#21 of 30

"Odd Man Out"

6" x 6" - Oil on Canvas
$75 unframed

So, after spending way, way, way to long on yesterday's painting, I decided that I would put a time limit on this puppy.  That way, I wouldn't be able to get all precious and overwork it.  I have to confess, it was extremely liberating and I had a lot of fun painting it!!!  Started at 11:15 and finished it at noon!

#20 of 30

"Totems at Thunderbird Park"

10" x 8" - Oil on Canvas
$150 Unframed

My daughter gave me a beautiful book about Emily Carr for Christmas and this morning I was thumbing through it.  It inspired me to pull up the images that I had taken at Thunderbird Park many moons ago.

As usual I started out being really nit picky and this took me MUCH longer than it should have, but I learned a few things along the way and I may just try another one tomorrow.  Looking at this now, I think it could probably benefit if it was cooled down just a little bit too.  It would give it a bit more dimension.  Oh heck, it could just use a lot of help!! LOL

#19 of 30

"Cedar Hill Blossoms"

6" x 6" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

#19 of 30 . . . . .I had a errands and chores to do today, so wasn't sure if I would get to paint or not.

There's a golf course, only a couple of blocks from here and I love to walk the chip track there.  There are houses all the way around on the outside of the track and the golf course on the inside.  At the top of the first rise in someone's backyard, there are some bushes that have these lovely delicate white flowers.  My camera says that I took the photo a couple of years ago at the beginning of June.   I'm not sure what kind flower it is, but on closer inspection of the other images, I'm thinking that it might be a clematis.  

I loved the play of the white against the wild green leaves!

 

#18 of 30

"Brown Baggin' It"

6" x 12" - Oil on Panel

SOLD

My intentions were good today.  Since I had to work all day yesterday and didn't get a chance to paint, I thought that I would get myself all caught up this afternoon.  NOT!

I figured this subject would be a piece of cake.  I have painted persimmons before and I have painted bags before, but  I have never painted brown bags!!!  Who knew that it would give me such a challenge!!!  First I fought with getting the colour of the bag.  I know that the problem there was the fact that I had toned my panel with transparent orange and it was greatly skewing what I thought I saw!  On my palette it appeared to have quite a warm cast leaning toward yellow tones, but once I put it down on the panel, it looked very different!  It appeared grey and cool.  I persevered  though and as I got more of the bag completed the colour appeared more true.  Of course that was not the only problem.  I kept losing the shape of my creases and ending up having to re-draw them about three times.  That little dark space between the persimmons was crazy to see with overlaps here there and everywhere!

But, it's done!!! I don't know about the colour of the bag.  I will re-recheck it again in the morning when I have good light.  I may end up adjusting it.

As for 19 and 20, I will attempt to get them done tomorrow!

 

#17 of 30

 

"Kissing Cousins"

8" x 10" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

This was one that I started and completed today.  

One day,  I think last summer, a friend of mine in Washington shared this stunning image and I asked her if she minded if I painted it.  She gave me permission and so, here it is.  I would still love to paint it in a much larger format, but this was a good study to let me understand what all the petals are doing, etc.   It was also a good challenge with regard to the colours.  I have not quite captured what is happening in the photograph.  The peony on the left, leans just a tiny bit more toward a yellow hue and the blossom on the right, while more blue in tone is a bit more vibrant in hue than mine.  Thank you very much Deb Salazar-Herbst for your generosity in allowing me to use your image!!

#16 of 30

 Today is the day!!!  I'm caught up again!

 

 "Noodle Box"

7" X 5" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

I actually started this one yesterday and finished it off today.  The biggest challenge with this one was avoiding the bleed between red and white when the space that I was painting was SO small.  That's why I stopped yesterday.  By the time I went back in this morning, it was dry enough that I could go back over the greyed down white without dragging the red in. 

#15 of 30

"Blue Ginger Jar"

6" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

This was a quick study with Chinese lanterns and persimmons.   I painted a larger painting with the lanterns and persimmons last year for the Federation of Canadian Artist's fall show.  

 The most challenging aspect of this for me while painting this was getting those pesky little white blossoms on the ginger jar without having them all bleed into each other!  The other thing that I was working on here was establishing some nice greys in the cloth.  

 

#14 of 30

"Snowdrops"

6" x 6" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

It was a very busy day and I wasn't sure that I would have time to paint today, but thankfully my wonderful husband played chauffeur, picking the boys up and taking them to music lessons.

Continuing on the spring theme. . . . .I snapped a photo of these while out walking the dog on Fernwood Road the other day!  They are the first snowdrops that I have seen this year.

In the image, the upper background was a dull, medium grey colour but it did nothing to enhance the lovely snowdrops so I took some artistic license and dipped into my box of colours, coming out with  . . . . transparent orange.  Layered over the mid grey it gave me this gorgeous warm hue that I think works beautifully to enhance these lovely little white gems.

