Bucolic Birches

Bucolic Birches

8x8"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #90 - I painted this landscape from my imagination as I was tired of using photo references. I learned the value of glazing during this process. Glazing helped me achieve a variety of colours amongst the birches, which helped to create a more interesting painting.

Reflections on the Avon

Reflections on the Avon

8x8"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #89 - In my course I learned that a strong painting has an interesting focal point. Thus, mine is the reflection on the left-hand side. I dulled the reflection on the right-hand side of the painting so that they wouldn't compete with each other.

Inviting Pathways

Inviting Pathways

8x8"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #88 - I used the same picture for this painting as I did for my previous painting. I painted this one at my workshop. There is an abstract painting behind this landscape. Interesting process... I like it better than starting with a white canvas.

Shadows in the Park

Shadows in the Park

6x8"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #87 - I'm off to Red Deer College today for the week. I'll be taking a course called Seductive Surfaces. RDC provided me with this blank canvas and asked me to submit a painting to help raise scholarship funds for students. I used a picture that I took while on a walk in Stratford, Ontario. I had trouble capturing all the shadows but will try this painting again while at RDC. I'll use more colour and larger forms to capture all the shapes of the trees, grass and pathway.

Beneath the Birches

Beneath the Birches

18x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #86 - I had trouble unifying this painting. I wanted to do something different in the foreground - I'm not sure if this works or not.... however, I'm calling it quits and moving on to my next piece.

Tranquility

Tranquility

18x36"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #85 - I was actually quite tranquil as I painted this landscape. I was very relaxed on my yearly painting trip with my good friend and business partner Kristina Steinbring. Its a simple landscape - I like the feeling of depth in the centre. I feel like I can walk for miles into the background.

Alberta Adventure

Alberta Adventure

22x28"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #84 - This painting was an adventure all right!!! I had great difficulty uniting the foreground with the middle ground. I like the yellow sky with the blue trees and will use this colour combination in more landscapes.

Morning in the Rockies

Morning in the Rockies

24x36"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #83 - Well, I finished this painting quite a while ago but never had time to post it. I remember I had difficulty with the foreground. The yellow path helps to break up the space a bit and leads the eye to the middle ground. I'm happy with my birch trees and the coloured shadows on the trunks.

Spring's Spirit

Spring's Spirit

20x60"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #82 - This was a fun painting to create. I liked the challenge of trying to find the right shapes and colours for the land and the trees. Because the painting is so long, the viewer gets different points of entry depending on where he/she stands.

Spring Sparklers

Spring Sparklers

12x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #81 - I was curious to see how a forest of pine trees would look in a painting. My answer - very green!! I had to break the space up so I used some metallic inks to represent new growth within the forest. I'm surprised by how much layering I had to do to get the trees looking realistic.

Spring's Begun

Spring's Begun

12x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #80 - I really wanted to capture that time of spring when the buds first appear on the trees and then in the blink of an eye the trees are filled with lime green leaves. The yellow/green colour only seems to last about 24 hours but I absolutely love the look of the trees' leaves in this growing period.

Mining Copper, Silver, Gold - Triptic

Mining Copper, Silver, Gold - Triptic

36x48"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #79 - Well, I completely changed these three individual paintings and made one. I liked my idea about a colour scheme - primarily secondary colours for each panel - green, orange and purple. And then I added the complimentary colour to each panel. I finished the panels off by adding the primary colours to all panels.

Precious Metals - Gold

Precious Metals - Gold

12x48"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #78 - This painting may become a part of tryptic. My firsts panel is green, yellow and silver. The second panel is purple, blue and copper. This panel is red, orange and gold. This painting has sand and gold leaf in it. Today I may add black circles over all three panels to unite them. Stay tuned...

Precious Metals - Copper

Precious Metals - Copper

12x48"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #77 - This painting may become a part of tryptic. My firsts panel is green, yellow and silver. This panel is purple, blue and copper. The final panel will be red, orange and gold. This painting has sand and copper leaf in it.

Sunday's Hike

Sunday's Hike

24x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #76 - Well, I'm finding that I want to continue exploring the landscape. I love the way the birch trees pop amongst the blue sky and the coloured trees. Next on my list is to paint a 20x60" fall landscape, which consists of birch trees.

Precious Metals - Silver

Precious Metals - Silver

12x48"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #75 - This painting may become a part of tryptic. This panel is green, yellow and silver. The next will be purple, blue and copper. The final panel will be red, orange and gold. This painting has sand and silver leaf in it.

Moon Violet

Moon Violet

20x20"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #74 - My niece was visiting and wanted to paint an abstract painting after she saw Sun Up Blue. In a few hours we had each completed a painting. My colour palette was inspired by Katie. What a fun experience it was to paint with a young soul!!

Sun Up Blue

Sun Up Blue

40x40"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #73 - Still pushing myself with abstracts. The process for abstract painting is so different from painting realism. When I'm involved in abstract painting I feel like something that's truly me is at work. That piece of me that I'm speaking about has barely touched the surface. I'll let you know when she's arrived!!

