“Anyone who says he has finished a canvas is terribly arrogant” Claude Monet

People always ask me what is the process for a painting, how does it come together. Where do you start, how do you finish?

I will make an attempt to tell you. All my paintings are based on something I have seen, and it may be an amalgamation of ideas or scenes. I do a lot of observing, sketching and traveling outdoors. All of this is in my paintings. I also study many great and not so great painters work, and this also influences my ideas when thinking about how I will paint something. However, it is all finally distilled down into a single thought about the subject, and how it will be painted.

Then the process of getting there begins. It usually starts with reference, this could be a sketch or a group of sketches I have done. It may be a photo or number of photos. Photos tend to provide subject matter, sketches provide tone, colour, and feel.

On the large canvas a loose sketch is made in outline – a free, bold handling of the brush – at this stage the image is given movement, depth, composition and focus. And it is amazing at how challenging it is to maintain that throughout the painting.

Then the real painting evolves, mistakes and redirections are hidden, light effects are captured, colour is balanced and details are added where necessary. This happens in layers over a number of days or weeks. And finally the finished painting emerges.

I consider the painting finished when it is a reflection of the original idea. I am not looking for a particular pattern of brushstrokes, style, or any other technical aspects in a final painting. I am looking for a feeling when I look at it that says it is a complete idea. I understand that it could always be better. But I have never like perfect things.

Here are a number of new paintings in various stages of the process.

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Summer is here, just. I was moving my boat to a friend’s cottage last weekend and it actually snowed. So much for Summer! But the leaves are out and I have started to paint summer. I still have many images that I have stockpiled from last summer. As of today (besides one quick river fishing adventure) I have not been out painting or canoeing yet. I am working up a number of larger summer images. In these I am really trying to capture the feel of sunlight traveling over the landscape in three very different ways.

The first is the idea of sunshine hitting a big Killarney landscape through heavy cloud.

In creating paintings, I am always looking for iconic views. The Matapédia is a river on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec. It’s a wild place with deep valleys, fast wide water, and thick forests. It is also one of the best salmon fishing rivers in the Gaspé region. Perched up above the river, the view is through the pines looking down the course of the river. I used my cobalt and ultramarine blues to depict the rocks water and trees as they fade away into the distance.

The second in a high key, almost abstract view of a lake using muted shades of purple and green against a light sky.

The Haliberton area is a collection of small deep rocky lakes. I have paddled and fished many lakes in Haliberton. You get the feeling of the high rocky shores and the pine trees climbing the steep banks. Often these lakes have small islands and hidden bays and this is a view of them. I painted a cloudy sky, with a bright light filtering through lighting the rocks on the far shore.

And the last one is the most impressionistic painting. A Killarney ridge in the foreground with a farther ridge behind obscured by atmospheric conditions.

I am a big fan of the impressionists and one of the things I really enjoy about their work is reflections in water. This painting is all about the reflections. The foreground shadows and reflections are painted in cool blues, browns and greens. The colour temperature warms in the sunlit areas. While it is a summer day I thinks it amazing how you can depict small changes in temperature through colour choice. This is an area in the southern Kawarthas near Buckhorn. Shallow mud bottom lakes, drowned cedars and large beds of weeds are the norm.

These three are getting close to finished and I am planning to use them as a springboard to some really large paintings – up to 5 feet. Should be interesting, I have not done anything that big before.

Last weekend I participated in the new member selection show for the OSA. And I was accepted into the society. This was a 2 step process – First submit a written proposal and a number of images online. Then present 5 original works for evaluation to the membership. The venue was the historic Ashbridges House in downtown Toronto. All in all a great experience and a chance to take a step back to reiterate my goals and renew my art spirit!

Founded in 1872, the Ontario Society of Artists is Canada’s longest continuing art society.

We are a province-wide professional association for visual artists living and working across the Province. Our mandate is to foster and promote the visual arts through exhibitions, special projects,and arts advocacy. Our membership roster includes many of Canada’s best-known painters, sculptors, printmakers, and photographers. We currently have an active membership of over two hundred artists, working in a wide range of media and from diverse backgrounds and cultures. We are a non-profit, charitable organization, which is administered by a volunteer executive council of artists.
Each year we present exhibitions of works by members, and a juried art exhibition open to all artists working in two and three dimensional media. We encourage emerging artists, established artists and artists from diverse backgrounds to apply to our organization for membership.

I look forward to meeting all of the members, participating in the shows and providing my assistance were needed to promote the society and the art community.

Next week I will be doing a talk to kick off my new show at Artworld of Sherway and I though I would provide an outline of what I wanted to get into the talk.

Landscape – a classic Canadian motif.

Great Canadian landscapes – my influences.

How I find the right landscapes – ideas, trips, photos, sketches.

How does it become a painting – composition, sizes, colour, technique.

My hope is that this talk is of interest to you, and let me know if there is anything else you would like to talk about. See you there Sept 20 at 7PM.

Here is a sneak preview to a few new images that will be in the show. All from a recent trip to the North Channel, Manitoulin and Killarney.