'Water Lover' oil on canvas 24 x 30

Sunday, November 29, 2009

'November Willow',

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Gorge Waterway, willows, Takata tea house, Victoria BC)


November in my part of the world is a time when the
willows both native and otherwise really show off their
colour. On these dark and dreary days that we have
been having they glow like lamps in the landscape.
However this Friday morning we were delighted by
bright sunny skies and brisk temperatures.
The early morning frost can be blamed for "inspiring" the
early snow in this piece. This was painted in a very
historic part of Victoria, which is now part of the
Gorge Waterway park system. However starting in
the early 1900's this was the terminus on the Gorge Loop
of the long since vanished BC Electric street car system.
It became a site of beautiful gardens, amusements, plays
and musical performances. For many years the Takata
family had a wonderful floating tea house and Japanese
strolling garden here. There was also a large sampan that
could be boarded in Victoria's inner harbour and ridden
to the tea house and surrounding park. There is
an effort underway to restore some of the old
Japanese garden to its former glory, which was heavily
vandalized and slowly destroyed following the
invasion of Pearl Harbour in WWII.
For a more detailed history, complete with some
wonderful old photo's please refer to Dennis Minaker's
fantastic book 'The Gorge of Summers Gone' A History
of Victoria's Inland Waterway.
Oil on wood panel 11 x 14.
Your thoughts and comments are always welcomed!
Jeffrey
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Please email me for information about purchasing
this painting using PayPal's secure on-line system.
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"From the blue-black of night, beyond where the campfires flicker,
a latern-lit boat nears the jetty where a temple-roofed
building is both refreshment booth and landing stage...
its a merry throng that debarks to return to the park
over the three semi-circular arched bridges."
-Colonist newspaper, July 19, 1908

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

'Winter Afternoon-Swan Lake',

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Swan Lake, Vancouver Island)


I painted this today in the studio as a practice run for a
larger canvas. We continue to be deluged by rain
storm after rain storm so picking a time to paint between
downpours is almost impossible, I'm not much of a
'brolly painter'! I will probably try and get a better
photo when this piece dries a bit more.

Oil on canvas
 6 x 8.
Comments always appreciated!

Jeffrey






Monday, November 23, 2009

'November Poplars',

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Fort Rodd Hill, poplars, cottonwood, plein air oil painting)

This past Friday morning brought a few hours of splendid
painting weather. A small band of hardy plein air
painters met up at Fort Rodd Hill for the mornings paint out.
The biggest problemwith this spot is the amazing amount
of painting sites to choose from. The wind, if any,
often helps with the decision.
I had gone hoping to catch the last colour of the
cottonwoods and poplars, however due to the wind
storms for several days prior, I had to make a few...
reality adjustments =;-))
Oil on wood panel 9 x 12.
Thoughts and comments always appreciated!
Jeffrey
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Please email me to arrange your purchase.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

'September Evening-Highrock',

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Highrock Park, Esquimalt BC, Western Tanagers, September)

It has been a very hectic past few weeks with art shows and
other related activities and my blogging has been infrequent
to say the least. As well, my painting time has been very
limited. This piece was painted from a photo I took on an
early September evening while up on Highrock for
for a paint out with artist Linny D. Vine.
It was a lovely warm evening and we were very fortunate
to be there just as a large foraging flock of migrating
Western Tanagers arrived to feed, much to the dismay
of several cranky Olive-sided Flycatchers. There was
non-stop activity for over an hour. I went back up the
next evening hoping for a repeat but it was as though
all the birds in the world had vanished!
Oil on canvas 14 x 18.
Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated!
Jeffrey
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"Each second we live is a new and unique moment
of the universe, a moment that will never be again."
(Pablo Casals)
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Please email me for information about
acquiring this painting.
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

'Arbutus Trail',

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Arbutus, West Coast Medley)

This post is to announce a show I'm in which
opens this Friday Nov. 13th.
'West Coast Medley'
It is a three personshow featuring myself,
painter Carrol Ann Smedley
and nature photographer Dean Mills.
The opening is from 6 pm till 9 pm at the new
No. 5 Gallery, 1814 Oak Bay Ave @ Richmond.
If you are in the area I really hope you can come out
and take in the show which runs to Dec 3rd.
Please click here for more details!
The painting above is a re-post 14 x 11 acrylic on canvas.
As always your comments are appreciated!
Jeffrey
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

'Highrock View' **SOLD**

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Garry oaks, Highrock Park, Esquimalt BC)

I got out for a couple hours about a week ago to paint this.
It's one of my favourite spots up on Highrock and I have
done several paintings in this area of the park. Wonderful
rock formations and distant views it also is a great spot
for birding. The mosses are really starting to
flourish now with the cool wet weather.
Oil on wood panel 6 x 8.
Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated.
Jeffrey
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SOLD

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

'September at the Lake',

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, September light, southern Vancouver Island

Another one in my September light series...
How can September seem so long ago already =;(
As we go into the dark months I'm happy to have
images of these paintings to light things up a bit.
This is one of the pieces that will be featured in my
upcoming show at the No. 5 Gallery next week.
I'll post more details about the show later.
Oil on canvas 16 x 20.
Thoughts and comments are always welcomed!
Jeffrey
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Please email me if you are interested in
purchasing this painting.
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Monday, November 2, 2009

'October Colour',

(Canadian west coast Impressionism, fall colours, Uplands Park, Victoria, BC, plein air oil painting)

I painted this piece en plein air about a week ago and
managed to get most of it done before the rain started.
I have been enjoying painting the coloured trees against
the dark autumn skies. I think it adds a bit of drama.
However I did find it a bit of a challenge to get the colours
right in the very low light conditions.
Oil on wood panel 11 x 14.
Your thoughts and comments are always welcomed.
Jeffrey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please email me if you are interested in
purchasing this painting.
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