'Storm Warning'

Hopefully this painting and its title is not some sort of "sign".

 The art life can be an amazing journey of

discovery and adventure, often into unknown territory

both physically and mentally. We can discover things

about the world around us and our selves that shock us

and sometimes bring much pain and anguish. At the same

time these discoveries, both large and small,

can be full of joy and wonder,

bringing us ever closer to the level of vision

and insight that seems often to be that which we

are seeking as artists. But the art life can be a tough

business...if you have been at it for a while you will have

heard someone who's been riding this horse for a long time

tell you...but on you sail further and further from shore.

It can be a lonely life and one that vulnerability has no

boundaries. You will learn things you really didn't want

to know and things that will lift your spirits and set you

free (if only for a brief moment) to soar with the swallows.

Like a west coast seiner heading into a morning gale

we go on, cause that's what we do. 

Wishing you fair winds and following seas!

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

Oil on canvas 36 x 48.

Your thoughts & comments are valued.

Jeffrey 

'Camas Trail'

Finally, the Camas season has arrived! I painted

this piece on lovely spring day last week. We are about

three weeks behind last years blooming but happy

nonetheless. It is truly a magical experience to spend time

painting alone among these native flowers.

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

Oil on wood panel 
11 x 14.

Thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

 

'South Coast Light'

This painting was developed from a plein air piece I

painted last March. I must say that the grand scale

in this painting was very inspiring and I set my

imagination dial to "Playtime" and let it happen!

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

Oil on canvas 30 x 40.

Thoughts & comments always appreciated!

Jeffrey

"April Morning at Witty's"

On Saturday of the Easter long weekend 
I spent a beautiful sunny day at Witty's Lagoon
 not far from Victoria.

It is one of the south Island treasures. 
On this day the tide was a minus one, 
that produced sand bars in the bay

that ran out at least 1/4 mile interlaced 
with shallow rivulets (ankle to knee deep) 
that needed to be crossed to

make it out some of those far off spots as

many fun seekers did.

We painted close to shore in a dry
 sandy bottomed cove.

This is one of the two I painted that day.

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

Oil on wood panel 11 x 14.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Spring Weather - Royal Roads'

This spot is not far from my studio 
and it is one I have been meaning to paint 
for quite some time. It is a

rather exposed location which is fine 
except when a sudden 180 wind shift puts you 
right in the teeth of a spring gale -

like right now!! 
Fortunately, I was just putting some

finishing strokes on when I was forced 
to try and get everything on the ground
 before it blew away.
 I did manage to get that done except for my tripod 
which, of course, blew over and fell 
catching my grounded palette and putting

my brushes and several other pieces of equipment 
firmly into the gobs of paint...

=:-p

Ah the joy and excitement 
of painting en plein air!

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

Oil on wood panel
9 x 12.

Thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'East Sooke Sparkle'

Painted on the beach at East Sooke Park a

couple of weeks ago on a beautiful sparkling

afternoon. We wait all winter for these special afternoons.

About 15 miles from Victoria by water, it is here

that the real West Coast environment begins.

It really has a much different look and feel than Victoria's

shoreline and the southern Gulf Islands.

Near the point in the middle distance petroglyphs can

be seen. They were created in the 'long ago time' by one

of the first human being artists whose

descendants still live the area.

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

Oil on wood panel 12 x 16.

Your thoughts & comments are always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Rising Tide - Gonzales Bay'

Gonzales has been a favourite beach

area almost since the beginning here

in Victoria. It is a sheltered shallow

bay with with high, steep foreshore

and wide expansive beach. The water gets

warm enough for water play in the summer.

Even in the cool months on warm days

the younger folk can be seen boogie

 boarding along the waters edge.

I plan to do a series of pieces in the

coming weeks featuring this Victoria jewel.

This was the second of the day following

the cloudscape in my previous post,

(and a nice warm lunch)!

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

Oil on wood panel 6 x 8.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

Another day in the clouds.

