Flagstop Gallery Show Opens June 20th

"ROMANCE"

18x24

1300.00

Flagstop Gallery at the Corner of Glover and Mavis

The Old CN Station

Open Weekends 12-4

Art Institute of Borrego, California

These three pieces will be hung

in the Borrego Art Institute in Borrego Springs, California Jan 1-23, 2009

"THREE AMIGOS"

9x12

$350

"THE VIGNETTE"

16x20

$800

"APPLES ETC"

18x24

$1300

Tulips are a sign that summer is around the corner!

And another desert scene!

I have done just a few paintings since I have been here and this is another of the Anza BorregoDesert.



And painting under the awning of my RV, I finished this still life that I started in a group painting session in Borrego

Painting in the Anza Borrego Desert

I have met a group of artists down here in Borrego Springs and started this yesterday with that group and finished it today. The Ocotillo Cactus is abundant here and are very green right now from the rain we had in December for 2 days. They do get red tips once a year, here is a link to see what they look like up close http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/desertecology/ocotillo.htm

I Was the Demo Artist in the Langley Library Yesterday!

Yesterday I painted in the Library from 2 to 5 (they were closing or I would still be there, I cannot stop once I get into it!). They feature an artist once a month on Fridays and it drew a group of lovely people that were so enjoyable I would rather have been talking with them than painting actually!

I took this painting in with most of it done except the mug and the final touches on what I had started already.
I could not sleep last night thinking about a few things that I wanted to work on, so I got up and worked until ? (no idea as I did not want to know!!). But I am glad I did as it came together and I could sleep!

I will leave it like this for now and look at it again in a few days to see if I want to "fix" anything!

The subject flowers are from the Hydrangea trees we just planted and are the branches that broke in transport in our trunk. The lemon was a Margherita survivor!

Desertscape, warming up for painting in Borrego!

Borrego does not have this type of cactus, it is famous for the Ocotillo but I will paint those when I get there!

SKYTRAIN COMMUTING

I am very pleased to announce that "The Commuter" is now hanging in the office of Amber Ogilvie, publisher and CEO of 24, the Vancouver daily paper, that so held the attention of my subject on her commute.


On a trip to Vancouver I took my camera on the Skytrain and snapped photos of the commuters. They did not seem to notice or mind, they may have thought that I was taking the scenes out the window.

The Dancer

I am now in "The Figure" mode and am really enjoying the challenge of getting the proportions correct, not as easy as a piece of fruit or tree I must say! I am not certain that this will not get a few more layers of pastel as I see a few things I would like to change but this is pretty much close to being finished.

18" x 24" before framing

The Figure

Influenced by a workshop with Margaret Dyer, a pastellist whose work I have always admired. I have done a series of The Figure. Nine are started and these are completed.

DESERT SERIES

I am just beginning a Desert Series from photos that I took in the Anza Borrego Desert this past winter and from other desert photos that others have kindly shared. This Adobe house is in Borrego Springs, I took this photo while cycling around town one day.






And this next one is a likeness to the beauty of Font's Point in Anza Borrego

Comments most welcome!

THE 'WINGS' SHOW

I took a photo in Borrego Springs in a Arbour that belonged to Dan the bike man, he was fixing my bike gears that got twisted on the trip down. His arbour had several hummingbird feeders hanging from the beams and I took a few photos while I was waiting for my bike!

UNDER THE ARBOUR

"WINGS" ART SHOW Everyone Welcome!

The Fort Langley Artists Group is having its opening show on May 10th at the Flagstop Gallery, the heritage CN Station at the corner of Glover & Mavis in Fort Langley. The theme is "WINGS".

LADY IN RED

So this is one of my entries. I hope that little ladybug is clear in this photo!

I am painting two more for this show and I hope everyone can come see the show on the 10th or anytime after!!

The Gallery is open weekends and the town of Fort Langley is fantastic. There is the new Martini Bar, what is not to like there! And there is a new "50's" diner that is calling my name! So many quaint shops and eateries to check out there!

UPDATE APRIL 12TH

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Here is the second entry. The photo that I used is from an artist's resource library, it was a photo of a bottle of wine and bread on this ledge and on which ledge I substituted my "WINGS", the pigeon! I think I much prefer Luigi the pigeon on this ledge to the wine bottle and bread! Should I have called it Luigi! I am open to a better name, email me any ideas! Cheers!

Winthrop's River in the Fall

I shot a photo of leaves in the Methow River while we were camping in October at the KOA in Winthrop. I began to paint it when we returned and this is what it looks like now, I never know when it is finished. I usually stay away from it for 2 days and then when I see it again it either looks done or something jumps at me on the spot!

About Winthrop, the last stop on our month in a motorhome.

We had intended to stay in Winthrop for one or two nights but the area, apart from the touristy town, was breathtaking. Miles of trails to walk, cycle or if in winter, cross country ski. The trails followed the river and the colours of this October can only be described as amazing. We also just loved the little one store/cafe which was the town of Mazama, it could be walked to on the trails or driven to. It was like corner gas and I took many photos inside that I hope will be a neat painting when I get to it.

We stayed nearly a week, we left only because it began to freeze at night.

I would stay there for all of October anytime to see those colours again!!

Eastern Washington was a fantastic state to tour and our month there was so very enjoyable.

PS. the owners of the Winthrop KOA are terrific and the deer were right at our camp in the evening, Larry tossed them apples!

I thought I needed a blog!

So this is my first post and as we are going south for the winter months I hope this is a good way to keep a journal of the trip! And I hope to paint some neat landscapes of the desert while there.

This is a painting done recently from a photo I took in Portland in the Pearl district, Mama Mia, was the restaurant and this neat red bug was out front with that red and gold awning and so much red light the photo was fantastic, Larry spotted the scene so I cannot take credit!!

Below is a collage of some past work.

I photographed this at a funny angle!