"In the Sedge, Lakeside"

5.25" x 3.5"

One of our favourite cross country spots was through the sedge

grasses at the side of a local lake.  It was an area that in the 

summer was quite inaccessible because of it's boggy nature.  

In the frozen days of winter, we could skim nicely along to 

secret coves and beach heads.

 

"Across the Valley"

Watercolour  4"x5.5"

For "Across the Valley" I used a the sketch below as

 a reference to paint from.  The sketch was done high

up a logging road on a cold winters day.  Backing the 

truck into a small meadow, I could sit in the trunk with my

little set of watercolours and a cup of water with the entire 

valley unfolding in front of me.  Magical!

I adore watercolours for their portability, and often take 

them with me on travels. There is now quite a collection 

of quick sketches from all over the world in my sketchbooks. 

It's striking how just a glance at a page instantly invokes

vivid  memories of specific places and occasions.

Once, in a museum, I saw pages from James Whistler's sketchbook. 

 It was dense with acute observations of the English countryside.  

Absolutely gorgeous and compelling.

A painting of a memorable skiing trip 

over the hills to a small lake where we had hot tea 

and left over Christmas cookies.  It was on one of 

those days when the skies clear and the sun 

makes the snow piercingly brilliant.

Watercolour  5"x3"

 

As a child we often went skiing at night. 

I loved the glow of snow in the indigo landscape.

I am not sure if the falling soft, wet flakes made a noise

but I seem to remember a faint sensation 

of whispering sound all around us.

Watercolour 5"x3"

www.dailypaintworks.com

I grew up in a place whose name means ' Valley of Snow."  

This watercolour is an amalgam of details from my memory.

I love the quiet that snow brings both to the ears and the eyes. 

It muffles sound so that a single bird's whistle seems to travel

forever while it covers much of the usual visual deluge of texture 

and detail in white simplicity.  

Watercolour 3"x 4.5 inches on 140 lb. acid free paper.

"That Shell"

Watercolour on  paper   5" x 3.5"

I have been working on getting this shell right.  They are so complicated as

the form transitions in and out, while the growth lines spiral around the form.  

It is a trick to get it all right.  I used 140 lb stonehenge paper for this one.  

Stonehenge is meant to be a printmaking paper and if relatively soft, 

with very little tooth. I like it for watercolour  because the pigment literally

sinks into the fibres so it is easier to get clean edges.  I like to imagine that

 it is easier on my favourite brush as well, with less roughness to chew 

those small hairs to oblivion.

Available at www.dailypaintworks.com

"West Coast Textures"

5"x7"

As winter settles in here, the garden has dissolved into a mess of 

sodden leaves and stalks.  Not much colourful out there to paint! 

So, I am using my collection of stones, twigs and shells as models.

 For this particular set up, I used a fairly bright spot light, 

which increased  the contrast from the previous painting. 

Stronger light makes the details easier to see, but also 

tends to wash away subtle tonalities.  It's a bit of a trick 

to keep it all in balance.