New Year almost here

Well 2014 is almost done and 2015 is almost here....a time to review all the great things that happened in the past year and plan my new goals for this next year. I am always excited at the prospect of the endless new opportunities....new things to learn, new people to meet and new mountain trails to hike.

The new year is like the new fallen snow....no tracks, no visible trails...kind of cool to think that this is the year that I am going to do something new, quite different and exciting....now I just have to figure how what exactly I would like to have that be.......

While I am enjoying the process of thinking, planning and just enjoying the season, I would like to wish you

Cameras and Wildlife Art

As a wildlife artist, I live for the encounters with the creatures in the woods, birds in the sky and mice under the logs. Each encounter brings me a thrill of pleasure and the exciting thought of trying to bring that meeting to the canvas or paper to share.

As you know a camera is an amazing tool to get you the visual information that you might be able to use in future paintings. I am fairly happy with the set up of these 3 cameras that I have right now. While I am not a fantastic photographer  these cameras have been a great help to me.  As people often ask me what cameras I use..... here they are.

I have a small camera for throwing into my purse or pocket when walking. It is a little Lumix 20 Zoom.....takes a great clear photo and has a good zoom. This is just a lovely little camera that takes away any reason you have for not carrying a camera as it is smaller than my wallet.

Cannon Powershot SX50hs for my mid size camera.......and if I can name drop here.....Robert Bateman recommend this one to me.  It is a good light weight mid size camera with a great zoom.
If you only want one camera, this would be the one of these three I would suggest...mid size, takes a great long distance shot.

Then for my big Camera I have a Cannon Rebel XTI with various lens that takes some great shots also but needs a higher skill level then I have at times. It is an awesome camera...but one down side is that it is heavy and of course you need to have the right lens on at the right time.


Here is an example of the PowerShot zoom....(by the way not advertising for Cannon)....just sharing a great tool that I enjoy. Two photos with same camera...first one no zoom...second one full zoom.

Wish it was a beautiful sunny day but it is an overcast grey day so this is not a stellar photo but will give you an example of this camera's zoom. Here is the view from my studio... and yes those two horses on in the nearest field are ours....they are a delightful fellows.  Now if you look in the center of the top photo in the distance you will see a peak of a building.  Here below is the powershot zoomed inn on that peak....not bad eh?

Painting flowers

Every spring and summer when the flowers start to bloom I am totally distracted from whatever I planned to paint by the beauty of the flowers. There is something so amazing about the grace and colour of a rose, the vitality of a sunflower, the strength of a dandelion that makes me rush to the easel. Here are a few of the paintings that have come from summertime. Hope they help to make you feel a bit warmer on this winter day.  

Spring apple blossoms in Salmon Arm

African Tulip flower in Mexico

White Lilies in Butchart Gardens

Sun flowers in Kelowna

Paintings available

Graphite Grey Portraits

In the last year I ventured away from just painting animals and nature.  It was my year to challenge myself and try something new.... PEOPLE.

I have always admired artists who could represent people in an accurate and attractive manner....I have started using a minimalist approach with a white background and soft graphite gray as my tone. Here are a few of examples of portraits of friends and family. This has been an interesting exercise and I look forward to continuing to experiment with portraits.  What do you think?

Mt Revelstoke Park

The National Park of Mt Revelstoke is an inspiring place of beautiful nature. This summer I was invited up to stay in the small cabin at the top of the mt...to seek that inspiration and create three paintings. Here is one of the three  paintings. Here is the combination of elements that come to my mind when I think of the Park; peaks of barren rock crowding up into the sky, skinny alpine trees, a small clear lake ( I think this one is call Heather Lake ) reflecting the clear blue sky and of course the alpine flowers in full bloom.

Painting Inspiration

Inspiration can come from so many things and ideas. Sometimes the ideas come rushing in, tumbling over each other and tripping in their hurry to arrive. Other times they hover just outside my mental door taking a long time before entering.

I can feel the idea but just need more time to let it grow fully into an inspiration and then I take out the paints, find the right size canvas and jump into the planning and creating. Sometimes it needs a thumbnail drawing to start,  just to clarify where I am going and other days I just want to fly at it and wing it. Now when I wing it sometimes I end up somewhere other than were I thought it was going to go....in some paintings that is good...others not so much. But no matter where I end up I learn something about creating and painting; hopefully something good.

Mice Art or eeeEEEK

There is something about mice....some of us are attracted to the little beggars and find them cute, almost cuddly and generally like them as long as they stay out of the house and our cereal boxes....then there are those of us who are totally afraid of them....jumping on chairs and working on a vendetta to eradicate them. In my family we have both types of these people.

It probably doesn't surprise any of you to discover that I am one of the ones that likes them and have had them for pets. Not long ago as a break from a large project that I am working on I had a mouse visit my studio. I made a lovely little glass home for him in my aquarium and spent the afternoon chatting with him while I sketched and photographed him.  Here are a couple of the quick studies that came from that meeting.

Now while I would have like to kept him for a few days...he did not seem to really be settling in as some of them do....so I took him out to our barn and released him with a feed of oats.
Psst...don't tell Neil that we seem to have quite a few of them in the barn.