Though cool and windy,

the cloud show was fantastic from atop

Mount Tolmie last Thursday.

The darn panel wasn't big enough though...

=:-l

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

Oil on wood panel 9 x 12.

Your thoughts & comments welcomed.

Jeffrey

'Towhee'

One day last winter while looking for a

sheltered place amongst the trees to

do some plein air painting, I was able to

get a photo of this Rufous-sided Towhee.

I watched as he hunted along the

luxuriously moss covered Garry oak limb.

Nature can provided some startling colour

even on a gray winters day.

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

Oil on board 6 x 6.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Rising Wind - Holland Point'

Though I may seem to whine a bit about bad weather

the neat thing about cloudy wet weather is getting set

up as the winds rise and the clearing begins.

I was lucky enough to get out one afternoon a

couple of weeks ago for just that sort of event.

The clouds and sparkle on the water seems so much

brighter and lively. Little things that make plein air

so very interesting and challenging.

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

Oil on wood panel 6 x 8.

Your thoughts & comments always welcomed.

Jeffrey

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

 

'Spring Sky - Little Trial Island'

I painted with a buddy of mine on the shore of McNeill

Bay last weekend. To say that the sky on that

beautiful warm day was spectacular would be an

understatement in the extreme.

I have included a series of photos that I hope will give

you some idea of the incredible aerial extravaganza we

witnessed as we painted. I must say that I sensed at the

outset that I would need to get my sky roughed-in quickly

and then develop it further as things were going to

change and man did they. I often had the feeling that I just may

have started my painting to soon...

=:-/

The double humped island to the right of the painting middle

is known locally as Little Trial Island because of its

remarkable profile similarity to its much bigger brother

Trial Island, that is home to the historic light station.

The main Trial Island is now an ecological reserve that

harbours several plant species that are no longer found

in other areas around the south Island.

These photos are set up from when I first started

till when we were finishing up...I did hold

back on many more!

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

Oil on wood panel 12 x 16.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Juan de Fuca Light'

I was fortunate to be set up ready to go when the light

broke through the dispersing clouds. Transferring the

blinding brilliance of that fast changing light as the patterns

moved across the water I found to

be quite a challenge. However in this instance the

surface of the sea was dark with shimmering light that

allowed for an interesting contrast.

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

Oil on wood panel 9 x 12.

Your thoughts & comments are valued.

Jeffrey

'March Afternoon - Holland Point'

Another plein air from Victoria's waterfront. This time

I faced west toward Albert Head while standing

above the beach at Holland Point. That is the

green marker at Brotchie Ledge in the middle left.

Our weather is very unpredictable these days and it is a real

gamble as to what conditions you will get from one hour

to the next. We got lucky close to noon on

Friday for this excursion.

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

Oil on wood panel 11 x 14.

Your thoughts & comments are very much appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Evening Sky - McNeill Bay'

The waters surrounding these islands and islets have

been the scene of many marine disasters in our

maritime history here on the south Island.

Rough ground that can go from several feet to a hundred

in short order. As well tides that can reach 6-7 knots

make for tricky navigation in the best of conditions, add

in 30 or 40 knots of wind, darkness and

mariners beware.

Fortunately standing as I was on firm ground in late

afternoon sun, painting this piece was not fraught

with such concerns.
=;-))

Wishing you all 'fair winds and following seas'.

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

Oil on wood panel 12 x 16.

Your thoughts & comments are always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Eventide in the Islands'

 
Several years ago I spent a couple of days at the north end

of Thetis Island and it is from some of the photos I took

that this piece was developed.

It was late May and there were spring tides running.

The below zero tides during the day provided amazing

reference photos that I have probably developed into

at least a dozen different paintings.

When we were there it was so quiet that it was almost

eerie. The extreme low tides exposed those unusual

rock formations that the Gulf Islands are known for.

(hmmm perhaps a double-entendre...)

As the evening settled upon us 
you could sense the spirits

that continue to walk these shores.

