Fiery Skys, NFS- Gift

10" x 10" Acrylic on wood

This painting was a gift to my parents.  I love this one- I am glad they have it.  The subtle tones and textures of the trees in the background and the were quite tricky to achieve but I think I got it.  I love the simplicity of this piece.

Blustery day at the barn, SOLD

12" x 12", Acrylic on canvas

Stone Heron Gallery

Shady hot day at the cottage SOLD

6" x 12", Mixed medial  (acrylic, paper towel, tin foil, water colour paper) on canvas

Stone Heron Gallery

 This is an abstracted nature piece similar to one I have posted previously and completed around the same time.  It is the view from my cottage looking out over the water.  I find mixed medial fun to do and the textures are quite rewarding.

Little Yellow, NFS- Private Collection

12" x 12", Acrylic on canvas

This piece I adore. I have kept it for myself as a reminder of my trip to Paris.  I loved all of the different little European cars.  The driving was crazy and traffic circles were mesmerizing.  This the photograph that lead to this piece was of a traffic circle in Paris.  It is all about the little yellow car!  I actually made this piece while I was teaching two of my friends (who have come from Paris to Canada two years ago-entirely unrelated to my trip!) how to paint an acrylic painting.  We painted along site of each other   All the french energy in the room created a bit of magic in this piece! 

Reflections of Paris SOLD

2' x 3', Acrylic on canvas

Stone Heron Gallery

The photograph that lead to this piece was actually a mistake that lead to an amazing series of cars years later.  This painting was completed at the end of 2010.  When I was in grade ten, I did an exchange to Paris, France.  I was obsessed with all of the little European cars so I was constantly taking pictures of them.  The photograph that lead to this painting was taken from a bus.  It is a roof of a beetle with a reflection of the bus I was on in the window and the cityscape in the roof.  I love it.  I actually panted this exact picture in grade ten and gave it to may father as a gift. In 2010 and 2011 I came upon this picture again and like it so much I decided to give it another try.  This photograph lead me to go out in the city and seek reflections in cars.  It is really quite neat how ideas propagate really!  This style is very realistic compared to my paintings currently.  I like the results but it is pretty excruciating to paint like this! 

Reflections of Law

20" x 24", Acrylic on canvas, 

SOLD, Stone Heron Gallery 2013

This was a really neat set of paintings.  I took pictures of cars in Kingston.  The photographs were close enough so that reflected landscapes were abstracted, but far enough away so that you could tell the subject matter was a car.  I did a series of 4 or 5 paintings.  I have photographed two of them and intend to photograph and post all of them at some point.     

Barn on Wolfe Island at dawn, SOLD

12" x 14", Acrylic on canvas

Stone Heron Gallery

This is a painting completed in 2010.  It is so interesting to look back on my old painting style.  I remember getting up at the crack of dawn to take a set of pictures in the golden hour- this painting is from one of them.   

Wolfe Island at dusk.  NFS- Gift

12" x 12", Acrylic on canvas

 Very loose impressionistic depiction of the skyline. This in an older painting completed in 2010.   

Cluckey Cluster, SOLD

12" x 12", Acrylic on canvas

Stone Heron Gallery summer exhibition. 

Chickens!  I loved the lighting in this one.  It is a much earlier painting completed in 2010 and really neat to look back and see how my style has developed and changed. 

Dappled Light, SOLD

12" x 12", Acrylic on canvas

Stone Heron Gallery

This piece is an impressionistic depiction of a small house beside a road on Amherst island.  I have always loved patterns in nature, dappled light is one patter that I could look at for hours!  Instead of the sidewalk being grey, instead I see purples, blues, yellows, and reds.  The shapes and patters and  irregular shapes captivate me.

Lawrence the lounger, NFS- Gift

2' x 2.5', pensil crayon on paper

This is an older image completed in 2010.This is an image of my former partner holding up one of our new chicks! This is very different from my current impressionistic style. NFS- Gift to his mother.     

Dunc the sun, NFS - Gift

2' x 3', Acrylic, jean and fabric on canvas

This piece is a is depiction of my brother sitting in the late sun on Amherst Island enjoying a beer. The jeans are actually made from real jean. He is very into clothing/ the underground hip hop scene so I wanted to capture his outfit! NFS-Gift to my brother.  

Fire At Dusk, NFS- Gift to my family

18" x 24", Acrylic on Canvas

This piece was invigorating to paint.  It took about 10 minutes.  That was the point.  Imperfection, sloppiness movement emotion, mood.   I feel great about this one and am in love with the glow.  This was an earlier painting from 2010. 

Back Yard Tomatoes, NFS, Private Collection

18" x 24", Acrylic on canvas

This is the first painting I completed when I was getting into Acrylics 3 years ago.   

