Spring-Mount Tolmie

That wonderful time of spring wild flowers always

seems to pass so quickly and once again

they have gone to seed in preparation for next years

crop of dancing colour. I was fortunate this year

to have made it out to paint en plein air

several times during the spring showing.

This is a larger version of a painting I did a

couple of weeks ago and will be one of my new works

for an upcoming show at the Morris Gallery here

in Victoria. It is a group show featuring five

of the gallery artists...

myself, Linny D. Vine, D. F. Gray, Joanne Thomson

and Keith Hiscock.

Opening reception is on Thurs. June 19th, from

7 - 9pm. You can get more details on my website.

If you are in the area please come and join us.

Acrylic on canvas 24 x 30.

Your comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"Nature which governs the whole will soon change all things

which you see, and out of their substance will make

other things and again other things...

in order that the world may

be ever new."

(Marcus Aurelius)

Yellow Iris (SOLD)

The lake where we stay on Saltspring has

a marshy shoreline that is wonderful for attracting

birds, many of whom nest among the

grasses and rushes. It also provides

habitat for tree frogs to lay their eggs.

In spring the chorus of hopeful tree frogs

fills the night time air around the lake

and is a wonderfully soothing sound

to fall asleep with.

Although they are an invasive plant,

the Yellow Iris makes a stunning

sight in the lakes marshy verges and

a challenging subject for plein air painting.

Oil on canvas 8 x 6.

Comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"I'm enjoying the most perfect tranquillity, free

from all worries, and in consequence would like

to stay this way forever, in a peaceful

corner of the countryside."

(Claude Monet)

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SOLD

Ruckle Farm (SOLD)

Another one from Saltspring, Ruckle Farm a

heritage sheep farm. It is a beautiful

place to spend time and paint and it is

on the must do again list!

Oil on canvas 14 x 11.

Your comments are always welcome.

Jeffrey

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"Rythum is as necessary in a picture as pigment;

it is as much a part of painting as of music."

(Walter J. Phillips)

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SOLD

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Art lovers are everywhere!

This photo was taken from my painting stool

with a brush in my mouth.

Saltspring Hay Field - (SOLD)

Hello everyone,

This painting was done en plein air on Saltspring Island

where we just spent a wonderful three days, painting,

fishing and enjoying the sunny weather.

This scene is at the foot of Mount Maxwell and was a

perfect place to start painting. While I painted

several Turkey vultures landed and wandered around

on the short grass hunting for small morsels of food

which seemed to be plentiful in this recently

harvested hay field. Swallows seemed to be swooping

and darting every where, which is a joy to watch.

All this activity did not stop the wave of calmness

that always envelopes me when I can sit

and take in a scene such as this.

Oil on canvas 6 x 8.

Your comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit

the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

(Maya Angelou)

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SOLD

'Mount Tolmie Trail' **SOLD**

One of the trails that wind their way through the oaks

and rock out-croppings on the north slope

of Victoria's Mount Tolmie. It is a wonderful place

to wander especially in spring when the grassy areas are

dotted with wildflowers and a wide assortment of birds

can be seen, sometimes unusual migrants.

This was painted from a photo I took while

there plein air painting a couple of weeks ago.

Oil on canvas 6 x 8.

Your comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"Bless the trees and wild renewing places"

(Pauline Conn)

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SOLD

jjboronart@shaw.ca

High Oaks Hay Field

Painted at wonderful location yesterday, High Oaks Stables.

The hay field in this painting is almost ready for mowing.

It is a fantastic feeling to sit on the edge of a

field like this. The swooping swallows and bird song,

mingling with the sounds of horses grazing nearby all make

for a wonderful contemplative mood.

I spent countless hours in similar situations during

my youth and the memories flooded in.

I struggled a bit with the amazing assortment of

green shades in this scene, so it was worked on

a bit when I got it back to the studio.

I intended to do some larger pieces using this piece

and some of the photos I took while there yesterday.

Oil on canvas 8 x 10.

Comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"Lord, keep my memory green."

(Charles Dickens)

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I would like to bring your attention to a new entry

on my link list. Clive Powsey an amazing watercolour

painter from Vancouver Islands Comox Valley.

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This painting is available for $250 CDN

plus shipping and handling.

Email me for more details

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Minus Tide - Thetis Island

I thought I would try a little experiment with this posting.

This is a piece I did several months ago and I was

never quite happy with it. Despite commonly held beliefs,

I went "back in" yesterday, and I am a little happier with

the new version. I'm interested to hear which one of the

two images you prefer (if either) and what else

you have to say about them.

Acrylic on canvas 18 x 24.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Jeffrey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You will have to experiment and try things out for yourself

and you will not be sure of what you are doing. That's

all right, you are feeling your way into the thing."

(Emily Carr)

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the Horse Barn

The classic red barn always seems to work in a painting.

This piece was done en plein air yesterday

in a wonderful spot not far from my home in Esquimalt.

It is a beautiful time of year with the new grass

and leaves in all those wonderful greens.

I plan to go back soon, as there are many

different views for more paintings

all from the same general location.

Although this piece is a bit dark I really liked the way

all the colours worked together.

