About Me

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Quispamsis, NB, Canada
As long as I can remember I have been drawing and painting. Although my subject matter may have changed with time, what has not changed it my attraction to nature. Being drawn in by sunlight, shadows textures and details all with rich colors. I know I am best challenged when the work has a high element of complexity. I spend much time and effort exploring my subjects - striving to gather as much information as possible before I begin working. My first love is working with water mediums - from watercolors, through acrylics and most recently water soluble oils. Often I may explore the same or similar subject in different mediums.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Small works - no small effort

Small Works
Ah, as Christmas approaches it is often quite prudent for artists to complete a number of small works.  These are good as possible donations to requesting charities but also very marketable this time of year – more so that larger works.

I struggle with small paintings.  They are almost as much work as larger pieces and they take a disproportionate amount of time to complete.  Take this little star fighter lily.  Only 5” x 5”  big, er… small.  The drawing took no time really – but painting that level of detail that small is icky picky work.  I get a great deal of satisfaction with large freer brush work that I apply with larger scale acrylics.  Then the fun really begins with I get into the details.  Love this stage.  It is when a painting comes to life. To me this is magic and very satisfying.

So it would make sense that I would also love the detail and concentration of the smaller pieces. And I do.  It is just they are small and that is the whole point.  You have to be closer to the work to see the amount of effort.

In defence of painting small – sometimes they can be outright fun pieces.  You get to experiment with new subjects and or techniques without having to invest mega hours or gallons of paint.

At the end of the day, this little lily is actual size to the bloom and is quite sweet. Point is, you will see a number of smaller pieces painted my me in the weeks to come– tis the season and all!

They will be on display at the Fundy Gallery of Art, Loch Lomond Place in Saint John during the month of December.

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