My apologies.  The image is not quite as crisp as I would like but my camera battery is dead and I had to use my phone.  Will repost a clearer picture when the camera is read.

"Snowdrops" is going to live in Peachland!

#13 of 30

"Japanese Iris" 

6" x 6" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

This is another image that I took a few years ago while wandering through Buchart Gardens.   I actually have an image that is of a big patch of these irises and I thought that it would make a lovely larger painting.  So, I guess this really is a study for the larger one.

Sometimes dioxazine purple is perfect, sometimes not so much!  This iris had such a multitude of bluish pinks in it.  It was something of a challenge to get colours as I wanted them.   I ended up with some quinacrodine violet and some French Ultramarine to adjust the hues.

Still one behind.  I'm hoping to catch up today after taking the boy to his orthodontist appointment!

#12 of 30

"Spring Shadows"

6" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

$90 Unframed

This is painted from a photograph that I took a couple of years ago when my kitchen walls were still a love pastel shade called "French Blue'.  It was an interesting colour, becoming more mauve or grey or blue in hue depending on the time of day that the light was coming in.  I loved the fabulous shadows that the tulips cast against the wall.

I attempted this painting in a much larger format a couple of years ago.  I think it was 30 x 40.  I was using acrylic paints and it was darn near impossible to get a nice transition between the wall and the shadow at the top!  It's soooo much easier with oils.  Wishing now that I would have done this small study first before trying to tackle the larger painting!  Another lesson learned from this challenge!

#11 of 30

"Harbinger of Spring"

10" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

We have a great Green Grocer here in Victoria called the "Root Cellar" and the other day while I was there picking up a few things, I spotted these daffodils.  Two bunches for $7.    They were the first I've seen this year and it made me think that spring can't be far off...... at least Victoria's spring which usually arrives somewhere about the second week in February.

I love the smell of daffodils!!!  Next door to where we lived when I was really little,  was a house (an acreage really), that had daffodils that were naturalized and they popped up everywhere in the spring.  I also recall how wonderful the air smelled when we went to visit my mom's friend for tea.  She had a stream running beside her house and there were all sorts of spring bulbs; crocuses, tulips, hyacinths, english daisies and of course daffodils.  It smelled heavenly!

This was another challenge! The colour shift in the top left corner is much more subtle and gradual than it appears in this photograph.  What I did find interesting was that in various places there was a bit of a reddish tint to things;  in some of the petals on the daffodils and also along the top and bottom of the orange.  Looking at it now, I think I may deepen the colour of the stems tomorrow for a bit more contrast in the centre.  I have found that again, dioxazine purple in very small amounts is wonderful for creating shadows on yellows.  It's ever so subtle if used sparingly!

Yup!!  There's that linen cloth with the green stripes again!

#10 of 30

"Peace Rose"

8" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

Sold
 

A number of years ago my children gave me three rose bushes for Mother's Day.  This is the only surviving one.  It's name is "Peace" and it has the most lovely yellow- orange glow when it is a bud, then as it opens out it has white leaves with the same golden glow at the base of the petals.

This painting was a bit of a departure for me.  Wait, let me re-phrase that . . . .this was a big departure for me!!!  I painted the whole thing with a # 4 brush.  I started with a wash of lovely transparent orange (thank you for turning me on to this colour Pidge.  It makes things glow!)  Then I started blocking in my colours and finished up with big strokes of juicy paint!  This one is definitely going to take a while to dry!!!

A third of the way there and still one behind.  I got side-tracked with a few other things today and didn't get to the second one that I had hoped to.

# 9 of 30

"Needs TLC"

8" x 10" - Oil on Canvas

$ 130 Unframed

I often walk down on Dallas Road and this is a house that is down by Clover Point.  The house is quite old and large, all white; white trim, white stucco and white sheets hanging in the window. The yard is overgrown and the paint is peeling from the window frames.  This image was taken a few years ago and today when I drove past it is appears to be in need of a lot of tender loving care. 

A little voice whispered to me, "Go ahead Sharlene, this will be a piece of cake.  Look at all of those big shapes".   It was SO NOT a piece of cake!  Took me way longer than I had anticipated!  

It's a study in white with a lot of subtle shifts.   I also couldn't get the photo to show up right.  There is a lot more intensity and more blue in the shadow areas than this photograph is showing.  I will try photographing it again tomorrow in better light and see if it comes through better.

#8 of 30

"The Onion Conference"

8" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

Ta da!!!  It is January 8 and here is my eighth painting!!  I am all caught up!