Oil on canvas 11 x 14.

Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Jeffrey

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"I associate my 'careless boyhood' with all that lies on the banks

of the the Stour. Those scenes made me a painter and I am

grateful - that is, I had often thought of pictures

of them before ever I touched a pencil."

(John Constable)

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This painting is available for purchase.

Please send me an email for more details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Mount Tolmie Oak

This was painted yesterday en plein air on Mount Tolmie

facing west toward the Malahat. It was our warmest day

this year and lovely to be out.

Although it is a scourge to our environment,

the yellow flowered Scotch broom was in full glory as

were our native purple camas lily's.

I did a few touch ups on this one when I got it back

to the studio (and removed a few insects).

I'm afraid that this image came out a

bit on the dark side...ergh!

Oil on canvas 11 x 14.

Comments always welcomed!

Jeffrey

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"Awareness can be best achieved and honed

through working outside."

(Lionel Aggett)

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This painting is available for purchase.

Please email me for details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Red Tulips

I don't paint flowers very often but

one of the things I like about the painting blog

is that it tends to force me to explore areas

I might not otherwise.

This one was fun and I tried to keep it

fairly loose and resisted the temptation to

get too fussy.

Oil on canvas 8 x 6.

I welcome your comments.

Jeffrey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I am mindful to allow for the joy of exploration

and discovery within the framework

of each of my works."

(Tom Francesconi)

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This painting is avaliable for $135 CDN

plus shipping and handling.

Email me for more details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Highlands Pasture

This plein air study was done near Francis-King Park

not far from Victoria. It is an old rural agricultural area

that is hard pressed to keep development at bay.

In fact heavy machinery was hard at work across the fields

in this painting. I tried hard to be quick and simple

in this piece, with the emphasis on composition,

brush strokes and of course clouds.

I kept my palette limited as well.

Oil on canvas 8 x 10.

Your comments are always welcomed!

Jeffrey

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"At first glance simplicity can be deceiving"

(Milos Vajasinovic)

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This painting is available for $250 CDN plus

shipping and handling.

Email me for more details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Morning Mist

Morning sun streaming through a heavy mist makes

visual alterations to the landscape around us.

Adding dimension here and taking away there until

it sometimes feels as though we have been

transported to a different place.

Sounds are also affected, at times more intense

and muffled at others. Different hues of colour

emerge to intensify the changes to the landscape.

Oil on canvas 6 x 8.

Comments always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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And light has no weight,

Yet one is lifted on its flood,

Swept high,

Running up white-golden light shafts,

As if one were as weightless as light itself,

All gold and white and light.

(Lawren Harris)

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This painting can be purchased for $135 CDN,

plus shipping and handling.

Email me for details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Cattle Point Camas

Our plein aire gang was out to Cattle Point this morning,

the camas lily's are in bloom as are other wildflowers.

I had my heart set on a lovely warm sunny day and

didn't allow the reality of clouds and

light showers to change that.

It is a wonderful spot for painting

and I will return for another go soon!

Oil on canvas 8 x 10.

Your comments are always welcome!

Jeffrey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Reality can be beaten with enough imagination"

(Anonymous)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This painting can be purchased for $250 CDN,

plus shipping and handling.

Email me for further details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Cottonwood Reflection

Once again the water in this field with the reflection

on the glass like surface is what drew me to this scene.

The contrast of the dark tree skeleton against the

cloud filled sky was also very compelling.

I usually have some blue sky somewhere in my paintings

so this was a bit of a change.

Oil on canvas 8 x 6.

Comments are always appreciated.

Jeffrey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I want to touch people with my art.

I want them to say,

'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly'. "

(Vincent van Gogh)

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I would like to draw your attention to a new addition to

my "Other Artists Link List".

Massachusetts artist Mary Sheehan Winn whose yearly

travels are reflected in her eclectic body of work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This painting can be purchased for $135 CDN,

plus shipping and handling.

Email me for details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Work Point Oak

I was out with our group of "Outsiders" again

yesterday, plein aire painters that is.

The weather cooperated wonderfully and some grand

paintings were produced.

We painted at Work Point again as it is such a beautiful

spot and last weeks weather was somewhat

challenging. I think there is still some sleet

embedded in my canvas. =;-))

Oil on canvas 10 x 8.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Jeffrey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A landscape clean and crisp in form and colour,

rich in inspiration is all that an artist

could wish for, begging to be used

and full of inherent possibilities..."

(Frank Carmichael)

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This painting can be purchased for $250 CDN

plus shipping and handling.

Please email me for details.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Dancing Firs

This is a plein aire piece I did a couple of days ago.

Once again our spring sky was filled with wonderful clouds.

As I have mentioned here before I am endlessly fascinated

with clouds and love to paint them.

I really liked the contrast of the dark trees against

the lighter colours of the clouds and sky in this scene.

Oil on canvas 14 x 11.

Your comments are always welcome.

Jeffrey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I never get tired of the blue sky"

(Vincent van Gogh)

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Please contact me by email for

details on purchasing this painting.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Saanich Farmlands

A world apart, those farming areas that lie in close proximity

to urban areas have a jarringly different feel to them.

