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.

Bumbling Bees

Another mini oil painting celebrating some of my favourite pollinators. I love to see and hear bumbling bees moseying from flower to flower in the garden. They are a big part of what makes the garden feel alive – not just plants growing and flowering but all the small creatures enjoying them too.

Monarch Pair

Monarch butterflies are lovely especially when set off against a blue sky, I think. This mini oil painting started with just the Monarch on the left but I thought one looked a bit lonely so added a second …a bit of a challenge to paint one edge one like that! They were the most common butterfly around when I was a kid – sadly not so common now.

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.

Dragonfly Sky

My next mini – this one with a dragonfly gliding over a field of wildflowers. I enjoyed the complimentary colours of the flowers and brought a hint of that into the dragonfly’s wings. Still having fun painting these littluns!

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.

Green Tea Doodles

take some time for tea and check out my doodles

oil painting