I love painting onions and also garlic.  I enjoy all the crinkly textures in the gossamer skins and all the wonderful curly ques at the top of them.  And then there are the ever so fine ribs that help define their shapes.  It is just a bonus when you can find all three colours of them.  I know that here in Victoria, you can buy a mesh bag with all three colours.  And yes, it is the same cloth as the one in the "The Three Little Pears" and also "The Garlic Keeper".  What can I say . . . .it is a beautiful little neutral  linen number and I love the subtleties of the delicate green stripes that run through.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll go for something a little more bold.  Maybe haul out the Fiestaware again! 

 

#7 of 30

"The Three Little Pears"

6" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

This is the seventh of my thirty paintings.  I needed to play catch up here and so decided to use a simpler subject matter and execute it in a more loose manner.  I gave myself one hour to complete it (mostly because I have to head off to work now).  

Sorry, I have not big long narrative to accompany this one.  They are "just" pears that I bought at the grocery store yesterday.  Yes, Alice, I heeded your advice!!!

#6 of 30

"Little Green Bus" 

6" x 6" - Oil on Panel

SOLD

Let me start by saying, "Blessings to the person that gave us Dioxazine Purple!  

Okay, I confess . . . .being behind is starting to get to me!  This is my first of the day and I'm planning on starting a second so that I don't begin week two under the gun!

I have always like Volkswagen vans, buses or whatever you call them! Are Westphalias the camperized ones?  I even like the sound they make when they are running.  I don't, however, enjoy being stuck behind one going up a big hill!   Anyhoo, on the next street over there is a green one.  You can't miss it!  I see it every time I leave my street, so one day I pulled out my phone and snapped a couple of photos.  There is another delicious purple one that lives down the end of Moss Street too!  I must get some photos before they move or something!!!

I told myself when I started this that I would just concentrate on the "big shapes" and I was pretty successful at that INITIALLY.  As you can see, it turned into more than just "big shapes".  I need to learn the "knowing when to quit thing".

#5 of 30

 "Two Heads Are Better Than One"

8" x 6" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

Day 6 and painting #5.  Still haven't caught up.  Hopefully that will happen tomorrow!

I have had this garlic keeper for about twenty years now.  I used it for the last 30 in 30 Challenge and painted a similar piece which sold quite soon after it was completed.  I was extremely busy with work at the time and did not have time to update my website to reflect the purchase!  My bad!!! Anyway, around Christmas time someone contacted me wishing to buy the piece.  Obviously that could not happen, so I offered to paint a similar piece for them.   So this morning I got around to setting up the garlic keeper in a second still life and here is the completed painting.

#4 of 30

"Boathouse at Fort Rodd Hill"

8" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

$125 Unframed

So, day 5, painting #4.  I'm still not caught up, but I'm okay with that.  I know that one of these days I will squeak in the extra one.  I'm just reluctant to throw some paint on a canvas and call it a painting because that really defeats the purpose for me.  Of course it wouldn't hurt if I were to choose subject matter that wasn't quite so complex. 

I think I may have the bottom angle of the boathouse slightly off, but c'est la vie (or pehaps I just photographed the canvas at an angle. Yeah, that must be it!!! ;-)

This summer, through the Coast Collective Art Centre, I had the opportunity to participate in the Artist in Residence Program at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites, (a mouthful, I know).  I was there for about three days and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.  Parks Canada opens up the Quarter Masters Residence and two artists at a time come and paint for a week.  I took advantage and one afternoon I headed down to Fisgard Lighthouse and snapped about 300 photographs of the Lighthouse and surrounding area from various angles.  If you have never been there, it's definitely worth the trip.  Absolutely beautiful.  The little boat is called the Rosina!

I hope you like it!

#3 of 30

"Himalayan Blue Poppy"

6"x 6" - Oil on Canvas 
SOLD

#3 of 30 . . . . .what can I say. . . the day got away with me yesterday.   I started painting and had a visit from a  dear friend. . . . .painting had to wait!  So, I will have to squeeze two in to a day along the way.  Perhaps tomorrow!

One year my daughter and son-in-law gifted me with an annual pass to Buchart Gardens.  What a delightful gift it was!!  This was painted from a photograph that I took of the Himalayan Blue poppies that they grow there.  They are so beautiful and though I haven't captured it very well here the petals have a wonderful gossamer effect, so delicate.  There is one large bed that is planted in front of a vibrant orange bush, I think perhaps a rhodo, but I don't recall off the top of my head.  Regardless, the contrast between the blue of the poppies and the orange flowers on the shrub is something to behold!

Of course, I let this one dictate to me and it got precious and I put in far too much detail!  Hence it took me far longer than it needed too!!

#2 of 30

"Early Autumn - Goldstream"

8" x  8" - Oil on Canvas

$ 125 Unframed

I promised that I would post the good, the bad and the ugly!  Not sure if this is the bad or the ugly.  I don't know why I insist on torturing myself by painting landscapes.  I struggle with them so much.  Maybe I just hope that eventually something will click and they will work.  Maybe I should do a whole challenge painting landscapes!!!

