Painting Questions at Lacey Brook

The magical pool of water and the woods that surround it are called Lacey Brook. Most importantly they are close to home and fairly easy to access. Many visits to the same site have allowed ideas around paintings and their physical structure to work out over time. Questions about supports and lines and tones as well as my ability to get to the site with supplies all come into play. Each visit answers some questions and reveals new ones as well.

Blomidon Nova Scotia

Our fall weather is beyond anything we could have imagined. Luckily the storms of the Atlantic that brought so much destruction have missed us. We are enjoying views of a slow seasonal change that are creating a very colourful landscape not dissimilar to the one that we found on a hike over Blomidon Mountain overlooking the Minas Basin. On that day we stopped half way up for a picnic and to enjoy the view that is reflected in the sketch above. It makes me think it is time to get back to Lacey Brook and the pond that gives so many images.

Painting Our Garden

J
ust my luck that our summer months brought a yard full of blooms to draw. One day in the heat of the afternoon sun I was surprised to discover even before work began the first line was already drawn. By this I mean my shadow was cast over the work. There was no choice at all but to include myself in the work and continue with the beautiful yellow blooms of one particular group of day lily plants. The garden shapes just get louder and crazier as days go on and it is good canvas is ready to go.

Hike and Paint

C ombine two favourite activities and double your fun. The bluff wilderness trail just outside Halifax is a perfect spot to do just that. Pack a lunch and of course all your art supplies and a first aid kit to carry along. The colours can be stunning and view points along the way allow spots to set up and work out of the way for a few minutes with the shapes and colours that will greet you.

Working with Flowers

J ust as fall takes hold and green leaves turn towards brilliant yellows, reds and bronze colours I find myself in the studio working with flower images collected during the summer months. I guess it is like the garden in that there is first the planting followed by the tending and finally the harvest. Now the work takes over with all the tough slogging and happy accidents that take over. 

Silent Reminders of Halifax Harbour

Drawing along Halifax Harbour is supported by endless material related to the coming and going of ships and cargos. Cranes, trucks and conveyors on land service ships of all sizes on the water providing a kaleidoscope of relationships for the artist to work with.

I am always amazed by the scale of everything in front of me. Everything is huge and heavy.

As much as the rendering attempts to collect all the information about the site there is one thing that disappears from the vision. Sounds that surround the sites disappear leaving the drawings as silent reminders of heavy industrial activity.

Derivative Speculations V

T ake a walk in a garden and see what is there. "Derivative Speculations" began as a walk and moved into the studio as a idea. The idea was to allow the computer to interpret a drawing of a drawing.

 All the sites are taken from our garden and seem to illustrate variations of interpretation as told in the old story "The Blind Men and the Elephant".

Painting Fall Colours

T he exotic palette of fall colours is once again all around us in the Maritimes. Everywhere the trees are changing the land and attracting attention with their extraordinary beauty.  Yellow, Gold, Red and Bronze to name a few.  Blue sky and the deep green of spruce and pine trees provide perfect contrast to dazzle the eye.

 It seems like you could just set up anywhere out of the way and paint until your heart is content.

Art Cargo

Along the waterfront of Halifax Harbour there is a walkway that brings you up close to the massive scale of ships and cranes. Yesterday as the beautiful fall air continued in our area there was a few minutes to take a walk and make a sketch.

What would be considered a smaller container ship was tied against the pier and its steel containers were swinging through the air. The loading and unloading of cargo continued as the drawing progressed with trucks lined up to take their turn. Thuds of bumping steel punctuating the background sounds of whirring motors created a soundtrack to draw by.