It was Hot

I am not sure what the temperature reached yesterday but it was above 30C.  That is way too hot for May especially considering how cool it has been the last while.  I stood in the heat fighting with acrylic paint that was drying incredibly quickly and tried to focus on what I was doing.  I was in a lets just get this done mood and maybe that was a good thing.  I have tried painting the Mcquesten bridge many times and failed miserably every one.  Only time will tell but I kind of like this painting. 

This just proves that I do my best outdoor paintings when I don't overthink the process.  I just block in the shapes and let the painting tell me what it wants. 

Made in Dundas

The annual Made in Dundas festival at the Dundas Museum and Archives has tons of activities for kids.  Everything from a petting zoo to crafts, puppet show, face painting, fire truck and much more.  It was very hot and very busy with parents chasing their children from activity to activity.  Deb Carson and I were right in the thick of it merrily painting away.  The idea was that we would promote our exhibition inside however all the adults were too busy with the activities to chat with us for more than a moment or two. 


This second painting was an experiment.  I had this painting of Moon Bay that I kind of liked but the sky was too blotchy and the water wasn't quite right.  Catherine Gibbon suggested that the water could be darker so I decided to glaze over the water to darken it and the sky to smooth it out and lighten it a little.  I am now really happy with this painting.  I am going back to play with more of my disasters to see if I can work some more magic..

Time to Breathe

Four exhibitions and a torn medial collateral ligament and torn meniscus and it has been a bit crazy for me.  The last of the shows is hung and my knee is improving, albeit very slowly, so I have some time to regroup.  I have been very happy with my painting the last couple of weeks.  Not much worth posting but I am getting excited about were I am headed.  More colour and more contrast makes for much more fun and satisfaction.There are a couple of issues with this painting but none that I can't live with. 

This painting was done in Courtcliff Park.  I painted three paintings Tuesday night and I learned a lot from each of them even though two were pretty bad.  This one is 11" X 14" and was painted in about 30 minutes because the sun was getting ready to set behind me.  I love the wonderful warm colours in the late evening.


I think that this is one of my best acrylic paintings and that excites me.