Gibbet Hill painting progess

Gradually bringing this Gibbet Hill painting to life. Using a pic from our recent walk up Signal Hill (I used photography as my excuse for frequent breaks). Mainly blocking out shadows at this point. Early stages.

Chalk pastels test run

Finally got a chance to try out a set of chalk pastels my friends gave me for my birthday in the fall. I used one of my Trinity photos from last summer which I'm thinking about painting.

It was a different experience from paint. I immediately regretted taping off a small space. Even more than paints, I think pastels need a big space as details are difficult to achieve with the big chunky chalk pieces. I didn’t end up with the image I had in mind but it was a good first effort with this medium, I think. I’m happy with the foreground.

I used painter’s tape to frame the space. I’ve read that some people swear by it and others hate it. It seemed to work fairly well but did pull up a little paper here and there when removed. If anyone can recommend something better, I’d appreciate it.

Got a bit of fright when I applied the fixer... everything went very dark. Thankfully the tones came back around as it dried.

Another thing I learned is that I’ll need to vacuum the space before I paint again... lots of coloured dust and bits all over my easel.

Open Skies #1

This is the first Open Skies painting I started last month. It may look innocent enough but it was an obstinate little beast to paint.

The first three of my (intended) series of 10 skies are in the shop now at $80 by the each.

I said “intended”, by the way, because 10 seems far away. If I don’t make it, I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of this rapscallion. (#1, I’m looking at you)

Open Skies #2

Finished the second of my series of 10 skylines. This one is based on a photo by Chris Hammond. Much happier with this one than the current state of the first one... clearly need to revisit it.

In other painting news I have two commission pieces underway. One big, one small. The big one was giving me tremendous grief for quite some time but we found common ground a few days ago and are getting along much better now.

Theatre flats in progress 3

The paint pouting is on hold until I make some progress on the flats. Try as I might, they are hard to ignore at 8' x 8’. Got some grass colour roughed in and I’m drawing the railing in pencil. Much measuring, cussing and erasing.

Note the collection of containers on my little bench holding my house paint concoctions.

Favourite container so far: yogurt.

Worse container: salsa jar.

Finally, there’s info on the web about the show: Self Help @ the Barbara Barrett Theatre (ACC) in St. John’s. They had sold out shows last time and some disappointed people had to be turned away... save yourself the devastating heartache and preorder your tickets here!

“Troubled sunset” poured painting

I love the wonky sun in this. It started with the happy accident of adding an unmixed lump of orange so I went with it. A landscape evolved. This process is always surprising.

I’m submitting this to Illustration Friday’s weekly theme, “crooked”.

This is available in the shop.

Troubled Sunset
Acrylic on canvas
12" x 12”

More photos from Trinity, Newfoundland

A few more shots from Trinity, Newfoundland. I made them into black and whites with punctuations of colour. These are now available in my Etsy shop as 5x7 and 8x10 prints.

Photo reflections in Trinity, Newfoundland

I was attending a wedding this weekend in Trinity, Newfoundland. When I wasn’t busy snapping the festivities, I was shooting landscapes or, more precisely, the sky and its reflections. The third pic caught an abstract moment when the wake of a boat moved across the water.

Bay Bulls painting

I took advantage of the snow day to finish off the Bay Bull painting. There’s probably more I could do with it but I’m ready to move on to something else. Also shown are some in-progress thumbnails.

Based on a photo by Chris Hammond.

More Bay Bulls in progress

My little Bay Bulls painting trudges forward. I’d been avoiding the rocks but now they are pretty well done. One more attack on the sea and sky should bring the battle to a close.

Bay Bulls painting in progress

A little progress on the Bay Bulls painting. Still has a ways to go but it’s moving forward.

Bay Bulls underpainting

Apparently I won’t be satisfied until my basement is filled with unfinished paintings so I started another tonight.

Just the bare bones at the moment... roughing in shadows and highlights. Much squinting. A few hints of colour.

The photo is of the coastline in Bay Bulls, Newfoundland, taken by Chris Hammond.

It’s a small one (8” x 10”) so I’m going to make a good effort to see it through in the next few days.

Gros Morne

First completed painting of 2012. Many more to come I hope.

Gros Morne
Oil on masonite panel
8" x 10"