Spring Path

This piece evolved intuitively in several layers. The feeling of spring is everywhere in the green and the wet.

Cloudless Evening

A small intuitive landscape, this one is definitely inspired by local scenes. I have been very fortunate over the years to have several opportunities to sail around the islands and bays of the the west coast of Canada. Awe inspiring – even overwhelming – the seascapes and landscapes here continue to feed my creative soul.

Forest View

Sometimes it’s possible to fit a lot of landscape in a 4″ x 4″ mini painting! When I first started doing minis, I painted a lot of close in details with one bird or bee or other small creature at close to life sized. That’s a lot of fun and I still do those …but compressing a large vista onto such a small surface while still keeping the painting loose is fun too. Check out all the texture you can see in the paint like where I scratched back into the wet paint with the end of my brush.

The Marsh

Some hints of Spring here!

I painted this intuitively with some childhood memories in mind. I really enjoy the feeling of this one – the mostly muted palette (for me) and the way the river draws the eye into the distance. Some nice juicy paint applied using brushes and sometimes a palette knife or even oil sticks …and then scratching back into the paint with the other end of a brush to see the paint underneath.

Summer Cottage Memories

This commission was particularly dear to my heart because it shows a view from our family cottage in Ontario. My intention with this piece was to create a feeling of the place and a sense of nostalgia. Everything glows. I’m pleased with how it turned out and am very happy that the new owners love it too!

Of course since this is an oil painting, I get to enjoy it for a while longer until it has dried and can be varnished and shipped out.

White Butterflies

White butterflies cling to some Queen Anne’s Lace while other wild flowers and grasses wave in the undulating landscape.

This is one that was scraped back to the panel and then repainted. The original coat stained the panel and became the starting point to make a better painting. Not every experiment works. In fact, if you don’t fail now and then, maybe you’re not reaching far enough …that’s what I tell myself on days like this. 🙂

Prairie Dragonfly

Continuing the theme of landscapes that are animated by the kind of life we often don’t pay much attention to. When I see bees, butterflies, dragonflies etc they tell me there’s life here. I wanted to capture that hope and energy in the brushstrokes for the plants and sky as well.

Forest Mystery

This was an intuitive painting inspired by local forest walks but definitely not literal. We do have cascading water falls at this time of year but the foliage is more monochrome green. I livened it up with pinks and reds as if there could be rhododendrons blooming already. A good way to play and warm up at the beginning of a new year.

Raven Sky

I have been working on this larger piece for a while. The colours are more muted than I often use but fit with my mood and the season – late autumn with its short and gloomy days. Ever-present ravens still flap overhead though animating the sky. To my thinking, this painting just shows three or four ravens as they move through time and across space. Details below.

Layering oil paint then scraping to reveal colours below results in a sky that glows like an opal.

Ravens do like to perch on the very top of the tree!

I love how this glows and the sketchiness of it.

Raven Sky (detail upper right)

Some bird shapes are more subtle than others…

(C) 2022 Hilary Farmer

Blooming at the Edge

I took photos of an apple tree in bloom by the ocean a while ago and finally decided it needed to be a painting. It seemed so fragile there in a way and yet obviously had been surviving in that location for a long time.

I live on one of the Gulf Islands off Canada’s West coast. After a recent winter storm, we were out of power for about a day. No big deal. We’re used to that. But then, our main (actually only) communications line hit the main power line (both crossing from one island to another) in the wind and ended up in the ocean. No phone land lines, no wifi and very little cell phone service with sporadic access to data …and most importantly – no 911 service. Five days later we got a temporary fix. Anyway, all that to say “Blooming at the Edge” is sometimes a more active struggle than you might think!

Green Tea Doodles

take some time for tea and check out my doodles

landscape painting