Ukraine Sunflower Field - October 2010
Acrylic on Canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private collection (SOLD)

I saw the movie, "Everything Is Illuminated" recently. The scenery from Ukraine was stunning, particularly the sunflower fields. Liev Shreiber, the director said this about the sunflower field scene: "That's the thing I'm most proud of in the movie. I knew I wanted to put the house in a special place, but everybody said to do the field would be prohibitive, because of the cost of C.G.I. But my production designer said, "No - let's find out when they bloom." We couldn't find any field we could buy - too expensive. So we rented a plot of land from a farmer and sowed the seeds ourselves. We planted in May, and the sunflowers appeared magically in full bloom just in time. We built the whole shooting schedule around that!"

Ukraine's flag is blue and gold. The blue half represents the sky (hope), and the gold represents the country's wheat fields (prosperity). Could also be the equally stunning sunflower fields under a clear blue sky. Even Van Gogh would be inspired.

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Phra Nang Beach, Thailand - May 2010
Acrylic on Canvas, 20" x 16"
Located at: Private collection (J&RT)

This was a wedding present for my cousin, who met her fiancé on Haad Yao Beach in Thailand. I wanted the painting to be a surprise so I used the source photo from one of their Facebook albums. It had a picture of a couple walking along that looked like they could be the happy couple, so I decided to paint it. Turns out it's actually Phra Nang Beach and the distinctive rock formation is called Happy Island. So that works. As well, the translucency of the water and the natural framing of the trees, the dramatic side mountain and cloud formation makes it an appealing landscape.

The colors used are mostly to match their décor, though I used some contrasting reds and purples to add vibrancy and passion. The rainbow effect of using the entire color spectrum gives the picture a prismatic, joyful effect.

Landscapes always have to have a "path in" to lead the viewer into the picture. I like the fact that the two figures are walking into the picture, to some destination unseen. The eye goes diagonally, following the beach line left to right. The large cloud formation even seems to point towards the unseen area where the couple is headed.

Clouds and water are always my favorite things to paint. Clouds in particular because they can be interpreted in brush swirls and air currents. In these clouds, the air currents and swirls indicate something joyful and celebratory is happening. The warmth of the beach, the tranquility of the water, and the zig-zaggy shoreline make it seem like there's a perpetual stroll along a paradisiacal beach. An ongoing journey, a metaphor for life.

Cloudbase - December 10, 2007
Acrylic on Canvas, 8" x 24"
Located at: Private collection (NG) (SOLD)

This was a commission for someone whose significant other is a big-time paraglider (that's him and his gear in the pic). Started out very illustrative and smooth, but I didn't like it... so I did some impressionist disarrangement.

When she got it, she said, "Oh good! You got the legs crossed - that's important" (I nod sagely while going *phew*! to myself). Sometimes those random brushstrokes fall in the right place entirely by accident.

Lucca (Torre Guinigi) - March 18, 2007
Acrylic on Canvas, 40" wide X 30" tall
Located at: Private collection (W&AA) (SOLD)

When I first saw the source photo for this one, I thought about giving it a Renaissance / Art Deco feel. To me, that meant pale sky against a darker, more dramatic foreground and metallic highlights. This is how it ended up.

This one is for some friends who took a trip there - it's one of their favorite cities. The aspects I wanted to emphasize were Guinigi Tower (that tower with the trees), the layers of mountains, and a kind of jumbled sense of roofs and trees.

Here it is In Progress.

Two Trees - October 27, 2006
Acrylic on Canvas, 20" wide X 30" tall
Located at: Private collection (PB)

Another one for my palette knife painting tree series. I just liked the bright blues and greens and the simplicity of this painting.

Didn't take long, a few hours maybe.

Earth and Sky - October 8, 2006
Acrylic on Canvas, 12" wide X 18" tall
Located at: Private collection (SOLD)

This is based on a photograph called My piece of earth in the sky by another member of Deviant Art, this online art community.

This is my first ever try at a palette knife painting - no brushes! I'm not sure whether that made it harder (less flexible) or easier (less to clean up!)

This painting is fairly small (12" x 18"), just because I had a spare canvas sitting around, but probably deserves to be bigger and I'd probably incorporate more brushwork if I do it again. I was trying to learn how to knife paint with this one and learned a lot - namely, not to overdo the rocks and put down more base color and scrape off before layering on more. I used lots of metallic gold paint in this one to pick up the light and would still prefer to put a golden glaze over the whole painting (but that would involve a brush!)

The photograph is quite lovely, so I can't take any credit for the colors or the composition.

CAT 797 at the Suncor Oilsands - March 18, 2006
Acrylic on Canvas, 24" x 24"
Located at: Private collection (DW) (SOLD)

This one was pretty easy because I've had a lot of practice doing CAT machines - either by editing photos or drawing vectors on the computer. In fact, I remember doing a Christmas Card once with a big mining truck full of presents many years ago - I think that one was a 793. So, I'm familiar with the lines of a mining truck and goodness knows, I have access to and have looked at a lot of spec sheets.

I pulled the source photo from Suncor's online image library; it was the only photo that had a man in it, which gives you an idea of the massive size of the truck, and a decent-looking landscape to play around with.

I didn't fiddle around too much with the sky (I tend to overwork skies, just because they're so much fun to play with) and once the ground looked good enough, I didn't touch it. I like the black/blue effect of the earth; it really evokes the oilsands. I did most of it in one sitting and then just added the fine detail. I suppose I could have abstracted it a little more and made it more cartoony, but I'm not sure how well that would go over!

It's a companion piece for my tractor. Doesn't really match the colors of the office, but it's nice and bright, so I think it will work.

Here's the progression.

Bulldozer Plowing Rocks - January 29, 2006
Acrylic on Canvas, 15" x 30"
Located at: Private office (DMB)

Title courtesy of my then-six year old son.

Limited palette - yellows, browns, and then a few blue-greys.

The D11R comes from a spec sheet (specification listing, like a sales brochure) for the D11R. A tractor always seems to be Caterpillar's most recognizable product.