#30 30 Paintings in 30 Days Ready for a Swim!

#30 Ready For a Swim!   6x8 Oil on Paper/Panel   NFS

This family had taken a walk past us and were heading back for a swim. All the folks we encountered we just skippity-do happy and of course they wouldn't be as this was in the middle of a hot spell and it's a great place in their own backyard!

Yeah, it's 30 paintings done! Tomorrow I'll do a collage so you can see them together.

#29 30 Paintings in 30 Days Creek at Porpoise Bay

#29 Creek at Porpoise Bay    8x8 Oil on Paper/Panel   $150.00

This is a stunningly beautiful provincial park with more scenes to paint than you can imagine. 

I thought I would share in this post a bit about my painting process in case you might be interested.

I came to be painting here as I took part in a one week plein air workshop with Richard Robinson from New Zealand. It was an excellent experience but it did come with some challenges. It was plus 30s all week and there was no shade in this location so we were out in the heat all day. Also, it was very green which is notoriously difficult to paint. 

I painted two studies of this little scene and was happy with some aspects of each. I was disappointed not to bring home what I could consider a painting though. It seemed like a good time to tackle it again because winter is back in force again. The first is a 1 colour study and silly me, I chose Caribbean Blue. It is dark but I would have been better to use a colour I was more familiar with. The mistake I made with the second one was to chase the light. By chase, I mean I painted on the one painting all day. To be fair this is a common mistake with plein air but I hope I can say I won't make it again. 

#27 30 Paintings in 30 Days Delta Barn

#27 Red Barn in Delta   Oil on Paper/Panel 6x8   $125.00

This barn has always attracted my attention because of it's odd shape. It's  been in Delta for as long as I can remember. 

#24 30 Paintings in 30 Days - Catching Up!

#24 Catching Up!   6x6 Oil on Paper/Panel    $125.00

This walk took us through different parks and over hill and dale. It was wonderful to have so much colour in the middle of winter. I love the snow but this was a lovely break.

#23 30 Paintings in 30 Days - English Bay

#23 English Bay   8x10 Oil on Panel   $150.00

This is a winter scene in Vancouver that is a stroll down memory lane. Many young people I know had their first apartment in this walkable area of Vancouver. The mist often hangs over the city and then burns off mid day. 

#22 Of Course People Move Here!

Of Course People Move here!   8x10 Oil on Paper/Board   $150.00

We were on a long walk around Victoria a few years ago at Christmas and this is a scene we encountered. Now I ask you who wouldn't want to live there!

#21 Point Grey Road

#21 Point Grey Road   6x8 Oil on Paper/Panel   $125.00

One odd thing I love about Vancouver is how a bend in a road will change the name for no real reason except just 'cause. Confusing but fun! 

#18 Armstrong Fields

#18 Armstrong Fields  6x8 Oil on Paper/Panel   $125.00

What a view from your kitchen window! And any moment a cadre of sheep are going to toodle on through. 

Toasty and Warm

8x6   Oil on Paper   NFS

I painted this a week ago but couldn't post it as it's a birthday surprise but now I hear the cat's out of the bag  so it's all OK! It was somehow even more fun to paint because of the surprise. 

Blueberry Fields on a Rainy Day

Oil on Paper/Panel                8x6

 

A socked in day in the Lower Mainland is a wonderful time to go looking for Blueberry Fields to lift your spirits. What glorious colour!

Speaking of glorious colour, Dreama Tolle Perry published a wonderful free ebook today titled

Be Inspired: Adventures for the Heart. 

It's just beautiful so click on the link to see it for yourself!

 

Fraser River Near Clearwater

2010 © Tracey Mardon 5x7 Oil on Canvas

This is a little study of a scene near Clearwater, B.C.
It is one of my favorite chunks of the drive to the
West Coast from Edmonton every summer, the colours
are always wonderful, whatever the weather. My Panasonic
Lumix has an aerial photo option that I find really useful
for taking photos while zooming along at 110km, in the
passenger seat of course! They are often amazingly clear and
even when they aren't, they evoke a memory of the scene that
is sometimes just as helpful.