Here is a second study (see below for the other one) I did tonight of the Fourth of July Fireworks in Skagway, AK. This was such a great day; bumped into a black bear on the hike to Sturgill's Landing, enjoyed fresh seafood for dinner with some Alaskan beer and finished the day off with an incredible fireworks display over the harbour.

I had started this awhile ago, mostly as a warm up before starting some other work, but I've decided that I actually quite like it, even if it's not finished. Maybe it's because the glass of wine is telling a story here...like that I got impatient and wanted to drink it? I can't remember.





I did some plein air watercolour painting last Saturday (March 31st) at Glenmore Reservoir, overlooking the Weaselhead Natural Area. Being in such a big city it is nice to have areas like this for a little inspiration. The weather has been pretty awesome too!

Aven, I'm putting this up just for you. Thank you for being my biggest fan, haha.
Skagway, AK harbour study - Fourth of July fireworks. I'm probably not helping the case that an organized artist exists with this photograph.

                 Northern Lights III & IV.

                                 Northern Lights II

   Northern Lights I.

 Christmas cards 2011. The ones with the gold leaf go along with a series of paintings I am working on that are supposed to reflect Northern Lights.

A commissioned watercolour painting of the Village Bakery in Haines Junction, Yukon. It's only open during the summer months, but you can't visit Haines Junction without stopping here!

Sadly, Cody passed away this past October. I was commissioned by a relative to do this drawing of him and his Mom. It's not very often that you can find a composition that works this well as a square, and I think it draws you to their faces more.

Curtis Golomb

Angela Morgan

Bigoudi

 I had a fun day yesterday visiting the art galleries on 11th Avenue SW (this doesn't sound like much, but I went to at least 7)! I talked to some gallery owners and got some constructive feedback about my work and things I should work on. It was very helpful, and seeing all of the other artwork out there right now has me feeling much more inspired! Some artists I was admiring: curtisgolomb.com www.angelamorgan.net www.bigoudi.ca

I'm on a mission today to see how many art galleries I can visit in Calgary. I tried to put a list together yesterday, but there are just too many! I did discover that Rod Charlesworth is having another exhibition in Banff in October, so I may have to hit that up. I've become a big fan of his work: http://www.rodcharlesworth.com/

The brothers: Sean, Brad and Todd. Pencil 11x14" ...Probably one of my favourites that I've done.

A commissioned painting I did for relatives of Lee's. From Denman Island looking out. It's more abstract than how I usually paint, but I like the way the colours pop. It's moody and calm at the same time, with the light shining down on the Island where Sean's ashes are spread. Oil 16x20"

This is a commissioned piece I did this month for a family in Calgary. It was a favourite family photo of theirs - I hope I did it justice! 24 x 30" Oil on canvas.

Usually I am at home for Christmas where my brother Nathan helps me bake and decorate cookies. Because I won't be going home this year, I made some bear cookies, special, for him.

Every year I make my own Christmas cards to mail away to friends and family. This year I pieced together some of my own photographs for each of the greetings. Here are four out of the seven.

 I started this painting about ten months ago, and have been working on it here and there ever since. It was time to get it done. I think I am very close, but will keep it up in the apartment for awhile before I spray fix it, as I'm sure I'll spot a few more areas to touch up! I put in the picture above to get a better sense of the scale. 

Haines Harbour; Oil on canvas - 36 x 48".

The window mural that I painted for the Northeast News. During the holidays they print a newspaper called the North Pole News.

After doing my Midnapore Lake painting, I wanted to do another with a few changes. I tried to use less variation of blues to tie the painting together better, and left off the big spruce trees framing the subject so that the smaller canvas would feel brighter.


$250 Oil 11x14" unframed, stretched canvas

I did this neutral version of Willow Acres Road before I did the monochromatic blue one that you can see here on my blog.

For this still-life I tried to focus on using complimentary colours; not only surrounding the fruit, but using it for the shadows as well. Cezanne is a master at this. Oil 8x11"

I love Halloween and was feeling in the spirit this afternoon. The contrast created by the candlelight makes for a great subject! Oil 8x11"

Back to painting my "bottles" again; maybe I should do a series? Anyways, it's an easy and fun still-life to put together. Oil 8x11"

Winter has arrived in Fort St John. I can't believe Juneau (my dog) stayed put long enough for me to get a quick sketch of him!
Watercolour 10x14"