Christmas Rose 10x12 Acrylic on Canvas

The Christmas Rose is finally done. I'm very pleased with it. It looks busy and the idea is to give viewers a lot more to look at than just the roses. I especially like the depth in this painting, not only the enjoyment of the primary subject being the roses, but I also enjoy the hidden places behind them. It leads one to imagine that there might be something lurking within! I think that's why I like painting florals in this manner. The attraction for me is the mystery behind all that is beautiful. Enjoy! And Merry Christmas to all!

Category › acrylic painting. , Canadian artist , christmas rose

Venetian Vase and Grapes, still life 8x10 Acrylic on canvas

I love this small Still life painting, it reminds me of the Still life paintings that were done by the Old  Masters during the Renaissance period. I found and bought this Venetian style vase at an antique store and immediately fell in love with it. It's only 8 inches tall, very delicate and  has a beautiful color of a soft yellow with some orange highlights and the arms are a clear glass. Because I felt it had a roman look about it, I thought it might be fitting to paint it with the grapes which compliments it. The hardest part for me was the draping of the table cloth. I had to paint it several times before I was satisfied with the look. Now that it's done, and as time goes on into my painting endeavors, I am beginning to see real progression towards my painting style and the subjects that mean the most to me. Hope you like this one.

Category › acrylic painting. , grapes , still life , venetian vase

"Who's been eating my apple?" Still life, 16x20 Acrylic on canvas

Whenever January rolls in and a new year begins, I'm already thinking about Spring and Summer. Reminding me of warm weather, flower gardens and just sitting on the deck, enjoying a cool drink. And just as the warm weather ends, later in the year, I'm thinking about Autumn, it's warm colors, eating apples and knowing that the flowers in the garden will eventually fall and die.  A kind of cycle in our lives that we all adhere to. There's a lot of symbolism here. But what I want to show as well is the style of this painting, which borders in my view, between Surrealism and Realism. I wanted to show the space around the objects, drawing attention to each of them. Reflected light, shadows caused by the sun or other light source and an overall airiness represented by the openness of the sky. These are elements that I'm most attracted to and hope that I've captured it in this painting. Hope you agree.



Category › acrylic painting. , clay vase , cut apples , open sky , sunflowers , surrealism

"Salvaged" 16 x 20 Acrylic on Canvas

I originally began working on this painting back in the Spring of this year. At the time, I had a strong desire to paint a still life composition but I wanted to paint it from life rather than using a photo. Again, I visited the local Salvage Centre to see if I could find a few interesting objects to use in my painting. A Salvage Centre can be a fun place to find just about anything. Some unwanted stuff that I had found there as I was browsing, can be reused and recycled if they are in relatively good shape. If I find something that I like by way of color or that I find the shape interesting, I'll buy it. I know that at some point, I'll make use of it in my paintings. Pictured here is a tall blue vase, a small terra cotta cup with some fake flowers, a lovely butter yellow teapot (love the colour too!), a fake red leaf and a few polished stones. Everything here has a connection to each other, all are discarded and all are found again. Showcasing them in a painting, makes them loved.

Category › acrylic art , acrylic painting. , found objects , salvaged finds , still life

"A Quite Corner" 24x24 Acrylic on canvas

This painting is from a photo that I had of one of the gardens, at 3 Valley Gap in B.C. My husband and I were passing by along the Trans-Canada highway on our way home from vacation in June of this year. We often stop there to take a few photos and enjoy the view of the lake before continuing on. There's a large hotel there and anyone who has ever stopped or stayed there, can appreciate the wonderful work they do with the gardens. It's well worth the stop. I would say that it is a floral painter's haven. You can spend a lot of time there painting small quite sections of the flower beds or painting the great views of the lake and surrounding mountains. I was just thinking that this area would make a nice destination to go to, to attend a painting workshop. Any artist's out there listening!  As for this painting, it's painted loosely and I just had to capture the Lupins in it, which were huge at the time I photographed them. It reminds me of a Gauguin style painting. I will have to do more garden paintings, they're fun to do and a real challenge at the same time. 

Category › acrylic painting. , Daisies. , flowers , garden , Lupins , Poppies