In Order - oil on canvas - 60″ x 36″
Lately we’ve had a lot of beautiful sky days. I get revved looking at the expanses of them, so that’s what’s inspired this…and also that giant canvas hanging about the studio which I had put a raw sienna ground on a few weeks ago, was barking at me!! i did really enjoy painting this…we’ve been doing a bit of bicycle riding in the countryside and enjoying the landscape as it whizzes past…painting it felt like an extension of that.

here’s a picture of 2 of the 4 paintings I’m working on at the moment. Am taking my time and seeing what comes…i’m thinking of pattern and shapes as i’m working on these ones.

Yep that’s me on my new bike!! I am having lots of fun trying out the bike trails not far from our house…I got my new bike on Saturday…so when I’m not in the studio or the garden guess where I am?? ha ha! wheeeeeee!!!!

Spring Run-Off - oil on canvas - 30″x40″
Today Lisa from Gallery Artplus called to say that they had sold my painting ‘Spring Run-Off’ from the gallery today. yay! That was good news to contemplate while in the studio this afternoon…I’m working on about 4 new paintings at the same time… I felt the urge to paint the sheep that I pass by each day while driving to work…so have been working away on that. I find it very calming to paint these rural subjects, I like that.

Susie’s House - watercolour - 30″ x 18″
Click on the thumbnail if you want to see a larger view. My friend Susie wanted me to paint a watercolour of her house. It’s a grand house in the old English style, and has beautiful gardens all around it and a pool in the back too. The kitchen is spectacular, and Susie is an amazing cook…she invited me for dinner a few weeks ago and we had 3 different desserts, all home-made! I finished the painting yesterday, but then decided it needed some flowers in the front garden, so added them today. I think it’s done now.

Here’s a picture of the little painting I bought from a fellow blogger Rob Ijbema(see my blogroll at bottom of page). He had painted this little bluebell wood near his home, which he had posted on his blog…I really loved it as it triggered an emotional response in me due to the fact my mother loved & missed the bluebells when she immigrated to Canada. I’ve just finished framing it and now have it hanging in a window across from a photo of me mum. awwww, i know a little sappy, but I’m very happy with it. bigger picture below.

Through the Landscape - oil on canvas - 30″ x 26″
A humble rural Ontario pastoral view. It’s not screaming a message or anything.

Sunny Cliff - oil on canvas - 24″ x 28″
Recently artist & friend SN come to stay a few nights, and always enjoy her company. She is primarily working in fibre, and is excited about a different direction she is heading with her work… showing me many of her current works in progress. These new works take cue’s from her interests in the textures of old delapitated architechture, and her love of the natural world. subtle and layered, they are a joyful sidestep for her from the work which she has become so well known for over the years. we were talking about the solid and solitary time needed to develop new concepts and methods which can lead to exciting leaps in an artists growth. it requires up to a month or more of a period of ‘play’ with no expectations of outcome to discover the possibilities. It allows us a chance to get to know ourselves more deeply in the process.
hey guess what i made a new rule for myself. NO COMPUTER time between the hours of 9am - 5pm daily. It is like a holiday without it on. really.

the summer humidity has arrived…it makes it feel like summer holidays, even though technically it’s still spring. A quiet day in the studio today allowed me time to give some thought to the landscapes in oil that I’ve been working on intermitantly… i had some new ideas to take them a little further, so dived in and had a jolly good time while i was at it. Also spent 2 hours experimenting with watercolours on 2 floral paintings, which although didn’t produce a satisfying result was refreshing to have a go with.

Mid day - oil on canvas - 28″ x 24″

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