The Weird and Wonderful

The Weird and Wonderful

16x20"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #72 - This is my third painting for the, "Love Lies Bleeding" Ballet competition. Apparently the song, Bennie and the Jets is about a popular style of dress in the 70's called, "Glam Rock". This style was defined by outrageous outfits and gaudy sunglasses and in the song, an extension of Elton's personality. I depicted the ballet dancers from the Alberta Ballet dancing to Bennie and the Jets. Since I'm painting an Elton song, I had to throw in a piano.

Wide Open Spaces

Wide Open Spaces

20x60"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting # 71 - I went to a Fall Landscape workshop on Saturday thinking that I'd come home with a fully completed painting - 18 hours later.... here's where I'm at. I'm struggling with the trees. A part of me just wants to say, "accept the painting as is", and another part says, "fix those trees!!!" I like the tiny spot on top of the hill. I hope my viewers wonder about what's on the other side.

Timeless Flight

Timeless Flight

18x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #70 - This painting was also in response to the call out for submissions that depict the Elton John songs performed with the Alberta Ballet piece titled, Love Lies Bleeding. This time I choose to represent the song, Rocket Man. This is the first time I ever painted the cosmos and I have to admit I really liked the painting before I added the glowing piano and ballet dancers. I like my decision to add the music notes from Rocket Man up in the sky.

Free to Fly

Free to Fly

24x48"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #69 - This painting is in response to a call out for submissions reflecting, Elton John's song, Someone Saved My Life Tonight and the Alberta Ballet piece, Love Lies Bleeding. I did not enjoy painting the piano keys at all as it was time consuming and tight! I like the sense of depth in the painting but think that perhaps I need more piano keys in the background. Any suggestions?

Autumn Gold

Autumn Gold

10x10"

Acrylic & Gold Leaf on Canvas

Painting #68 - I barely remember painting this tree and just discovered that I forgot to post it. I painted it in October. My business partner reminded me that it was my turn to submit a door prize for Beacon's Fall Exhibition and Sale. Its a true daily done in just a couple of hours.

Full Circle

Full Circle

20x20"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #67 - I saw this tree while on a run through the park and thought it would be lovely to paint. The original tree was mostly yellow but I found the painting was too dull without the reds and the oranges.

The Last Hurah

The Last Hurah

12x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #66 - Another fun painting that came together quickly. Its amazing what one can do when they have a show around the corner! I like the sense of space in this painting and the colours really represent the changing of the season.

From the Roots

From the Roots

10x20"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #65 - This was a fun painting to complete. Everything just fell into place and I'm happy with the results. The painting reminds me of a friend's cottage on Lake Huron that my family would visit when I was a kid. The trees rested on a high cliff and we had to take a long flight of stairs down to the beach.

Red Hot Pines

Red Hot Pines

10x20"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #64 - This painting came together quickly. My business, Beacon Original Art, was having its 5th show on October 22nd and I hardly had any new work to show. I used the fall colours around me to create this painting.

Apple of My Eye

Apple of My Eye

6x6"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #63 - A wonderful summer with my husband prompted the title of this painting. He's definitely the, "Apple of My Eye". My favourite part of this painting is how the colours of the background and the apple work together. I think the painting has a masculine feel to it. Do you think its due to the colour scheme?

Left in the Shadows

Left in the Shadows

6x6"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #62 - This was the last tomato in the crisper. I liked its vine so decided to paint it. My favourite part of the painting is its shadows. I used my house number on the tomato's sticker.

Peachy Keen

Peachy Keen

6x6"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #61 - Ironically, I wouldn't describe painting this peach as Peachy Keen. I had great difficulty mixing colours and couldn't ever seem to get the true colour of my peach. I like the background colour. I think it compliments the fruit.

BC Cherries

BC Cherries

6x6"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #60 - I painted these cherries right after I painted a landscape with very loose trees. I thought I'd try the same style with my cherries. I like the look - the painting looks cheerful - the same way I feel when I eat BC cherries.

Meaningful Connections

Meaningful Connections

24x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #59 - This painting is in response to a project my students and I are involved in. We are creating an artwork that communicates, "How the Arts Impact my Life." I chose to paint this arch bridge from Prince's Island Park. The bridge is a metaphor for how the arts impact my life. I am a painter. Painting connects me to people, places, things and myself in more meaningful and intimate ways. For example, I can only paint a flower if I understand how it grows and know the shapes of its leaves and petals. Quite often I research my subjects before I paint them. Thus, painting is the tool, the bridge, that helps me learn about my world.

TTFN

TTFN

20x20"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #58 - Still sticking with the Information Age theme, this painting represents the acronym TTFN - TaTa for Now. I used more subdued colours in this painting thus, its quieter, not harsh or bright. I'm enjoying learning about colour relationships while working on my abstract series.

BRB

BRB

20x20"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #57 - Sticking with my theme, The Information Age, this painting symbolizes the acronym, BRB - be right back.

Spring's Finally Arrived

Spring's Finally Arrived

20x20"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #56 - This was simply a fun and relaxing painting to complete. The rhythm of the painting symbolizes the fast pace at which new growth appears all around us in Spring.

