3401 Fleming Street- September, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 60"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

This is a century-old former boarding house near Commercial Drive in East Van. The owners had completely renovated the exterior by removing the old stucco finish to expose the original wood beneath. They asked that a hint of the pre-reno house be represented somehow, so that's the right-hand side part that seems to be in the shadow. There's a bit of the old dark brown trim style, too.

They have a lovely casually manicured garden full of personal symbols and memories. Lucky are people and the animals who get to sit there. I positioned their little daschund near the stairs and put their pretty cat perched on top of one of the columns. I also put a tribute to another cat they had (RIP) up in the right-hand tree, like the Cheshire Cat.

I made the distortion vaguely pyramidic because it seems like a house with a solid base. The columns and fence wiggle like toes in the sun. The season is spring, mid-day as the sun moves over one's left shoulder when you're facing west. It's one of those buttery warm new-bud days that seem completely happy and serene.

Summer Street Character Houses - September, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"
Located at: Bezanson Art Consulting

This is a row of character houses like those around City Hall. I painted them with full summer blooms in their gardens and hanging baskets.

Winter in Cottage Country - February, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

Cottage country is a big deal in Canada, particularly in Ontario. This is a classically-styled cabin with happy recreational touches like a boat, a big, broad deck, and plenty of windows to appreciate the view. The setting is on a clear bright winter day.

The building is shaped like a smile with upbeat roof points and dimples in the structure. It appears cheerful and sturdy with lots of optimism in the pointing-up tree branches and clouds. Nothing slouches in this place of refuge and cheer.

Chez Mike - February, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

This is a late-afternoon early evening summer scene. It's when cottage life is at full tilt in Ontario.

This one was personified to match the owner and appear strong and reflective and warm. It fills the frame and seems like a great big grin.

Gaffney Cottage - February, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

This is a spring cottage scene, indicated by the warm, patchwork lighting, the flowery lawn, and the new-green leafy foliage. I debated about putting the Canadian flag in because it bisected the picture but you can't have a cottage in Canadian cottage country without the flag; it's as ubiquitous as the trees.

2599 Belloc Street - February, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

When I paint houses, I usually angle rooftops and trees upwards to symbolize optimism because homes are happy places that reflect their owners, past and present. This building was also structured as if it were poised for flight above the well-groomed colourful shrubbery. There's a swirliness to the sky and driveway and a sense of motion and wind in the trees.

1887 West 3rd - December, 2010
Acrylic on canvas, 48" x 60"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

This commission was from someone who had very fond memories of living in this triplex in Kitsilano. They installed the fence and the window box when they lived there and both were still in use when I took the reference photo.

The overall shape of the house is kind of like a pudgy teapot with a face. There was something in the sweet old-fashioned touches like the white picket fence and the flower-filled window box that were best expressed with a teapotty shape. Houses have faces, and this one definitely did.

At the time, they had a friendly fat black cat with green eyes and a crooked tail. The cat was placed on the front steps because he was "usually out front greeting people." The customer's favourite West coast season is spring, with "a sky that has a good amount of grey, just to keep it real!" The lighting is warm, buttery late afternoon (left-side western light).

I had this one up on my easel around Christmas and had lots of admirers. One fellow, a realtor, stared at it for a while. I told him the address and he said, "Yes, I know the place. In fact, I know someone who was born and raised there." Funny coincidences.

These are my favourite sort of paintings to do. There's a built-in nostalgia and sentimentality when you think of where you spent happy times and it is best described with whimsy and a few emotional details, like the cat, the red geraniums, and the five o'clock lighting. I like to imagine everyday scenes that were repeated over and over in one's memory. This is life extant.

Character Houses - Orange, with Tree - December, 2010
Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

This was part of a two-painting set for a Christmas commission from someone who liked my Kitsilano Houses painting. The direction I got was that the recipient liked orange and was fond of a particular tree in their yard. I put a lot of orange tones in the painting plus orange-complementary tones of green and blue.

This was inspired by the houses around City Hall and in Kitsilano.

Character Houses - Red - December, 2010
Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)

This was part of a two-painting set for a Christmas commission from someone who liked my Kitsilano Houses painting. The direction I got was that the recipient liked red, so the houses got complementary primary-color treatment.

This was inspired by the houses around City Hall and in Kitsilano.

4 Brightoncrest Way, Calgary - May 2010
Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"
Located at: Private collection (J&RT)

This was a wedding present for my cousin. It's a portrait of their house in Calgary. I used colors to match their décor - blues, greens, taupe, black.

The idea of painting a house as if it has fluid, collapsible architecture gives the house "expressivity". The garage doors appear to grin, the windows twinkle and wink, and the front door is a dimple. The earth around the house buckles in response and the clouds dance and form merry little heart shapes and playful swirls. The whole effect is one of joy.

A couple's first house is a significant event: it is where they share and build a life together. Thus, 4 Brightoncrest Way is a container for the journey that started in Thailand, at Haad Yao beach. The expressivity of this home is that it can barely contain its excitement and is bursting with happiness and optimism. .

Govenlock Cabin - September, 2009
Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"
Located at: Private collection (SOLD)

This is a cabin in the woods, owned by someone I always knew as Grandma Govenlock. To me, it looks almost exactly like the sort of cabin Red Riding Hood might visit.

I believe the cabin is near Flin Flon, Manitoba. The photo I worked from showed the cabin painted white, but I was told that, years ago, the bottom half was canary yellow and the top half was sky blue, so that's how I rendered it, complete with party-hat roof.

There were many good memories here, so the woods and grounds are festively colored - like streamers and confetti. The cabin itself winks playfully behind the slim trees in front, like it's playing peekaboo. No wolves, just fun. This is how we should remember a Grandma's house!

108 Eagle Ridge - December 10, 2007
Acrylic on Canvas, 20" x 16"
Located at: Private collection (A&RT) (SOLD)

This painting was commissioned for parents who were downsizing to a smaller home at the end of 2007. The kids wanted to give them a portrait of the house they'd grown up in, a location that everyone referred to as "108". 108 became the title and is kind of funny because it sounds like a deadly high fever temperature as well.

Initially, they asked if I could do some portraits of the family members alongside; I demurred and said it's unlikely I'd get portraits done in time for a Christmas gift (I know my own fiddly limitations), but how about a few representative items that symbolize each member of the family?

They thought about it, and came back with three things that represented the whole family: the classic Pontiac Parisienne that acted as the main carriage for all the kid's graduations and weddings, the dirt bike that everyone used to tear around the yard, and the family cat, a fluffy tortoiseshell cutie. It is charming that no one object was tied to a single family member: everything they came up with is something that the whole family enjoyed together, much like the house itself. That says something about the family, doesn't it?

Progression is here.

The Tanner Cabin - October 27, 2006
Acrylic on Canvas, 20" wide X 16" tall
Located at: Private collection (A&RT)

The Shuswap Lake view one is the real commission piece - but I’m giving them this one as well as a surprise. When the customers talked about the cabin their father built in Shuswap, there was a lot of love there. They mentioned how their family was "proud to have built it from scratch over 40 years ago" and that it had a lot of memories of family and friends. "It is something special that will always be a part of the family legacy," they said. And they wrote about how they loved to sit on the deck for a drink at 5pm and watch the sun shine on the opposite shore. They mentioned the painting would probably hang in a bright room with a décor that has natural wood trim, soft golds and greens, and a very comfortable informal setting.

So with that in mind, this one came together really easily. The cabin has a lot of character - you can almost see a face there. I wanted to try bringing that out, making it smile. I also like it because of the human elements you see - the path, the chairs on the deck, and that bright little pinwheel on the stump.

Progression is here.