I am working on a commission for a dear friend and paddle partner. I have narrowed it down to two scenes from last Octobers canoe trip. I started with these value studies and would like to thank my very talented nephew
Jamie Christie for getting me thinking about using Prismacolor markers. These were fun to do and I will do more preliminary sketches with then in the future. I might even buy some coloured markers.
The top left image is one of Bob's photos and top right is my sketch done on location. AY Jackson painted the same scene from almost the same location but that is a story for another time. I painted the sketch while sitting on campsite 30 on OSA Lake and I suspect that Bob took his photograph from the same place. The bottom image is my value study for a painting.
This second option is the one that Bob wants me to do. Bob took the photo from the top of The Crack in Killarney Provincial Park. It is a long tough climb for a couple of old guys but oh what a vista. It is an incredibly high La Cloche peak with a relatively flat plain below it stretching to Georgian Bay. It will be tough to show that perspective but well worth a try.
The final image is our paddling crew on "The Crack" looking back towards OSA Lake and more La Cloche mountains. This great bunch of guys drag me along with them and all I have to do is paddle and paint. An outdoor artists dream deal.
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..
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.
Last post I introduced my latest commission and posted images of my value sketches. I am reposting the value sketch here. This scene is all about depth and to properly represent the huge expanse stretching to Georgian Bay I need to get the values, colours and shape sizes correct.
This was painted quickly and while it isn't one of my best paintings it captures young Max sitting on the stairs of the Doctor's house merrily working on a painting of his grandmother sitting on a bench and totally oblivious to the fact that it was only 3 F. I painted it in a rush because I didn't expect him to stay long but he managed three paintings outside over about an hour and a half. I was impressed because he, like us, worked with no gloves on and my hands were cold and stiff by the time I finished. I wish that I had taken a photo of his painting to show here.
It has been a very busy few months but my solo show consisting of thirty plein air paintings is now hanging in the Dundas Museum and Archives. I decided a little over a year ago that I needed to become proficient with acrylic paint so that I could use them while traveling and especially on canoe trips. I decided this show should be all acrylics and I had no idea how much stress it was going to be. The paintings were all propped up in our living room and depending on the light and my mood they looked fantastic or they looked terrible.
Having said that I am really excited about it now that it is up. The lighting in the gallery is far superior to our living room. All paintings were painted on location in places like OSA Lake in Killarney or the Tablelands in Newfoundland or Paudash Lake. The gallery is open to the public but be aware that there are often meetings in the room. I am really excited about the opening reception on April 14th from 1:30 to 3:30.