Watermedia by Marilyn Timms

2011-09-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

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Comox Bay from the Float Plane Dock

2011-08-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

My inspiration:

Comox Bay Marina is a favorite hangout for me, since we have our boat moored there year round. If I wander along the main wharf, eventually I land up here at the little finger the float plane uses for a dock - a spot i have painted many times. It has a handy little bench to sit on and this calm, pretty view of the hill in Comox. Only on Vancouver Island could we have a hospital (St. Joseph's - the buildings you see sticking up) with such a spectacular view!

South From Henry Bay

2011-08-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

The inspiration:

We were onboard SHARUTIKA (our 30' Rawson sailboat), on our way across the Strait of Georgia headed for Sturt Bay on Texada Island, when a storm kicked up. We scurried over to Henry Bay (pictured here) to set anchor overnight to wait out the weather. Sitting there, it was hard to believe that there was ANY wind, tucked away behind Denman Island - calm enough to

create this little watercolour right in the stern. The flag whipping around at the mast top told the tale....

Pink Lilies

2011-05-05T11:49:00.001-07:00

Pink Lilies

This 18 X 24" watercolour on 140 lb Arches paper began as a quick study (about one hour) at the Tuesday Paint & Pint group. Following up in studio with photo references taken that night, I finished it incorporating my "window" layered technique. The subject lent itself well to this unusual uplift provided by isolating a border - an effect that sometimes just makes a watercolour floral. Hope you like it.

Just Hanging Around

2011-02-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

Just Hanging Around

This 21 X 14" watercolour is my tribute to the only housework I really enjoy doing - hanging the laundry outdoors. I love the way it smells. I like organizing it so the socks match, and the t-shirts look sharp - everything in order. It was the one job that Mom would trust to me - the youngest daughter - and I was VERY proud of doing it perfectly and VERY offended if one of my sisters got to do it.

Day's End

2011-02-02T10:59:00.001-08:00

Day's End

24 X 18" Watercolour

In August, I taught a plein air workshop on Quadra Island in the northern Gulf Islands, BC and, during a dinner outing, was blessed with this glorious evening. The delicate glow behind the Ferry Dock against the blackness of the backlit ship and shoreline appealed to me greatly. I very rarely paint sunset or sunrise in watercolours because it is so darned difficult to pull off but, I must admit, I am pleased with the result.

Tall White Peonies

2011-01-07T14:09:00.001-08:00

Tall White Peonies

This dramatic watercolour began its life as a painting demonstration for the BRUSHWORKS group in Comox, BC. I chose this rich bouquet (from Thrifty Foods, no less) because of the contrast between the snow white blooms and deep green foliage. It also contained some bright neon green blooms (no doubt created with food colouring in the water) which I opted not to paint in, since nobody would have believed they were real anyways.

The bouquet was also decorated with sprinkles of silver glitter (it was early December....) and perhaps I might decide to do the same and crop it for my Christmas card for 2011.

Technically, I used M. Graham watercolours on stretched 140 lb d'Arches rag paper apporox. 12" W x 19" H. This bouquet was fun to paint and I think the group enjoyed it.

Simple Pleasures #3 AWAKENING

2010-11-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

Awakening

This sunny painting is my tribute to how the beauty of nature can at times overpower the most negative state of mind. When I was a young woman (represented here by the figure seated on the bench), I was in the depths of despair when I sat outdoors on a day much like this one. It gives me shivers to this day to remember how gently yet persistently, nature intruded on my black thoughts - to the point where I felt my heart fill with joy.

My life turned around on that day.

This Dad and his little girl were enjoying this spectacular fall scene at Puntledge Park in Courtenay, BC.

Awakening watercolours on 140 lb rag paper 30 X 22" painted November 2010

Simple Pleasures Series #2 Salt & Pepper

2010-11-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

SALT & PEPPER

This pretty still life is seeded with objects that have special meaning for me. The salt and pepper shakers lived in my mother's kitchen on the back of her stove for many years - they now live on mine, and remind me of her every day. The metal basket sat atop her refrigerator and acted as bread basket for family dinners. Mom passed away on April Fool's Day, 2009 and her legacy lives on in these things that were part of her life. This watercolour is 19 1/2" X 12" and painted on 90 lb. Papier d'Arches rag paper. (SOLD)

Simple Pleasures Series #1 KD

2010-10-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

This watercolour 30 X 22" represents a momentous occasion in my life. After years of losing weight (over 70 pounds total) and coming close to dying because of the collapse of his esophagus, surgery enabled my dear husband Dan to eat again and regain his health fully. One of the foods he was able to choke down back then was overcooked Kraft dinner, hence the title KD. This painting acknowledges how precious the little things in life - like simply eating - become when you are near to losing them .

Fog On Gabriola Island

2010-09-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Subject:

The action of the wind creates these fabulous sandstone shapes on many of the beaches on Gabriola Island. In the foreground, you will notice my watercolour painting on the easel.

The Painting:

I used M. Graham watercolours on a 24 X 18" block of 140 lb. rag paper. (SOLD)

Porlier Pass

2010-09-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

Sailors in and around the northern Gulf Islands in BC are well familiar with the fast tides in narrow passages between the Islands. Porlier Pass depicted here is one of the main narrow lanes through which ships and pleasure boats pass when the tide is still. This view of Porlier was painted on an early fall morning with the mist just burning off the water as the sun is rising. Painted in watercolours on 9 X 12" 300 lb paper in about an hour.

