aquamedia

Cloud Spirit

2009-11-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

This painting was done to depict thr colorful canyons of the Southwest. I got a little wild with the sky, but when done, the clouds seemed to suggest the title I gave it, "Cloud Spirit".

Montana del Oro

2009-07-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

We often drive up the California coast just to spend a few days admiring the beautiful scenery. In June, while staying in Cambria, I joined a workshop that was painting at Montana del Oro, a State Park near Morro Bay. I did this painting of the surf crashing on the rocks below the cliffs.

Lighting the North

2009-02-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

This painting was inspired by a John E Marriott photograph entitled Northern Lights.Aurora Borealis

Sierra Nevada Snow Field

2008-12-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

This is the painting I selected for this year's Chistmas card. I try to find something that reminds me of the cold, snowy Christmas season where I grew up in Canada. This scene is from a backpacking trip in the Sierras in which we encountered a lot of snow. One of our group almost landed in the lake after slipping from a traverse of a similar field on this side of the lake. Now that would have been cold!

Canadian West Coast

2008-01-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

This painting in near-monotone colors was inspired by our many trips to the British Columbia Coast and in particular, the area around Tofino. The weather is often cloudy which casts a grey look to the ocean scene. In this rendition, I have stylized the trees to capture the wind-swept look they often have.

2007-11-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

This painting is my candidate for our Chrismas card this year.
It was inspired by a photo by John Marriott in his recently published book
Banff and Lake Louise. The title of the painting is
"Mt. Rundle, Canadian Rockies".

Milestone Basin, Sierra Nevada Mountains

2007-03-10T16:04:00.000-08:00

This painting is another in my Sierra series. All of the scenes are from photos I took while backpacking a few years ago. While I am probably past my backpacking days, the beatuful scenes of the Sierras are vividly imprinted in my mind and with a bit of luck, I will paint them as I remember them.

Sedona Hills

2007-02-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

Every year we spend a week in Sedona and I am always taken by the beauty of the red rock formations. This year, I attempted to capture the vivid colors after a brief winter storm. The result is highly abstacted both in form and color.

Bridge Over Colored Waters

2007-01-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

My goal in this painting was to exaggerate the colors and to depict the trees in a more abstract way than I usually do. The scene is a melding of a bridge and creek we saw on a trip to New England and the California hills in the background.

Woods Lake, Sierra Nevada Mountains

2006-12-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

This painting is another in a series of scenes from my backpacking trips over the years. My goal is to be able to paint the Sierras like Dale Laitinen who is a master at capturing the remote beauty of these mountains. The depiction of the lake is from a photograph I took but the background mountains are from my imagination and are perhaps a bit too stylized. The painting is done on a full sheet.

Aftermath

2006-12-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

This experimental painting is semi-abstract with only the tree shapes and colors suggesting the reminants of a forest fire. It was done in two steps. First, the underpainting of wet into wet was let dry. Then, The blue foreground was added as were the drips depicting burnt trees. A couple drops of red acrylic ink suggested continuing hot spots.

The Race

2006-12-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

The second of my experimental paintings, it actually resulted from a failed attempt to apply the same technique as in "Wild Horse". After applying the paint with the plexiglass, I mixed the result on the paper to get the dark sky, added an ultamarine blue for the sea and when partially dry, scraped out the sail boats and waves with a credit card.

Wild Horse

2006-12-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

This painting is one of three I did for Tom Fong's class in which we were to try experimental approaches to painting. In this one I painted the background wet into wet then created texture by applying a roll of toilet tissue. I let it partially dry, and then pressed on to it a piece of plexiglass on which I had loosely painted the shape of a horse. I then used a two-inch brush to define the edges and features of the horse.

Canyon Fire II

2006-07-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

My original painting of Canyon Fire seen earlier on this blog was inspired by a trip to Canyon de Chelley a couple of years ago as well as a Tom Fong demo. I'm entering this painting in the San Gabriel Art Society abstract show.

Irish Coast, Co. Donegal

2006-07-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

A cloudy day in Greencastle, Co. Donegal -
painted after our trip to Ireland. I tried to capture the mood of the typically gray days and small towns we we found in this part or the country.

2006-07-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

Desert Scene

2006-04-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

In October 2005 we visited the California coast including Big Sur. The redwwods are a challenge to paint because of their size and usual location in dense growth forests. So this painting, while inspired by the trees, is from my imagination. I call it "Paddling Home". It was awarded the Associated Artists monthly meeting Demonstrator and popular choice awards.

Cayucos Pier

2006-01-20T23:06:00.000-08:00

On the way to Big Sur, the town of Cayucos is just north of Morro Bay.This painting is sold.

2005-11-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

There is a favorite restaurant of ours in Big Sur from which the Ventana Hills can be seen above the ocean below. In the fall of year they are a mixture of gold and yellow ochre, punctuated by patches of green trees.

2005-11-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

Our trip in October with a painting group to Morro Bay, Big Sur and Pacific Grove provided many opportunities for scenes to paint. The above is Morro Rock at sunset - a subject I couldn't resist even though everyone says it has been painted so often as to be trite. Anyway, here is my version of "The Rock".

2005-10-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Abstract III. Another class assignment and the last experimental painting for awhile. I'm on my way to Morro Bay, Big Sur, and Asilomar to paint the California coast and will post some of the results in November.

2005-09-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Another abstract watercolor exercise using several techniques taught by my instructor, Tom Fong, including wet-into-wet, tilting, scraping, splatter, and the application of salt and alcohol. It is untitled.

2005-09-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is a painting entitled Blackbird I that was done as an exercise for Tom Fong's class. I entered it in the Associated Artists monthly meeting display and it won first prize awards in two catagories: Demonstrator (Hal Lambert) Award and Monthly Award. So, this is encougaging - and thanks to Tom!

2005-09-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

This painting was an exercise in the use of three primary colors, only. It was done wet -into-wet. It is untitled.

2005-09-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

Canyon Fire This is an attempt at a less representational approach to painting. It was done as an exercise for Tom Fong's class.