New, NFS

10" x 12", Pensil crayon on paper

Private Collection

The next few posts are older pics that I have found and wanted to add.  This piece is a pencil crayon  on paper drawing of one of my former colleauge's daughters.  8in by 12in. Definitely a different style than I have now- for a while I was obsessed with getting every little detail correct.  I have definitely losened up! NFS

Hens in the Hutch

12" x 12", Acrylic on canvas, for sale

I am in love with this one!  I actually tried something completely different with my under painting for this piece.  I painted fluorescent yellows and greens and some purple in the background.  I didn't exactly like the look of the under painting at first so I did not have much invested in this painting when I began.  I did quick rapid strokes and before I knew it, this painting just came alive in front of my eyes.  I like the different fluorescent colours and I will definitely try more paintings  like this.    

Night fire

12" x 14", Acrylic on canvas, SOLD

Acrylic on canvas 10in by 12in.  FOR SALE $ 120 CAD.  I painted this piece over the Christmas holidays which was a bit of a change in pace from the barnlife theme.  I am drawn to painting fires because of the abstracted shapes and rich warm colours.  I am interested in trying to capture the glow- quite challenging for me.  I think I managed to capture this fire quite well. There is actually no black paint in this painting at all.  The dark colours are are actually a mix of Ultramarine blue and Van Dyke brown.  I do not use black very often in my paintings.  I find that the black is actually more dull than the dark colours I can make.  It also tends to muddy and dull the other colours. 

Scratchy Stretch, SOLD

12" x 12", Acrylic on canvas

Private sale

This is a painting I completed over the Christmas holidays.  I love the composure and the character of these cows; makes me giggle.  They were pretty curious about me being up close and personal with them when I took the photograph for this piece.  Cows are hard to photograph because you have to get them interested in what you are doing so they come over and check you out.  I surprisingly, have had a lot of success with this- I just  kneel down and hang out for a while.  Sometimes I feel like I am the cow whisperer!

Investigative, NFS Gift

12" x 12", Acrylic on  canvas

This is one of my most recent paintings of cattle on Wolfe Island completed over teh Christmas holidays.  Subtle tones and prominent brushstrokes worked well in this one. The colouring of the cow on the left made him look a bit like a clown!

Big Baby Blue, NFS- Gift

12" x 12", Acrylic on Canvas

I am in love with the composition, colours, and the quaint and personal touch of the pitch fork on the tractor. This makes me think that this tractor is a worker and has just finished a day's work in the field. The photograph was taken on a road trip I did with my Gran around Amherst Island. 

Holstein Happiness, SOLD

12" x 18", Acrylic on canvas

Stone Heron Gallery

This painting was a pleasure to paint (the first of 3 similar paintings I have done from the same photograph).  It was the most flattering sell I have ever had!  Kim Woodman purchased this within hours of the Stone Heron Gallery opening for the summer.  Kim Woodman is a renowned artist who's paintings are in many galleries in TO and beyond.  I actually walked into a gallery in TO with my siblings and by chance saw her paintings hanging along with paintings from the Group of Seven, Canadian First Nations artist Norval Morrisseau and other inspiring artists. My sister and I were visiting my brother and we just happened to pass by this gallery and it caught our eyes.  My sister saw her favourite artist (Morrisseau)  and I  saw two of mine! We had to go in.  What are the chances!  We were all on an absolute high! Anyway, Kim has given me many kind words about my artwork which means the world to coming from an artist I love with over 30 years of professional experience.  So there you have it- I am proud of this one :)

Bike on Baggot Street, Kingston, ON. NFS- Gift

18" x 18", Acrylic on canvas

Cotton Ball Bails, NFS- Gift

10" x 10", Acrylic on wood

This is a painting that I completed initially based on a photo I took on Wolfe Island, but I abandoned it really early on in the painting. This was painted on a wood canvas.  It was the first time that I had ever tried this and I didn't Gesso it- rookie mistake! The paint soaked right though it so I had to do many layers.  I actually hated it at first so I put it in my fire pit outside for burning.  Months later however, I was at my neighbour's house and noticed that she had rescued it from going into the fire.  She held it out and said - finish this! I love it!  I did and I gave it to them for Christmas last year.  It now proudly sits in their house.  Funny how things work out sometimes.  I actually have to thank my neighbour a lot - she was the one who initially encouraged me to put my paintings in the Stone Heron gallery! Thank you a million times!

Late Day Graze

Acrylic on Canvas, 20" x 20", SOLD

Cows from Amherst Island.  I really like how scratchy and sloppy the under painting is on this one and how it peaks through.  I really enjoy the lighting, composition, and use of paint in this one. I also like the simplicity of the detail and brush strokes. 

T  & C's Massey 156

Acrylic on canvas 12" x 12" SOLD

The picture for this painting was taken on Wolfe Island on the same farm from which I painted the Black Angus cattle.  This is a Massey Ferguson 156 with a sickle mower on the front used for cutting hay.  This is a vintage tractor that T & C took out of the barn so that I could photograph it.  It was really fun to paint.