A Lighthouse painting and coastal scenes

Halifax Harbour Lighthouse, 7 x 5", watercolour, April 2010

Now on ebay.ca, click here to view and bid

Atlantic Coast of NS I, 5 x 7", watercolour, April 2010 Atlantic Coast of NS II, watercolour, 5 x 7", April 2010 Now on ebay.ca, click here to view and bid.

These are all little paintings that came of my recent trip to Halifax. I spent some time making sketches on the coast between Purcell's Cove and Herring Cove. There is a walking path which goes right up over the crest of the headland in the pictures above. These paintings do not give one any idea of the scale of these rocks. If I were to try to paint figures to scale on the headland they would be invisible. Perhaps someday I shall do one which shows how massive the granite bones of the coast really are.

Magnolia Show on now in Annapolis Royal

Magnolias 2010, 10 x 14", watercolour, March 2010 $350

Magnolias in the Evening, watercolour, 14 x 21", March 2010, $580

These and art by 18 other artists are on display at Art's Place in Annapolis Royal, NS. The show ends May 9, 2010. If you can get there, go to see all the interesting interpretations on the theme of the magnolia.

now on ebay, Fishing Boat watercolor

I have returned to ebay after a short hiatus. Here is one of the paintings I have for auction:

Digby Scallop Boat, 5 x 7 inches

SOLD

Waves, Waves and more Waves

Waves Crashing, 7 x 10", watercolour, April 2010

Surf in Fog, watercolour, 7 x 10", March 2010

Wave study, watercolor, 7 x 10", March 2010

We had some ferocious winds in March. A popular spot around here for surf watching is at the end of Lighthouse Road. I drove out there in the storm to see what I could see. The wind was fantastic and as I have never been out there in such weather, I had never seen such waves! I took lots of photos but it sure was not painting weather! My hat blew off and away, and I had to brace myself so that I did not follow it. I did take lots of photos, though, and the pictures gave me the chance to start practicing wave paintings, as you can see above.

Since these, I have spent some time painting waves plein air. I was on the eastern coast of Nova Scotia, just outside of Herring Cove, outside of Halifax. Painting surf from life is a frustrating activity, let me tell you! No wave ever looks like the one that came before it. I think that I shall have to do more studies from photos before I am able to paint a convincing wave from life. Though it was a great exercise to paint what I saw. I got lots of chances to experiment with getting the colour of the water and to really study the surf as it came in over the rocks before me. Hopefully I shall get a chance to show you the results of that trip soon.

Apologies, These links work!

Oops! This will teach me to double check my links before I publish! For Keiko Tanabe's website, click here. For Keiko Tanabe's blog, click here I have fixed the links in the original post as well.

Keiko Tanabe, an artist I admire

Tonight I would like to do something a little bit different. I would like to introduce to you an artist whom I greatly admire. Keiko Tanabe is an award winning watercolor artist. She is a daily painter and it is a pleasure to see each new painting that she creates each day. She depicts a variety of scenes, of city life (most of my favourites are from Paris), landscapes and sea-front scenes of her home city of San Diego. I love her brushwork, as she makes such simple looking marks portray so much! I encourage you to visit Keiko Tanabe's website by clicking here and visit Keiko's blog by clicking here. Her paintings are simply fabulous! I could go on about her paintings for a long time but I think that this quote from Informed Collector says it best: "Atmosphere and intrigue come to life in these soulful and expressive masterful watercolors. The depth, the detail, the light, ... simply exquisite!" (The above quote is courtesy of InformedCollector.com by Clint Watson, a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists, collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art). ) For a complimentary subscription please visit http://informedcollector.com/

Cuba paintings available on ebay

"Sunny Beach II" watercolour, April 2010

SOLD

"Sunny Beach I" watercolour, 5 x 7 inches, April 2010

SOLD

These are quick studies that I have done of the evening clouds and lighting based on my recent trip to Cuba. I plan to do more of these little studies while the trip is fresh in my memory.

I have also posted the painting below on ebay. It was a study done in preparation for a commissioned painting. I have not painted many birds, but this one was fun to do!

Cardinal Study, 7 x 5", watercolour, February 2010

SOLD