A Trip North

Last week Bob and I traveled north to MacKenzie, BC to visit our daughter and son-in-law. I am pretty much a home-body so the trip was quite a change for me. I feel like we just spent 5 days traveling in the car.

 We started by going over the Creston-Salmo pass. There is a lovely little lake at the summit and a little log cabin which I believe is used by skiers and snowshoers in the winter.

 I took well over a hundred photos during our trip - mostly while the car was moving so many didn't turn out. Besides, I don't want this post to be too overloaded with photos.

Instead of going the more popular route we decided to go through New Denver then down to the small ferry on the Lower Arrow Lake.

 We ended the first day at Kamloops which is in the 'almost' desert part of BC.  The picture above looks very green for some reason when it really should be brown and yellow.

 We continued north along the Gold Rush Trail and the farther north we went the stranger the trees.

While we were in Mackenzie , the kids took us on some tours of the area. I never remember the names of the mountains or lakes unfortunately but this photo is probably from the highest place around. The road up to the top was narrow, bumpy and very close to steep drops - I had my head turned away for much of the trip. And, once at the top I stayed far away from the edge.

This is the view coming down the mountain. In this photo you might be able to see some tall posts where the road starts to disappear. These mark the edge of the road and, in winter only the top foot or so is visible and the only way up is by snowmobile.

 We never found out the names of many of the rivers or lakes that we passed along the way.

Part of our trip was through areas of BC that had suffered major fires during the summer. We didn't see much of the devastation as most of the fires were not along the highways but over 100 buildings were lost and acres of forest.

Instead of coming home the same way we went north, we headed east from Kamloops through the Rogers Pass and the Kicking Horse Pass.

The Rogers Pass has a number of avalanche tunnels which are always interesting.

 

There have been some major changes in the road through the Kicking Horse Pass and we wanted to see them. I can't say that I remember what the road used to be like but there are now some pretty big structures and some impressive through-ways.

 I guess the most impressive structure is the bridge. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a really good photo.

After seeing the changes we turned and headed south to home. After 4 1/2 days of almost constant driving we were both tired and neither of us felt like taking more photos - it is so good to be home!

To end on a really cheerful note - after almost 3 months we have finally had some rain - almost enough to wet the forest and more in the forecast.

Thanks for stopping by.

Just One Step Ahead

It is not often that a student asks to learn something that I don't know how to do but Jeannie surprised me by wanting to try an abstract. Thankfully there is the internet with hundreds of photos to for viewing and learning.

#1017 - Blended Blooms - 5 x 7 watercolour

Not being sure what Jeannie was interested in, I did 'Blended Blooms' as a trial. I liked it but, when she came for her lesson, Jeannie felt that she wanted a more abstract look and less impressionism.

#1015 - Bold Burst - 5 x 7 watercolour

'Bold Burst' started as a demonstration of applying colour somewhat randomly. I finished this after the class by adding more colour and water and letting things flow together.

#1016 - Blended - 5 x 7 watercolour

'Blended' is the painting we did together and, of course, I forgot to take a photo of Jeannie's painting. Jeannie liked her painting in landscape format but I prefer portrait format for mine. It was fun doing this piece so I used the idea for a birthday card I made for a friend.

Card #87 - Birthday Balloons

For the lesson with Jeannie I was just one step ahead so I was happy to get back on track with this week's class with Heather and do something I was more familiar with - skies and mountains!

We used one of my older paintings as a guide for our first piece.

#967 - Clouds on the Mountain #2 - 5 x 16 watercolour

Heather wanted to learn how to achieve the tonal perspective needed for the mountains and she liked the clouds over the mountains. When I mentioned taking photos of her work she was reluctant so I didn't push. We left the foreground for homework because I wanted Heather to try a more dramatic sky.

#1019 - Sunset Storm - 5 x 7 watercolour

We stared out doing a bright sunset but ended up with a 'Sunset Storm'. Many beginners are afraid of using too much colour and I wanted to show her that adding the dark clouds over the sunset could make a more effective painting.

