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"

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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.

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"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.

"Small Treasures"

This little guy is only 3 inches by  4.25 inches.  

At that scale the view is very intimate and it feels like

 I am catching a glimpse of a quiet and private moment.

This painting is in a technique called drybrush watercolour.  

As the terms sounds, the brush is very dry and as such, 

one can keep very tight control of where the pigments go.

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Another approach to this subject! Working on 5" x 7" paper again, 

 I set the flowers up in a very strong light and left the background bare.  

This lets the elements be the stars of the show.  

Really like the shadow on the rose hip!

Sorry, this work is sold.

This is my second go at the roses.  This watercolour is 5x6 inches in total. 

The paper was washed to give it a sense of 'age' as these roses have an air 

of sweet nostalgia to them.  I also played with the strong pattern that the leaves

 make. I think it gives the background as much strength as the subject. 

Available on Daily Paintworks.