The View at Brown's Bay

"Brown's Bay" 9X12 alkyd oil on panel

This is one of my favourite views as you drive along the Thousand Islands Parkway between Brockville and Rockport, Ontario.  The parkway follows the North shore of the St. Lawrence River for about thirty miles from Brockville on the east to Gananoque on the west.  The river views are spectacular and there are many places that travellers can park their car and enjoy the view.  I grew up in a house right on the water near the village of Rockport and I never tire of looking at the mighty St. Lawrence River.

Brown's Bay is a broad, shallow bay with a sandy bottom that makes the water appear pastel blue on sunny days.  The very distant shore, beyond the headland in this painting is New York state, directly across the river.  For years I have planned on creating a painting of this spot and I finally got around to it last fall.  I like the way this small canvas panel turned out and I plan on creating a much larger work from it in the future.  There always seems to be an endless supply of subjects to paint but not enough time to paint them all.

Barn on Hunt Road

'Barn on Hunt Road'  7X9 inches  

It was late in the season, one day last summer, when I drove past this aging old bank barn on a side road a few miles northwest of Kingston, Ontario.  The missing boards, rusted metal roofing, along with the split rail fence really caught my eye.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to concentrate on a larger painting at that time, but I intended to return at a later date and spend more time.

I managed to get this small painting completed and then filed it away in the back of my mind to follow up in the weeks ahead.  The spot was really charming and I really wanted to make the most of it.  Finally, the day came when my objective for the day was to create a larger plein air painting of 'The Barn on Hunt Road'.  The weather was perfect that day, sunny and warm, with nice cloud formations starting to build but no dreaded winds to topple my french easle!  With great anticipation, I struck out for the location along the dirt road where I had found this wonderful subject.  Alas, to my dismay, when I arrived at the correct location, all was lost.  The beautiful, historic old barn had been bulldozed and the land was now scraped flat!  Another rustic scene had been changed forever.

Situations like this are one of the reasons I love to paint the landscapes around me.  I never know when they will cease to exist and could be lost forever.  If a painting or at least a photo is made then there is  a record of something that can never be recreated in just the same way again.  Fortunately, I did complete this small painting and I did take some photos that day, so maybe a larger work will one day sit on my studio easel!

Murvale Creek

'Murvale Creek' 9" X 12" oil on canvas panel  $300.00

'Murvale Creek' was the last plein air painting that I completed before the weather turned cold and the days became bleak this autumn.  It was almost the end of November at the time, so I can't complain too much!  The day was ideal for painting out-of-doors.  As you can see, the sky was nearly cloudless and there was hardly a breath of wind all day.  That is pretty rare here in November!  This is a lovely spot and one I am sure I will return to again to paint and enjoy nature.  I took a number of photos while I was there, so maybe I will create a few more works throughout the winter to record how much I enjoyed that day and that  place.

Today is January 2nd., the first 'back to work' day of the new year.  I hope to produce plenty of new art in 2013 and I will try to share my efforts here with all of you who take an interest in my work.  Please feel free to share your comments about any of the paintings that you see here or contact me directly for more information.  All the best in 2013!

I Remember When

The weather has been very nice here in Southern Ontario for the past month.  I have really enjoyed it but of course it took me away from the computer and my blog.  During that time I managed to get some plein air painting done.  I love to be outdoors on warm, sunny autumn days, and this year the opportunities to do so were terrific.  Hurricane Sandy was supposed to hit us pretty hard after it came ashore in New York and New Jersey, but fortunately for folks in Southern Ontario, it had pretty well blown itself out by the time it got here.  We sure felt bad for the shoreline residents of those US states who were devistated by the storm.  Many of them lost everything, including the land where their homes once sat.  It makes you realize just how lucky you are and that you should appreciate everything and everyone you have in your life.

I was also busy with my art exhibit in Kingston, Ontario during the month of October.  My opening at the beginning of the month was a great success, with a good turnout and lots of interest.  I sold a number of paintings and obtained a few commissions to keep me busy too.