I hope to show my students that painting can be fun! I want them to loosen up and play a bit more; to let the brush dance over the paper and just see what happens. It will come with more practice and confidence and then they will have the skills to paint different styles, from abstract to realistic. Here's hoping!

Lucky Demonstrations

Once again I was very lucky with my demonstrations for my students this week and completed a few paintings that worked very well.

#1010 - Yellow-rumped Warbler #2 - 5 x 7 watercolour

Ed wanted to work on a piece that had more detail and to have a more realistic painting. This piece involved using finer brushes and a nib pen for the smallest lines. Because of the detail Ed didn't get his painting finished during the class but he was doing a super job. I hope he brings his painting next time and I hope he will let me take a photo.

#1011 - A Quiet Place - 5 x 7 watercolour

"A Quiet Place" was a very lucky painting. A few weeks ago my student, Heather, and I worked on a scene from the Creston Valley. Heather had problems with a few elements of her piece so I grabbed a discarded piece of paper to show her how to make some corrections. The trees on the hill in the middle ground were painted first to demonstrate how to blend them together and set them down on the hill. Then, I quickly painted some evergreens to one side so I could show her how to lift the dark colour to make bushes in front of the trees. While she was making these adjustments on her painting, I just sort of doodled in the rest of the scene. I really liked the finished painting which is why I say it was lucky.

#1006 - Erickson Orchards - 7 x 10 watercolour

This is my painting of the valley scene that Heather and I were working on and you can see the locations that involved the demonstrations. Again, I hope to be able to get photos of her painting at her next lesson.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment.

2016 Day 7

I did NOT feel like painting today! But I did it anyway - lol.

This morning I attended a "Values" workshop hosted by the Creston Art Club and instructed by local artist Eileen Hirota. It was very informative but tiring (all that concentration!) Then, after lunch my husband and I moved a ton of snow that had come thundering down off the roof of the house.

At any rate, I am very tired and achy so this painting is a 'quickie'.

Snow on the Mountains

Another 5 x 7 x 3/4" home made canvas board painted with acrylics and a palette knife. Now I just have to sign it and seal it and it will be done!

I don't know if it has been the rough canvases or the fact that I have been using gesso instead of white paint but I have found these little canvases so easy to photograph. I haven't had to worry about the flash glare which has been a blessing because the last few days have been pretty gloomy and the light outside has not been optimum for photos - at least not for me - lol.

Don't forget to check out Leslie's blog to see art from the other participants in the 30 Painting in 30 Days Challenge -  http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/blog

September Challenge Day 13

After a few days of not feeling well I decided I needed some color in my card.

Lakeside

A simple little pen & ink sketch with watercolor washes on Strathmore Watercolor Card.

I tried something more complicated today and really messed it up - straight to the garbage it went! I guess it takes good health to concentrate; maybe tomorrow.

Rainy Day Painting

The last few days we have finally gotten some much needed rain. While enjoying the cooler weather and the sound of the rain on the roof, I managed to get a new painting done.

In the Eye of the Storm

Last week a friend gave me some old art magazines and as I looked through them I was struck by the paintings of Michael Atkinson. His ability to showcase sun-lit subjects is wonderful and I decided to try my hand at something similar. My painting is based on his painting "Abiquiu". I did not manage to achieve the look I was aiming for unfortunately so, although I am reasonably happy with my piece, I will be trying for this effect again.

"In the Eye of the Storm" is a 10 x 21 unframed watercolor on Arches 140 CP paper.

For those of you who followed my posts during the Summer of Color, here is my painting 'Feathery' completed (remember that I left the bottom right empty and wasn't satisfied?).

Feathery

Let me know what you think of my paintings AND what YOU are up to in the studio this week.

Summer of Color #5

Once again the participants in this year's SOC were set a considerable challenge. Two greens and a pink - where does she come up with these combinations?

Because I had more time this week, I decided to paint some fabric. The colors weren't really inspiring me so I just played. I used some GAC 900 and fluid acrylics, mixing cyan and yellow to get two different greens and just going with primary magenta for my pink.

painted fabric tote bag

other side of tote with pocket showing

I painted two pieces of fabric because I mixed up too much paint (I still have some left - lol). I made a nice large tote bag: perfect for carrying a couple of 11 x 14 paintings or some binders. The bag is lined with a pocket inside and one outside.

painted fabric in greens & pink

I will probably make another bag with the second piece of fabric but who knows?