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

'Eventide in the Islands'
oil on wood panel 
18 x 24.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Morning Winds - Enterprise Channel'

BC's south coast was battered by another gale from early

morning and through much of today. Some areas registering

wind gusts to 100kmh. Though the winds were not

anywhere near that speed where I painted this morning,

it was too windy to set up outside so I hunkered down,

once again, in the shelter of my vehicle...

Incredibly beautiful skies and sparkling water in a very

fast changing panorama, so make a decision and

paint fast boyo!

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

Oil on wood panel 6 x 8.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Snowy Coffin Island'

At low tide the Coffin Islands are a small and wondrous

place alive with the quarrelsome sounds of feeding

Wigeon as well as other competing waterfowl.

The islands lie on the north side of the entrance to West Bay

in Victoria's outer harbour. Though they both are probably

each under 100 feet across they rise up like the humps

on a camels back to at least 30 feet.

At below zero tide they seem higher yet when standing

on the exposed flats at their feet.

I made it out for a paint on Friday afternoon with painting pal

Linny D. Vine

We dressed for cold as it was about -10 Celsius in the wind

which in this part of the world is damn cold.

But dressed right, out of the wind and in the sun

quite pleasant. Victoria has just passed through our first

big weather event of this winter. My neighbourhood

got close to 25cm of snow and then the cold winds

gusting at times to over 50 kmh. Our world famous

flower count is slated to begin on Tuesday!

=:-/

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

Oil on wood panel 6 x 8.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'North from Holland Point'

I started painting this piece on a really beautiful late

morning in lovely sun on Victoria's waterfront.

However as many can attest, when painting en plein air,

a beautiful sunny day can be quickly over taken

by a cloud bank. This one showered us in

ice pellets and had us making a hasty retreat after about

an hour...what a difference an hour can bring...

=:-/

So I finished it off in the warm dry studio.

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

Oil on wood panel 11 x 14.

Your thoughts & comments always hoped for.

Jeffrey

'Morning Gale'

This piece was inspired from a recent plein air

excursion during a morning easterly gale to

Albert Head Park. When the east

winds blow, large breaking waves are hurled onto

the beach and eventually create great swirls and

drifts of foamy sea floss from the constant wave

action. Years ago there was a manned light

station on the point. It is one of the local hot spots

for salmon and halibut fisherman as well many

sea mammals and birds can be observed here.

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

Oil on canvas 36 x 30.

Your thoughts & comments are invited.

Jeffrey

'Easterly Gale - Albert Head'

I arrived here to paint Friday morning knowing it would

be windy but hoping I might find a spot with some

protection, that turned out to be behind the

windshield of my vehicle!

I hadn't tried this before, however I think it may be

worth exploring further for those days when the

conditions prove to much for this old soldier...

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

Oil on wood panel 9 x 12.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Konk-la-tareeeee..."

Southern Vancouver Island has small numbers of

Red-winged blackbirds that winter over every year but

the wonderful mating displays and calls of

"konk-la-tareeeeeeeee..."

won't be present for awhile yet. However by this time of

year I'm already watching and listening for them and

looking for the first swallows of the year.

Two things that mark the beginning of

of spring, for sure, in my world.

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

Oil on wood panel 9 x 12.

Your thoughts & comments always sought.

Jeffrey

'Misty Morning Swans'

One of the highlights of the winter season on the

south Island are the Tundra Swans that spend the

winter months here. Standing close to the marsh edge

when a small flock glides low overhead to land in the

water is a thrilling experience that warms the soul

even on a cool and damp west coast morning.

The marsh in those conditions softens sound

and the bugling calls of the swans

seem from another world.

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

Oil on wood panel 12 x 16.

Thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Lagoon Willows'

Even on a chilly overcast westcoast winter day the

wonderful colour of the naked willows light up the

morning. I painted this while out with a small band

of hardy outsiders on Friday. The cold wasn't to bad

if you were out of the wind.