Unfortunately, the lighting wasn't good when I took this image, so some of the nuances in the pathway aren't showing up,the trees are not as black as they appear to be (they have some colour in them) and the foilage has a lot more texture than there appears to be here.  I will try to photograph it again tomorrow.

An constructive criticism is more than welcome!

And Away We Goooooo . . . . . . #1 of 30

 

"Christmas Orange"

6" x 6" - Oil on Canvas

SOLD

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!   I had such a good time doing the last 30 in 30 challenge with Marcela in September and have been really looking forward to this one.   News has spread here in our city and there are now quite a number of my fellow Victoria artists participating in this new challenge.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!

As I expected, life conspired against me today.  Company stopped by for a visit this morning, dog needed walking, I had to get my workout in, Christmas needed to be put away for another year and of course there was a New Year's Day dinner to make.   So, I'm a little late to the party today, but here never the less!  Finally got to my studio at 4:45 today.

One of the final Christmas oranges.  Something just seems to make them more festive when they are decked out in their green paper wrappings.  These were Japanese mandarins and oh, so sweet! 

The last few paintings I have done have been acrylics and it felt awfully good to be digging back into the oils today.  They are so juicy and slippery and fun to paint with!

Awakening

"Awakening"

Acrylic on Canvas

24" x 24"

A few weeks ago, I sold a poppy painting to a lady who told me a very touching story about her dog, Poppy.  Not long after that I had another lady call and ask to purchase the same painting.  Obviously, that was not going to happen.  So, I decided to begin a new series of paintings.  You guessed it, paintings of poppies. 

I have a huge reference library of poppy images that I have taken from various places.  My neighbour across the road grows some real beauties with big heads the size of lucheon plates.  The neighbour across the street often grows salmon coloured poppies, at Beacon Hill Park they have white poppies and out at Buchart Gardens there are Himalayan blue poppies!  They are everywhere. So, I have plenty of material for this series.  Below is the first painting in the poppy series.

 

"Dee's Poppy"

Acrylic on Canvas

24" x 30"

Chinese Lanterns & Persimmons

"Chinese Lanterns & Persimmons"

Acrylic - 16" x 12"
SOLD

This is my latest painting, called "Chinese Lanterns and Persimmons".  I entered this painting in the Federation of Canadian Artists Fall 2013 juried exhibition at Dales Gallery in Chinatown and was very pleased to hear that it received an Honourable Mention.

I have always loved Chinese lanterns and wanted to paint them.  These ones were fresh, but I think that they get even more interesting when they have aged a little bit and the thinness of the papery orange cover begins to get holes.  I still have these ones and may just have to make another painting from them!

The vase is one that I "inherited" from my mother-in-law when we moved into the family home.  I thought that it might be a challenge to paint because of the texture in the orange part, but it came together quite easily with the help of a natural sponge.

I love the curly, strange shape of the leaves on the persimmons.  You have no choice but to truly look at them to draw and paint them because they seem to defy what we "think" a leaf should look like. 

Unfortunately, my camera was not able to capture some of the subtleties in the background.  It comes out looking quite black when in fact, it is a beautiful deep green, lightening ever so slightly in the top right corner.

Yes, those Chinese lanterns are calling me again . . . .

After the Challenge. . .

Half & Half - 8" x 10" - Oil on Canvas
SOLD

I can't believe that it is already a whole week since the challenged finished.  I definitely needed a break and so did my studio.  It was an absolute disaster with panels, canvases and paints everywhere.  I'm usually pretty tidy and clean up after myself when I'm finished painting, but I found that the challenge really was a challenge.  Just carving out a few hours a day to paint was a challenge, let alone having to clean up after myself!

But, I was determined that after putting all of that effort into painting everyday, I was not going to go a whole week without pickingup the brush.  Artichokes have always intrigued me.  Apart from the fact that they taste yummy, they are so pretty inside.  I love the colours and the way the leaves wind around the choke.   Very fun to paint and it satisfies the Colour Pig in me!!  So here is my offering for this week and I already have plans for this week's painting!

All Thirty of Them!

"September 30 in 30"

 

Thank you for organizing the challenge Leslie Saeta  and also for telling us how to make a collage with "Picmonkey".  Here is my collage with all thirty paintings.  Some of them are slightly truncated because they are not square, but that's okay.  

So, it's over!  It felt mildly strange not to be planning what I was going to paint today.  Instead I took a long walk in the beautiful sunshine, then came home and cleaned my studio up!  Oh my. . . .there were things everywhere.  Normally I would have taken time to clean up as I went, but some days it was tough finding the time to paint and then there were the days that I didn't paint and had to do two the next day to make up for it.  I'm really looking forward to the next challenge.  Perhaps January?  I only decided to do this a couple of days before the start so didn't have a lot of time to get prepared, but I now know better for the next one and WILL prepare.