Tree of Hope in Rikuzentakata

Tree of Hope in Rikuzentakata

20x30"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #55 - On March 11, 2011 a tsunami devastated the coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Japan. Its beach once drew thousands of visitors a year and was listed in guidebooks as one of the 100 most scenic places in Japan. The coast was lined with 70,000 black and red pine trees that protected residents from ocean winds for more than 300 years. Now all that stands is one 10-metre tree, which locals are calling, The Tree of Hope. Over half of Rikuzentakata's population is still missing, 75 percent of its homes are gone and yet, residents are able to find hope in a single standing tree. My painting depicts the Tree of Hope in Rikuzentakata, and serves as a reminder of the capacity we all have to see the light in times of deep darkness.

WildLife Landscapes

Untitled

12x16"

Acrylic on Canvas Board

Painting #54 - My second exercise from the book called, Wildlife Landscapes by Wilson Bickford. I spent two hours on it. I like the dark values in the foreground and the mid tones at the horizon. These values create a real sense of depth in the painting. My goal in this exercise was to achieve a more realistic version of deciduous trees - clearly, I'm not there yet! More practice will help.

WildLife Landscapes

Untitled

12x16"

Acrylic on Canvas Board

Painting #53 - This painting and several others that will follow are exercises that I am doing from a book called, Wildlife Landscapes by Wilson Bickford. I'm only spending two hours on each painting. My goal is to attain something new - a skill or a method - from each exercise. From this exercise I learned to apply gesso just before applying paint to my sky. The gesso helps keep the paint wet so that my paint moves freely thus, its easier for me to achieve the effects I want. Thank you Wilson!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

20x20"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #52 - Another mixed media painting inspired by a pattern on some paper. I'm not "real" happy with this one. I was in a rush to finish it for my show this Saturday and thus, the colours are not quite working the way I would like them to.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary

20x20"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #51 - Another fun painting. Again, I was inspired by the patterns on a piece of paper and collaged it to my canvas. I used coloured gesso to express the lines of an anniversary celebration and used colour to unify the piece.

Marry Me?

Marry Me?

20x20"

Mixed Media on Canvas

Painting #50 - This was a fun painting. I used a small piece of paper as my inspiration and collaged it onto the canvas. With coloured gesso I created a line design to depict the happy emotions that come with the union of two people. I was quite pleased to see two abstract forms which could be people appear within the design. Do you see them?

A New Journey

A New Journey

5x7"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting # 49 - I enjoyed painting this bridge, which can be found on Prince's Island in Calgary. The base of the arch bridge gave me some difficulty and I'm not happy with my tree in the foreground. I look forward to more practice!

Incoming Messages

Incoming Messages

24x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #48 - Well, I've completed my third painting using size as a focal point. I enjoyed thinking about what colours and what size of shapes to place where. I find it difficult to paint straight lines and to keep all the shapes from looking like they are slanting upward or downward. I'm going to continue with my abstract series based on messages we receive through technology.

International Women Celebrate Exhibition

Opening night for International Women Celebrate was a huge success. Pictured at AyrSpace Gallery in Ontario are (from left to right) Donna Kaminski, The Honourable Sheila Copps, me and in the back row Jeanette Obbink - coordinator of our book, International Women Celebrate - 100 Women Artists Reflect. The Mayor, Council and over 88 guests were awed by the work of 106 artists.

To date over $3500.00 has been raised for Haitian relief from partial proceeds of the sale of the work and 100% of the contributions at the door. Please consider buying a painting to help us raise more money. All paintings can be viewed online. I purchased a painting called, Motherhood by Padmaja Madhu. To purchase a book please email Jeanette at jeanette@obbink.ca or Jill at art@ayrspace.ca

AyrSpace

44 Stanley Street

Ayr, Ontario

519-632-9030

Inner City Power

Inner City Power

5x7"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #47 - This was a fun painting! Who knew there were so many details up there on those posts - how exciting. I look forward to painting more power lines with a variety of birds relaxing up there.

Skating at Prince's Island

Skating at Prince's Island

5x7"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #46 - Besides the stairs, this was a fun painting to complete. I had fun painting the people and organizing them on the ice to make a balanced composition.

Driving Past Canmore

Driving Past Canmore

5x7"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #45 - Not the best composition to paint. The painting needs something interesting in the foreground. Too bad a couple big eagles weren't flying around!

Tranquility off Banff Avenue

Tranquility off Banff Avenue

5x7"

Acrylic on Board

Painting #44 - My second daily painting while on my annual painting trip. I did this one quite quickly, which I think was beneficial because I didn't get caught up in all the details.

Bow Valley

Bow Valley

5x7"

Acrylic on Board

Painting #43 - I decided to paint a few small landscapes while on my annual painting trip with Kristina. I need to work on my trees and achieving more values in my mountains.

Outgoing Messages

Outgoing Messages

24x24"

Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #42 - This painting was a little easier than the last one - as it should be when we do something the second time around. I enjoy the process of being in the moment when making decisions about the colour and size of the shapes. Additionally, I take pleasure in focusing on design fundamentals - in this case, using size to create a focal point.