Carling Street

Carling Street 10" x 12" acrylic on Canvas

Cityscapes really interest me. Here is a view of a short street in my home town which was a joy to paint. I'm not even sure if I'd be happy to sell this painting, which I have hanging over my piano in my living room.

--Rob

Bruce Street

Bruce Street 10" x 8" acrylic on Canvas

For the last two years now I participate in an art event in Wortley Village, which is a creative community district within London, Canada, the city where I live. This past June, I painted this view as a demonstration during my art show at the corner of Wortley Road and Bruce Street.

Perhaps the hardest painting to make is one where you spend two minutes painting and five minutes talking and greeting people. However, I do still enjoy this painting for the colour and light values. One of the most important aspects in painting plein air is to not "chase" the shadows, and especially so it this painting that took far too long to complete under the demonstration circumstances. For anyone just starting to paint outdoors, use big brushes and block in your shadows fast, it doesn't even matter if you have the colour correct, aim to get the value as close as you can, just get them down. Then as they move, ignore them for their position but view them only for colour and value purposes. Also, I try to paint my darks a thin as possible --that is, I use more water or thinning medium, because as the painting progresses, I will be changing colour based on value and temperature and I generally do those changes in thin washes. --I really like to see the underlaying hues which add excitement to the painting.

--Rob

Exeter Bridge

Exeter Bridge 8.5" x 5" acrylic on Masonite

I am planning to take this painting to a larger size (studio version). I am very happy with the composition in this one. This painting started off as I do most of my work, where I sketch the scene with a brush using either Burnt Sienna or Raw Umber, and I also establish the darks and lights in these first sketching lines. For this painting, I used Burnt Sienna, you'll be able to see it along the edges of the three foreground trees. Not only does under painting add quality and depth to the over painting, but it gives life to the painting when it is occasionally allowed to peek through.

This painting is of a small park just off the main road in a small town in Ontario, Canada called Exeter, a town which is know for the rare White Squirrels that live there.

I hope you enjoy this view.

--Rob

Apple Pear Apple

Apple Pear Apple 8.5" x 5" acrylic on Masonite SOLD

I don't paint a great deal of still life work, but this is one of three fruit that I quickly painted one noon hour. I was working on another completely different painting, and was not happy with it's progress, so I made this painting right over the top of it and actually was very pleased with the outcome.

I don't usually paint over top of another painting without coating over it with gesso first. I must admit that with the under image showing through as I was painting, there was a bit of visual confusion. I only did this one without coating over the first painting, because I was in a hurry to get the mood and feel of the moment. I won't say where, but I can still see some of the first painting through this final painting, and I am happy that it does show through, because it contributes to the final painting.

So painting and thinking fast helps me to see and capture the mood better...I advise to all that you should try it. This painting actually only took me about 1.5 hours to complete. This is definitely a brushwork technique that I will keep as part of my style.

The small size of this and other paintings that I do are perfect for studies, which this actually is, and I can tell immediately if I should do a larger studio version.

As always, please leave a comment...I do enjoy hearing from my visitors.

--Rob

At The Farm Market

At The Farm Market 12" x 9" acrylic on canvas

I had a lot of fun painting making this painting. I enjoyed the large shadow and the dappled sunlight on the drive. This scene is of rural Ontario, Canada and is of a farm where in the fall offers horse & wagon rides and among other things has a farm market selling their harvest of fruit & vegetables.
The painting is done from my photo reference, but when I take a reference photo, I spend a great deal of time framing the composition, so it is very close to how I envisioned the painting when I was there. This painting is all about values of color. I started the painting by using a thin wash of burn umber and simply drawing with the brush right on the canvas. Then with the same color, I blocked in my darks. From there I carefully added the local colors, and changed values as I went to get it right. I painted the shapes that I saw, and then slowing the painting began to focus. I never want to be a camera, or do a camera's job, so I paint with a loose but controlled impressionist brush style. This to me captures a feel of the scene that cannot be equaled with a camera.

Need Help Naming This Painting

(name suggestion?) 12" x 9" acrylic on canvas SOLD

I made this painting Feb 1st, 2oo7, and have yet to name it. It was extremely cold, as I was out driving, I saw this stand of rushes at the side of the road where the snow was very bright and dazzling. I was totally drawn to it. I rarely go out without my camera, but I did this time and I actually drove home to get my camera and then came back to make some reference photos of it.

I really like the colors within the snow, and I like the abstract feel created by the 3 horizontal bands of snow, vegetation and sky. I've yet to name it however, so if anyone can come up with a good name for this painting, leave me a comment, and I may end up using the best as the actual title.