I Remember When 12 X 16 Alkyd on panel  Sold

This is a plein air painting that I did a number of years ago.  The location is a very narrow country road in Eldon Township, well to the north and somewhat east of the city of Toronto, Ontario.  The land was still being worked, but the house and barns had been abandoned long ago.  Places like this are full of mystery and I always wonder what interesting stories they could tell of days gone by and lives lived before my time.

I sold this painting in my recent art show, so it has gone to a new owner and a new home.  I hope the new owner can find as much enjoyment in it as I did when I painted it on that now distant autumn day.

Autumn Colour

This is a wonderful time of year in southern Ontario.  The deciduous trees are transformed from faded green of late summer to a palette of reds, yellows, browns and gold.  Set against the deep green of red pine and spruce, colours 'pop' and the landscape takes on a new and awesome look.   With visual stimulation such as this,  landscape painting is the number one priority for me.  I love to get out on a warm sunny day in fall and either spend a few hours making quick oil sketches or just moving around, recording everything I can with my digital camera.  These images often result in larger works back in the studio.  When the cold winter winds blow heavy through rattling, frozen tree branches, creating a rich autumn landscape painting in a warm studio is high on my list of 'things to do'.

 "A Bend in the Road" available for sale at: http://tinyurl.com/9eey8zl

This little painting measures 6 X 8 inches.  It was done a little earlier in the season when the leaves were just starting to change.  I think if I eventually do this in a large painting, I might add a figure in the distance.  What would you do?

"Dry Marsh"  available for sale at: http://tinyurl.com/9z2uf92

This is another small painting I did this fall.  'Dry Marsh' measures 6 X 9 inches.  I like the depth of field in this one and the distant blue trees against the golden grasses of the marsh.  This type of landscape is common in this area.

On Stoney Batter Road Finished

At this stage I have blocked everything in and I can judge the final look of the painting.  If I am unhappy with how things are going, it is easy to make changes at this point.  If you have an area in a painting that you have spent a great deal of time on trying to make it 'just right', it can be heart breaking and difficult to bring yourself to make necessary changes.  It is usually better to leave 'finished work' until last!

It is nice to get to this stage and begin adding detail and subtilties to the painting.  I like alkyd because it dries quickly but not so quickly that you have difficulty blending one colour into another.  Working from back to front, I add more mist coming through the distant trees.  Next, a little more detail in the middle ground.  The last thing I do at this point is add colour and light on the birch tree in the foreground.

Now I turn my attention to the split-rail fence, adding colour and light to define the weathered surfaces.  The fence makes a great lead-in for the viewer's eye.  The composition is designed to stop the eye at the birch tree, move up the trunk and follow the limb near the top of the picture to the trees in the middle ground.  The gentle slope of the rough fields brings the viewer's eye back to the birch tree and weathered fence.

The final step involves adding a little more colour to the foliage of the trees in the middle ground, more definition to the leaves and branches of the birch tree, the fence and the foreground grasses.  The whole painting is completed in a little over an hour.

On Stoney Batter Road

This is start of one of my small works.  It is painted on a canvas panel that measures 6 inches high by 8 inches wide.  The round white buttons in the photos are push pins which I have used to secure this small canvas to a larger board that I have sitting on my easel.  The title of this piece is On Stoney Batter Road. I will use this oil sketch as a study for a larger painting that I plan to complete in the future.

In the first image I have primed my canvas with a mixture of gesso, cadmium red and burnt sienna acrylic paint to give me a warm ground that is not too dark.  It dries quickly and I can proceed with alkyd paint right away.  I use a combination of burnt sienna and black alkyd to lay in the rail fence and birch tree in the foreground, then the receding layers of forest behind.  I also start blocking in a basic sky colour.