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

Oil on wood panel 9 x 12.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated!

Jeffrey

'Not Long Now'

This scene depicts that time in late fall when the

snow line is slowly creeping down the mountain with

each passing day. The excitement in the

skiing and boarding community begins to build

as the long waited for opening of the

season gets closer...

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

Oil on wood panel 14 x 11.

Your thoughts & Comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'Meadow Memory'

Once a common sight on the south Island and throughout

much of the Gulf Islands, the Western Bluebird

is mostly just a memory. Though a few are sighted

every year it is a rare sight indeed.

Thankfully nest box programs and monitoring are

being started and it is hoped that it

will meet with the same type of success other

programs have had with species like

the Eastern Bluebird, Wood Ducks, Purple Martins and

others elsewhere in Canada & the US.

If you want to be part of the effort and help

bring back the Western Bluebird please check out

The Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

You can really help.

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

Oil on wood panel 10 x 8.

Your thoughts & comments are always welcomed!

Jeffrey

'Spring Tide - Gulf Islands'

A beautiful spot at anytime, Saltspring Island's Burgoyne

Bay is stunning on a sunny morning in late

May which often co-insides with a spring tide.

These tides are those which fall during the full moon or

new moon phases and are noted for the very

extreme high-highs and low-lows of tide levels.

At these times the earth, sun and moon alien

to produce maximum force of gravity creating

those extremes in tide levels.

Also my favourite time to paint seashore scenes.

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

Oil on wood panel 18 x 24.

Your thoughts & comments always welcomed!

Jeffrey

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

"Live each season as it passes,

breathe the air,

drink the drink,

taste the fruit,

and resign yourself to the influences of each."

(Henry David Thoreau)

'Hike to the Lake'

This another enlargement of an earlier piece

done last year. The first one was a 8 x 6

and I must confess seemed to go

easier than this piece.

It seems such a long time ago now, that I was

heading up this trail for a cool swim in

the summer heat...

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

Oil on wood panel 14 x 11.

Your thoughts & comments are always

encouraged & appreciated!

Jeffrey

'Top of the Falls'

A smaller version of an earlier piece, this scene is at

the top or start of Skutz Falls on the Cowichan River.

The end of the fish ladder is just to the left of the

viewer where salmon and steelhead make their way

to the upper reaches of this spawning river.

I was so taken with this scene that I wanted to do

another one but this time smaller and on a different

support. As well many things have been altered to fit

the different format. (I have left the header image

that is at the top of my blog for comparison.)

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

Oil on wood panel 12 x 16.

As always your thoughts & comments are

always appreciated!

Jeffrey

'Spring in Uplands'(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Uplands Park, Camas Lily, oil paintings of southern Vancouver Island)

Another one from last springs Camas time in Uplands park.

This one is 'photo challenged' and will need another

try when its dry...

These meadows were being cultivated for the bulbs

these flowers produce many thousands of

years before contact by the first peoples

of this area. These ecosystems attracted flocks

of butterflies so enormous that it defies the

imagination. Sadly due to the destruction of so much of the

former Garry oak meadows of the south Island many of

those butterfly species are no longer part

of our natural world.

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

Oil on wood panel 16 x 20.

Thoughts & comments always appreciated!

Jeffrey

'October Waterfall'

Some of you may recognize this from an earlier

piece I painted back in November.

The much larger format allowed me to put

quite a bit more in this one.

I stayed with the low light levels that were

present when the reference photos for

this piece were taken.

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

Oil on wood panel 24 x 18.

Your thoughts & comments are valued!

Jeffrey

'Alpine Sunrise'

Another in my snowy alpine series. I wanted to highlight

the incredible sculptures that the snow buried trees

become as layer after layer is piled on.

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

Oil on canvas 30 x 36.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated!

Jeffrey

'Alpine Magic'

Though I haven't been very active lately in the blogoshere,

I have none the less been painting lots and working at

all those other chores we artists must attend to

to keep the business going.