Gabriola Farmhouse

2010-09-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

As part of the Federation of Canadian Artists' Gabriola Island Plein Air Workshops, I was privileged to have access to this tumbledown colourful farmhouse for a morning. I love the rich rusted colours and crumbling shapes of this relic of a former life. It was painted with watercolours on 140 lb paper

24 X 18", in about 2 hours (with a few minutes of studio touch up).

Entrance Island from Gabriola

2010-09-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the rocky shore at Berry Point on Gabriola Island, this gentle view of the Lighthouse at Entrance Island cried out to be painted. Using watercolours on a 24 X 18" block of 140 lb. Papier d'Arches, this was captured in about 2 hours.

Behind the Point, Tenedos Bay

2010-09-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

With luck, we managed to anchor at Tenedos Bay in Desolation Sound Marine Park, BC tucked neatly behind this lovely little point. There was just enough room, if we tied a line from the stern to the shore as well as an anchor out front. This 15 X 11" watercolour was painted looking out from the cockpit in the stern.

Tenedos Bay wall

2010-09-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

At anchor in Tenedos Bay in Desolation Sound Marine Park, BC we looked back at this impressive wall of stone and clinging arbutus trees. This little watercolor sketch attempts to capture the grandeur of it all. (SOLD)

Quadra DEMO Floral

2010-09-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Setting up in the side garden at Firesign B&B on Quadra Island, these stunning deep rose pink Cosmos caught my eye so I made them the focal point for this demonstration for the workshop group. Using lots of colour, lots of water and wet-into-wet techniques turned this into a bright, fresh watercolour on paper. (SOLD)

Quadra DEMO Beside the Strait

2010-09-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Painted on location on beautiful Quadra Island as a demonstration for a Firesign workshop, this little study looks along a stretch of beach on the North side of the Island, facing the Strait of Georgia. Watercolours on 300 lb paper were used to emphasize strong colour used in the first layers.

Quadra DEMO Rebecca Spit

2010-09-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Painted on location as a demonstration for Firesign workshops, this iconic scene at "the Spit" on Quadra Island tries to capture the sense of space one feels alongside the Strait of Georgia. Using thin glazes of heavy body acrylic on paper, the idea here was to imitate the look of a watercolour painting. After about 1 1/2 hours, it got cool and windy and we had to retreat.

Knight Rd. Farm

2010-07-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

10X6.5” Watercolor on paper

Comox Glacier stands high above the Comox Valley and is an icon seen in many works of art. This affords a different view looking across farmer's fields.

Quadra Shadows

2010-07-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

10X12” Acrylic on canvas

An unexpected treat – a palm tree growing in a quiet garden at Quathiaski Cove on Quadra Island. The plum cast shadows on the sidewalk were another treat for the artist's eye.

Dyke Road Iris

2010-07-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

24x18” Acrylic on canvas

Standing on land belonging to the Komoks First Nation, you can see the old wharfs and sandbars stretching to the Comox peninsula with Denman and Hornby Islands in the far distance.

Channel To Comox Bay

2010-07-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

21.5X11.5” Watercolor on paper

From the mouth of the Courtenay River, you see this long view of the estuary and the winding channel to the bay.

Banjo Workshop

2010-07-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

24X18” Watercolor on paper

Tucked way back in the trees at Vancouver Is. MusicFEST, this little stage was host to this banjo workshop – the crowd and I were fascinated.

Banjo Workshop at MusicFEST

2010-07-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

Alongside The Puntledge River

2010-07-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

12X10” Acrylic on canvas

If you walk down the trail at Puntledge Park in Courtenay, you will come to a popular swimming hole and this lovely grove of trees. On a hot day, the shade feels so good, as does the cold clear river water bubbling by the the background of this lively little quick study.

Under the Bridge

2010-07-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

12X10” Acrylic on canvas

Standing directly beneath the 17^th Street bridge in Courtenay, this lovely view, reminiscent of Winslow Homer's English watercolors, stretches out away from you. The old steel-roofed shed on the right houses an Antiques dealer while off in the distance the span of the 5^th Street bridge can be seen.

Courtenay River

2010-07-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

10X6 1/2” Watercolor on paper

This was my first outdoor painting in the Spring of 2010. From the Air Park in Courtenay, you look North across the river and this is what you see – East Courtenay off in the distance, and remnants of an old wharf (part of what once was Field Sawmills) in the foreground.

Woodland Stage

2010-07-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

10X6 1/2” Watercolor on paper

Each July, Vancouver Island MusicFEST brings together music and music lovers as depicted in this little plein air study. Many of the folks captured here in paint were moving around, or left in the middle, making this a delightful challenge.

Goose Spit

2010-07-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

10X6 1/2” Watercolor on paper

You can smell the salt tang in the air and hear the swish of the waves here at the “Spit” - aptly named for its long narrow strip of beach.

Tulips, Crystal Vase & Bowl

2010-07-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

18X24” Watercolor on paper

The warm backlit tulips and shimmer of glass and metal make this an unforgettable still life. The roundness of the bowl against the cold clear glass vase adds to the drama.

Radishes & Cherry Tomatoes

2010-07-17T14:48:00.001-07:00

9X6 3/4” Watercolor on paper

Tight little cherry tomatoes and gnarled up radishes in a bunch make up this little still life – full of rich colors and textures.

Oranges & Tea

2010-07-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

7X9” Watercolor on paper

This little still life is full of good-for-you things – fresh cut oranges, hot orange pekoe tea – you can almost smell them just looking at it.

Winter Sun on Cottonwoods

2009-12-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Winter Sun - Cottonwoods 14 X 18" Acrylics on 300 lb paper

There is a small, quiet path near home - this is a cool rendition of a cool day in November. The style is wet-into-wet and layered like a traditional watercolor using heavy body acrylics.