I continue to block in the sky, allowing the warm background to show through.  Painting from back to front, I block in the hazy trees in the distance.  The trees in the middle ground come next, just quickly blocked in with more intense greens.  The conifer trees behind the foreground birch are suggested and a grassy shadow along the base of the fence completes my initial working plan.

The picture is progressing quickly as I block in golden colours made up of cadmium yellow deep, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, titanium white and olive green in the grassy areas throughout the painting.  I use olive green and sap green and titanium white to begin defining the trees in the background and middleground.

Hinterland Beach

$150.00      Hinterland Beach      12 X 16

I originally painted this plein air piece quite a few years ago.  Recently, I came across it in a stack of canvases leaning against the wall in my studio.   I have always liked the simplicity of the painting and it struck me that it really has a spiritual quality.   The serenity of the tree raising bare limbs to the wilderness sky and the light breaking on the calm waters suggest this theme to me.  Probably the colour that most often dominates in my paintings is blue and I have a great afinity for water.  This picture has it all!   I decided to touch it up a little and offer it for sale once more.  If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, go here.

I Saw the Light

I Saw the Light

Here it is, Day 2 and I have another small painting to post!  This one also measures 5 inches high by 7 inches wide.  It is painted in oil on canvas panel.  Painting at this size is not as easy as it may look.  You have to be spontaneous but accurate with your brush stokes on a support that is not much larger than your hand.  I am having fun though!

This painting is for sale by auction at Daily Paintworks.com.  If you would like to bid click here.

I love to paint pictures with water in them.  This spot is near my former home just south of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.  The sky was rather tepid so I decided to create some drama by painting a defined cloud base with a strong sunrise over the horizon.  I was pleased with the result.....did it work for you?  Post your comments, I would love to hear from you!

North Shore

North Shore  SOLD

This little painting represents a new direction for me.  It is very small, measuring 5 inches high by 7 inches wide.  I have become interested in the 'Daily Painting' movement that promotes painting a picture every day (or as close to that goal as possible).  It sounds rather daunting to me!  In the coming days I will post more of these small paintings as I create them, along with a few older pieces that fit the genre reasonably well.  You will find these paintings for sale  at Daily Paint Works.  I hope to add a new one every day or so and I hope you will check them out there and return often.  Please don't be shy, leave me a comment on what you think of this little painting and whether you think small daily paintings are a good idea.

Golden Lake

I want to stay with the autumn colours for a while longer. This is a great time of year in the northern hemisphere. A day like the one in this painting is something to be savoured against the cold, barren days to come.

This scene is typical of lake and river country throughout Southern and Central Ontario, Quebec, and the North Eastern United States. The reds and golds of hard and soft maple, white birch, oak, beech and ash trees contrast beautifully with the deep greens of white and red pine, spruce and cedar.

I wanted to play up the crystal blue sky and fluffy white clouds against the strong yellow and gold of the birch and maple trees in the foreground. This is echoed in the shoreline foliage in the middle ground and again in the hazy distant trees in the background. The composition is designed so that the trees in the foreground lead the viewer's eye into the picture to the pines on the opposite shore in the middle ground. These trees, in turn, guide the eye back into the upper foliage of the foreground trees and back around once more. The ripples and abstractions in the water reflections give the painting a feeling of life and movement.

The painting is done in acrylic paint on stretched canvas. It measures 16 inches high by 20 inches wide.

Geraldine

I decided to stick with the boating theme once more, but this time it is an autumn scene, in keeping with the change of seasons. I am always amazed by how quickly summer seems to end and autumn begins with cool nights, changing leaves and shorter days. It is one of the nicest times of the year to be on the water provided the sun is shining and the winds are calm.

The Geraldine is a restored steam yacht, that is now on permanent display at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York. At one time, boats like this were common on the St. Lawrence River. In the background is a 1000 Island landmark, St. Brendan's Church, at Rockport, Ontario.

I started this painting as a demonstration at an art show. The painting measures 16 inches by 20 inches high. It is painted in alkyd on canvas panel. Prints are available.