This is one of two paintings that are part of a new

series I have been working on and enjoying very much.

Sunrise in the frosty snow covered alpine.

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

Oil on wood panel 
12 x 16.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated!

Jeffrey

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

I don't often comment here on my blog about the many

current events that are making news in our world.

However the recent horrific events in the politically

charged state of Arizona has me going fourth.

My condolences to all the victims families connected to

this ghastly tragedy and my hopes and wishes for

a speedy recovery to all those who were injured.

To all my art buddies in and around the USA and

more specifically Arizona and the city of

Tucson my thoughts are with you.

"All we need is love..."

(John Lennon)

'Maybe in the Spring',(Canadian west coast Impressionism, plein air oil painting of southern Vancouver Island)

 
I was out painting last Wed. on the sunniest day we have

had here on the south Island for awhile now.

Many of the low lying fields in our area flood through

the wet season much to the joy of the waterfowl.

Of course these fields will remain much to wet

for the folks who work them till sometime next spring.

The wet areas in the distance were thick with mallards,

pintails and a few ring-necks. A flock of swans were using

a large pond to the left of this scene and so while

painting I had several small groups of swans glide low

over me and land in the pond.

(The snow? Maybe...maybe not?)

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

'Maybe In The Spring'
oil on wood panel
 9 x 12.

Your thoughts & comments are always valued!
Jeffrey

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

Another year has gone by... how'd that happen?

I would like to take a moment to say thanks

to the many of you out there who

have been a much cherished

source of support through this past year of art

and challenges. I hope you all know how

much I appreciate your friendship.

A very 'Happy New Year' to you and

all the best in 2011.

Jeffrey

'A Fine Morning',(Canadian west coast Impressionism, Fisgard Lighthouse, Winter Solstice, Salish Sea, Esquimalt Harbour)

* Happy Solstice Everyone! *

Finally the darkest days are in the rearview and the

light returns a little more each day, put your

hands in the air and yell hooray!!

(or what ever you think would be appropriate)

=:-/

What better way to celebrate the return of the light

then a sunny morning painting of

Fisgard Lighthouse,

the first light on the Salish Sea.

Built for the British Admiralty 150 years ago.

It marked the approach to the mouth of

Esquimalt Harbour where the navy had their

base here on the west coast of Canada.

This is a scene I have painted before in smaller formats.

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

Oil on canvas 16 x 20.

Your thoughts & comments always appreciated.

Jeffrey

'The Potholes'

One day at the end of October this year I went

on a plein air adventure with fellow artist

Linny D. Vine.

It had been at least 10 years since either of us had

been to a beloved (now protected) part of the

Sooke River know as the Sooke Potholes.

This treasure of the south Island is a salmon

spawning river and they where present in the

water as we painted. This mystical geological

wonder lies in a deep canyon with sides eventually

reaching over a thousand feet in some places.

During the wet seasons the water roars and

tumbles through the contorted rock formations

that tend to make you weak in the knees as you

gaze down from your cliff side perch at the

turbulence 50 feet below. The spot we

painted however is at the lower and quieter end

of the run. During the heat of summer it is

a well used 'swimmin' hole'!

We started to paint during a sunny break on this

somewhat wet day but just as we got into it

the sun left us and because of the steep sides

of the canyon it became quite dull and dark.

It was a challenge to see the subtle values

to say the least.

The main rock formation in this piece towers

30 or more feet above the pool below, just to give

you an idea of scale.

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

Oil on wood panel 
10 x 8.

Your thoughts and comments

greatly appreciated!

Jeffrey

'Garry Oaks & Snow'

Another snow scene, this one a variation of a scene

I have painted before, can you recognize it?

This is the largest format that I have used so far

for this scene...

I love the rhythm that happens when I'm painting

snow and I often look to my snow paintings

when trying to get that flow of rhythm

in other types of landscapes I paint.

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

Oil on canvas 16 x 20.

Your thoughts & comments are always

greatly appreciated!

Jeffrey