Simple Pleasures #3 AWAKENING

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

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

KD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alongside The Puntledge River

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.