Work In Progress: Early Morning On the Mississagi River

I have been in the studio for a couple of days working on this 24" x 30" painting. Some areas are still unfinished, such as the foreground and some areas of light, but I am happy with what I have done to this point, and the oil paint has to dry before I can paint any more. I have been working from a photo taken a few years ago on the way home from several days painting in the Sault St.Marie region. We stopped here to stretch our legs and admire the early morning views of the river. I have painted this scene in a miniature format in watercolour but thought it would be fun to work with again in a larger format and different medium.

What Colour Is Yearning?

I was under the weather for a couple of days, which is never good, and it kept me out of the studio and from painting. However, it gave me the opportunity to watch a video for the second time. A friend had given it to me to watch and I enjoyed it even more the second time around. One of the things I liked about the video was the sound of loons on the lake. I always find this sound emotionally moving and the sound  seems to me to be filled with longing, with yearning. After my first viewing I began to wonder how you could portray this sound visually. The second viewing helped me to decide to use the extended branches of trees, which look to me as if they are reaching for something with longing. I got my sketchbook and pen, took them back to the couch and began. Once the trees were finished I added the rocks. The trilling characteristic of the loon's song repeats and ripples and the rocks seemed to do the same. Now I would like to paint this but I must make a decision....what colour is yearning?

Second Oil: Memories of Gros Morne

Oil Painting

I have been taking oil painting lessons for a few weeks now. This is my most successful effort to date. It was done from a reference photo taken near Sault St. Marie on my first visit to the area. I am enjoying working with oil, more so since my husband installed a ventilation fan in my studio! I am currently working on three more paintings and hope to have something to post soon.

Two More

Missing The North

Distant View

 Circumstances were such that I have been unable to travel "north" this autumn. To alleviate my sadness about this, I have been going through photographs from previous painting trips. I decided to do some sketches with pen, brush and ink.
Distant View was done directly with a brush and ink with no preliminary drawing. The sliver of lake in the distance is a sight that always makes me happy and hopeful.

Tumbling Water

For Tumbling Water I did a preliminary pen sketch and then completed it with brush work. It is based on a photo taken near Sault St. Marie.

Reflections

Reflections was done directly with brush and ink. The photo for this is one I used to make a watercolour painting several years ago. I find the line of the tree tops very appealing and will likely paint this again sometime.

Doing these sketches has helped me to remember wonderful painting trips to the north with good friends, to be greatful for those opportunities and to look forward to future painting trips.

Random Splatter and a Stick

Poppies

I pass through Birr on my way to work at our co-op gallery,  Sunset Arts, in Grand Bend. Earlier this summer, just outside of the general store, there was a large bed of poppies. I returned the next day to enjoy them and to take some photos for reference as sketching them from the busy road or the parking lot didn't hold much appeal. I sketched poppies from memory when I got home and have been working on this painting ever since, using my sketches and reference photos. It is a watercolour but I used watercolour with very little water added to the paint from the tube to do the random spatter and I scraped some on here and there with a stick. I left a band at the bottom free of spatter to give allow for depth.