Here are a pair of paintings that celebrate opposites while also integrating similarities. When I realized I had in front of me a pair of poses that were so similar in components but contrasted in mood I knew I had some exploration to do.
Opening at the Langham
On Friday October 3, 2025, my project “Wait” will open at the Langham Gallery in Kaslo, alongside Fern Van Horn’s “Kootenay Time.” If you can’t make the 7-9 reception, the show runs through December 5. Here’s the write-up.
Held
Talk about colour intensity! There’s a lot of pigment poured into this little painting. It fairly shines off the wall. Enjoy!
Up and Up
In a photoshoot I often find it’s either the first pose that’s the keeper, or the very last one… when the model is totally relaxed and maybe even silly! Silly won the day here, supported by an enchanting lighting situation and then the repeated twist of the forms in space. But we could run a little survey: What do YOU think is up there?
Gold for “With"
I’m thrilled to report that my painting “With” featured in the previous post has been awarded first place in the “Medals” exhibit by the Federation Gallery in Vancouver. See the whole show here.
With
What I was aiming for here was the sense of stillness and wonder in these moments of encounter between child and bird. At 30 by 24 inches, for me this is a large canvas, and I wanted it to be flooded with light and air. I kept the painting of the figures simple to forefront the miracle of the birds themselves.
Assisi Crop One
This winter I commenced a series of paintings that crop right down on the characters in street scenes from a long-since exploration of the Italian town of Assisi. Rendering the silks and velvets has been particularly rewarding.
Music and Marianne
My favourite in my current “and Marianne” series (Fire and Marianne, Shoes and Marianne, Loss and Marianne, Motion and Marianne…), Music and Marianne is featured in the current online-only exhibition of the Federation of Canadian Artists, here. The exhibit is themed as “Artist’s Choice” and while this is the painting I chose, I highly recommend checking out the rest of the exhibit to see the diverse range of choices of all those other Canadian artists!
On the Pond
We haven’t had ice yet this year, but looking through my files for something to paint for this year’s FCA “Scenes from Canada” exhibit, I decided there is nothing more Canadian than those first awkward moments on the ice before it all clicks in and the flying begins.
Happy in the Gap
This little painting is only eight inches square, just enough room to peer into… or out of.
Chelsey's Hair
My recent painting “Chelsey’s Hair” is included in the Shape and Form 2024 online exhibition of the Federation of Canadian Artists, available for viewing here. I feel like it’s an excellent example of how shape and form combine with verve and paint to preserve a very human moment.
Workshopped painting
Learning is not meant to ever stop. I’ve been taking an online course with masterful artist Steve Forster, emphasizing a more “painterly” approach to the portrait. This is right up my alley, and I’m finding it very inspiring! Stay tuned for the second piece later this month.
Great Rabbits Think Alike
Sometimes paintings just happen, that you never could have planned! This one evolved from two quite separate poses that nonetheless had something in common… a rabbit essence? I intended to let the figures speak for themselves, but in the end those dratted rabbits snuck right in!
In Perpetuum, detail
Here is a detail from a large multi-component work that references eternity. These hands could also stand alone, however, on their little 8 x6 inch panel. Enjoy!
Just Wait Here
As a preview of the grand series I’m working on, on the theme of waiting, here is the final in a line-up of six patiently (or not so) waiting women having been instructed to Just Wait Here. As the work evolved, the sterile setting I had first envisaged morphed into a richly patterned landscape, where each of the waiting women is enfolded in a colourful world of her own construction. The paintings are each 20 by 16 inches, and I am now enraptured with painting wallpaper. A new career may await…
The Shape of the Farm
So here’s something different… long ago and far away, from a photograph I took of farm buildings in Burgundy. It was the shape of the farm that caught my eye. and the way the warm light spanned the stone buildings.
To Seed
I know it’s a little early to be thinking about dandelions, at least where I live… But from here, any floating hint of summer is to be snatched at, and appreciated.
Float
The clever viewer will notice some similarities between this painting and the work featured in the previous post; coming and going, inside and out, older (last year) and newer (just last week)… the colour remains glorious, even as the direction changes.
Towards the Light
Turning towards the light, anticipating where it will arise, recognizing its sources, looking also with the internal eye.
Georgia
And now for something completely different… I just completed a set of three portraits of dogs, each with its own unique characteristics. It’s not normally my thing, but it was a fun project!