While I was thinking about greens & pink, I decided to try something with my watercolors. The best thing about painting is being able to mix your colors so I started experimenting until I got some shades that I liked and then I did a simple little landscape. It is hard to believe that I just used the three colors stipulated - hooker's green, thalo yellow green and permanent rose.

At the Lakeside 5 x 7 watercolor

There is just one week left in the SOC challenge - what will Kristin come up with next? You can read more about the SOC here - http://www.twinkletwinklelikeastar.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-summer-of-color-5-week-5.html

DAY 26 - Just the Elements

I think today's painting does a better job of depicting just a few elements of the scene I wanted to portray.

Mountains & Flats

The Creston Valley has a number of elements that are easily identifiable. To the east there are mountains, orchards and vineyards: to the west there are mountains, the wetlands and the Flats. And, almost everywhere you look there are trees; fir, larch, cedar, aspen and poplar to name a few.

'Mountains & Flats' shows the west view without the detail that one of my regular paintings would show. I think it more in keeping with the Oriental style. I just used black and gray as a reminder to keep my focus. The painting is a 7 x 8 watercolor on rice paper.

The Flats are the flood plain for the Kootenay River as it goes into Kootenay Lake. Many years ago, before the dykes and dams were built, the valley floor would be flooded every spring and people would have to come to town by boat. The Flats are now rich farm land except for the parts reserved for the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area.

Here are the links again for you to check out the other art and to vote for your favorites - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/  and http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/

DAY 24 - On My Own

Today I decided to take what I have learned about Oriental style painting and see if I could apply it to a local scene.

Kootenay Lake

This scene is based on one of my photos of Kootenay Lake: a place that used to be called Cummings Resort but now has a strange name that I don't remember.

I am not very happy with this painting as the style is a bit too much like my regular pieces. It doesn't have that vignette quality that I see in the Oriental style. My analysis of the landscapes in my copy books suggests that only a few elements of a scene are painted and they are not usually connected.

I have a few other photos that I will work from in the next few days but this piece will be going in the NFS file!

Remember to stop by -http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ to see the work from the other artists in the challenge and then go to Sea Dean's blog to vote on your favourites - http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/

If you would like to see more of my art check out my Facebook Art page at - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellowood-Studio-and-Art-Gallery/120412094734638?ref=hl

Join me on Google+ at - https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ValvanderPoel/posts

and I have finally opened an account on Pinterest although there is not much to see yet  - http://www.pinterest.com/val1057/boards/

DAY 14 - Using Color

I have been using "A Copybook for Japanese Ink-Painting" in learning the techniques for Oriental style painting. All of the reference photos are, of course, in black and white but today I decided to use color for my study.

Going Fishing

 I also used an unknown type of paper just to experiment. It was something I got at a garage sale and I like the way it turned out! The paper allowed a little bit of blending and I find the color more interesting than the black and white. I think I will try this combination again. I also like the vignette feel of this painting - it leaves a little bit to the imagination.

Check out the art submitted for today at -  http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and then go and vote for your favorites at - http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/

DAY 7 - A Change of Pace

One of the neat things about this challenge is finding new blogs to follow and being able to learn from other artists' posts.

Country Mail Boxes

One of the blogs I checked out yesterday talked about watercolor paper canvases. I could kick myself for not remembering the name of the artist but I am sure I will find her as I am following her of Google+. At any rate, her blog led me to another blog - http://emotiveexpressions.blogspot.ca/ - and I found out more about watercolor paper canvases. So, of course, I had to try it!

My painting for day 7 is 'Country Mail Boxes', a 5 x 7 watercolor on a gallery wrap paper canvas. Once it is varnished it will be available for sale. This was an interesting experiment and I am sure I will try it again but tomorrow it will be back to working on Oriental style art.

I hope everyone will take time to check out the paintings in this challenge at - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/  and also go to this blog -  http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/ - where you can vote on your favourite pieces.