Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

It's always interesting beginning a new work. You need to first mentally map out how you want the piece to look, then sketch the key areas onto the canvas. The motto is "Less is more", so I try not to over sketch and put too much into the image.
Once I'm satisfied with my sketch I mask out(a liquid compound that you paint on, once dry you can paint over it and when finished peel it off and you have clean, crisp lines and separation between areas) key areas where I want a sharp definition between an object, the sky and the sea. I haven't painted water for a while so I admit I'm a bit nervous about it.
As the masking fluid dries I will plan which area to paint first, usually the sky, and create my main colour. This colour will be used for the sky, and with some changes also for the sea and the grey buildings.

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

The next part of my journey painting my favourite places takes us to Nova Scotia. We have good friends that live in Seabright in a cove off of St. Margarets Bay. Between sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding and catching crabs there are never enough hours in the day. We always take a drive down to Peggy's Cove, one of my favourite places. This next painting was created from an image on a day where the barometer was falling, boats are moored to the dock and there is the feeling of "Calm before the Storm". I love the sea, and the wonders of the East Coast of Canada.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

Very cold and snowy in the Rockies this morning. A good time to sip on a java and paint.

I added one more layer of Sepia to the shadow areas and the painting is complete. It is always satisfying to know you have finished a painting…it's a sense of accomplishment. There is also a touch of sadness as there is a relationship with your work and once completed it's time to move on to new projects. Listening to Fleetwood Mac on the radio.

                           Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

                                       Watercolour on Canvas-12" x 24"

                                                             $300/SOLD

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

First day of Spring in the Rockies! -1c this morning, the sun is trying to break thru the clouds that are moving across the sky with light snow.

I spent a lot of time thinking of how to paint in the dark rock on the mountain. I really want to create a difference between dark and light, but do not want to overpower the painting with too much darkness. I put my first layer of sepia down and now have stepped back to let it dry and then see where I need to have more definition in the shadows.

In the background listening to local radio and Elton John.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

Beautiful day in the Rockies, cool and crisp in the morning and bluebird.

The next step of the painting is to add definition/colour to the rocks that are in the sun. They cannot be the same colour as the snow so I have added a layer of Yellow Ochre on to the rocks.  Next I will add a dark sepia colour on the rocks that are out of the sun in the shaded areas.

In the background is Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall. Love his guitar.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

It snowed a lot last night….March and Spring time. This afternoon I went for a long walk and I had my jacket open because of the heat of the day.

I have filled in more of the rock area of the mountain with my early morning light mix and have also added a diluted mix of the blue from the sky to fill in areas that are out of the sun. The next step will be to give the painting stark differences from light to dark to represent where the sun is not shining. Its like working on a puzzle right now and I need to see how all the pieces will fit.

In the background I'm listening to Sting, All This Time (Live) and echoing thru the house is the laughter of my son and his friend from school as they work on a science project.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

March has come in like a lion to the Rockies with lots of new snow. We had to shovel the driveway 3 times in the same day! The temperature then rocketed up to plus 9c and melted down a ton of the snow with huge avalanches coming down every peak.

Time to start painting Cascade Mountain. To capture the morning light coming from the East I mixed New Gamboge, Cadmium Yellow and Alizaron Crimson. I then added a bit more of the crimson to try and grab some of the red in the sky. I need to plan the next few stages as I will have to play with the moods of rock in a bright morning sky  and try to capture that warm hue. I will also have to plan out the shaded areas where you can feel the cold, and the air is so still that your exhaled breath floats for what seems like eternity.