am excited about painting again and even got up early enough to pack up my watercolours and head to Burlington for the sketch group yesterday morning.  I was glad that I did because Vivian is always a joy to paint.  It is fun to be using my watercolours again.

Feeling Good Again

I have been very busy of late and am playing catch up again.  This was painted Monday at the top of King Road in Burlington. The location has a fantastic view looking off the top of the escarpment over Burlington to Burlington Bay and beyond.  Others were jockeying for positions where they could look out with no trees in the way however I elected to back up about thirty feet from the cliff face so that there were trees in the foreground.  I had fun painting this and am excited.  Not perfect but much better than most of late so I am a very happy artist.

I should add that the diagonal line across the water is actually the Skyway bridge.  It should be lighter and bluer but I missed that.  Oh well.

I Think I'm Back

It has been really easy to let ballroom dancing, gardening and even painting the inside of the house from top to bottom replace my art.   I have been avoiding painting because I have been working the same way over and over but somehow hoping for a better result.  I was getting very frustrated and finally gave up.


Last night in the first class of Catherine Gibbon's low light landscape course I decided to go back to basics and the more intense colour that I love so much.  I also decided there would be no fiddling.  As the strokes went down they would stay untouched.  I didn't end up with even a close to perfect painting but I am really excited about this because it was for the most part fun.

I can't wait to paint again.