I love going "crop touring" in farm country, they have

such a visual appeal to me. They also bring back memories

of my youth, and my connection to farming back then.

In this piece I attempted to convey the feeling of open

space found in farm country.

Oil on canvas 16 x 20.

Comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"Its not what you look at that matters,

its what you see."

(Henry David Thoreau)

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Please contact me by email for

details on purchasing this painting.

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Forest Fairies

One of the earliest flowering trees in the Pacific north west

is our native Bird Cherry or Indian Plum. A somewhat

ordinary looking tree for the rest of the year, in

early spring it's exotic looking blooms seem to float

in the forest air. The upright yellow green leaves

appear like wings and give the blossoms the appearance

of flying forest fairies. The appearance of these fairies of

the forest is one of the surest harbringers of spring.

Oil on canvas 6 x 8

Your comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth

find reserves of strength that will endure

as long as life lasts."

(Rachel Carson)

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This painting can be purchased for $135.00 CDN

plus shipping and handling.

Email me for more details

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Clouds Over Rose Bay

Our plein aire gang were at it again yesterday.

This time we braved blustery hypothermic conditions

at the Work Point Barracks in Esquimalt.

It is a beautiful spot and we plan to go back.

I took much licence with this piece as conditions

demanded a fast and loose approach.

The sun did break free for a brief moment, hence

the somewhat sunny feel to this painting, and

wishful thinking, brrr.

Oil on canvas 10 x 8.

Your comments are always welcome.

Jeffrey

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"Working outdoors from life puts you in direct contact

with the life force, not just the light and the landscape,

but also the vitality of the world around you."

(George Carlson)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This painting can be purchased for $250,

plus shipping and handling.

Email me for more details

jjboronart@shaw.ca

Maple Flowers (SOLD)

One of the most exotic features of spring in the

south west corner of British Columbia are the

flowers of our native Big Leaf maples.

When lit by the spring sun, their beautiful

yellow green flowers and the new unfurling leaves,

make a striking sight against the dark greens

of the surrounding forest.

These tasty edibles were an important addition

to the spring time diets of our first peoples.

Oil on canvas 6 x 6.

Your comments are always welcomed

and appreciated.

Jeffrey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You are not copying nature,

but responding to nature in full awareness,

to the way nature expresses herself in that object"

(Fredrick Franks)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SOLD

New Links

Hello everyone,

Please take note of four artists that I recently added

to my "Other Artist" list as follows

in no particular order...

*RON MORRISON* - a yarning watercolourist from the

wilds of Northern Vancouver Island

*TIM GOSS* - a watercolourist and master sketcher

from Eugene, Oregon

*RON WILSON* - a plein aire painter from Victoria BC

and one of the driving forces behind our

"El Frescoe's" non-group group.

*JIMMY LONGACRE* - a camera shy landscape painter

from the Texas hill country.

You will find the links to these amazing painters

to the right. Please take a moment to check

out the art they are producing.

Jeffrey

Spring on the Gorge (SOLD)

Spring always brings signs of renewal that we have yearned

for during the darker months of the year.

The annual herring run up the Gorge is one of those.

Not far from the scene in this painting, anglers will be doing

their best to fill their buckets with

the shiny silver bait fish that will make their annual

spawning run here. The fisherman compete with gulls,

cormorants, seals and others.

Sadly, the numbers of herring are somewhat diminished now.

Herring are among the primary foundations of our

entire marine ecosystem.

Oil on canvas 8 x 10.

Your comments are welcomed.

Jeffrey

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Nature is what we know

Yet have not art to say

So important our wisdom is

To her simplicity

(Emily Dickinson)

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SOLD

Stone Beach-Saturna *SOLD*

It is exciting to be in the coastal environment during

the low lows. That time of "below minimum" tides.

The sea recedes baring parts of the foreshore

that can only be imagined during normal tides.

Our perspective can be altered

because of the changed sight lines with

the unusual exposure of broad expanses of shoreline.

This painting depicts one such time in late May

near Russell Park on Saturna Island.

Oil on canvas 6 x 8.

Your comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"Suddenly, as rare things will, it vanished."

(Robert Browning)

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(SOLD)

Among the Oaks

I always get a feeling of gentleness and calm when

walking in a Garry oak meadow.

This painting depicts what was once a common part of

Victoria's ecosystem. In spring among the oaks are carpets of Camas Lily

and in some areas Shooting Stars. Those remnant

pieces of meadow that remain hold a special magic and their

spirit can still be felt when you walk there.

Oil on canvas 12 x 16.

Comments always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"The best and most beautiful things in the

world cannot be seen or even touched.

They must be felt with the heart."

(Helen Keller)

Reflection

Hello everyone.

This painting was inspired by a small one I did several

weeks ago. I think it deserved a larger format.

I have also used the title from the earlier piece

as I love the ambiguity of it.

Oil on canvas 24 x 24.

Your comments are always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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"In our fine arts, not imitation, but creation is the aim...The

details, the prose of nature, he should omit, and give us

only the spirit and the splendour."

(Ralph Waldo Emmerson)