This 8x10 oil was painted on a grey day at the Scarborough Bluffs Marina on Lake Ontario in June this summer.

Quietly flows the Don

This is a view of the Don River here in Toronto that was painted on a very hot day in early June. I remember that I set up on the river bank on some rocks in the shade and painted for about one and a half to two hours and when I finished I suddenly felt how hot it was; I hadn't noticed it while I was painting.

This has a drawing and sort of a block-in in red, which I don't usually do, but I tried it here. I think it adds an extra feeling of the hot weather.

This painting sold at my studio tour (Beach Studio Tour) in October.

Rouge River

This was painted as part of a paint-out sponsored by the Ontario Plein Air Society (OPAS) held annually in the Rouge River Valley which is part of a large park in Scarborough on the eastern edge of Toronto.

It is 9 by 12 inches on a MDF panel primed with orange shellac.

Below is the painting in progress on my easel.

Paintings 2012

This is the first of the paintings that I did this past summer. This is a view of the Marina at Ashbridges Bay which is near where I live in the Beaches area of Toronto done in May. I t is 9' by 12' on canvas mounted on board.

Last Painting - 2011 (Oh man I'm way behind)

This was painted last fall in Colonel Danforth Park along Highland Creek in Scarborough on the eastern edge of Toronto. Now I can get on with the plein air  paintings which I did this year!

Painting at the Cottage August 2011

This painting, called "Above La Sapiniere" (8x10) was painted last summer at my family cottage in the Laurentiens north of Montreal. The title refers to a famous hotel there and was painted in the mountains behind the hotel.

The painting on the right, again an 8x10, is called "Val Morin Falls."

Anyone who is familar with the area will know of these two famous landmarks.

A Brush with Highlands - Part II

This was painted on the morning of the second day. No great shakes, but that is how it goes with plein air! What usually seems to happen, at least to me, is that you are in the great outdoors, having chosen a great view and having fun, maybe struggling bit, but generally in a good mood, which colours how you view the work. When you look again later sometimes it still looks good and sometimes not so good!

In the afternoon I did another painting which sold at the show and sale on Sunday. I neglected to take a picture of it. However I like to take pictures of the situation that I am so on the left you can see the lengths I went to to paint the scene. My pouchade box is sitting in the crotch of a tree all set up to paint. There was a boat landing just to my left and I wondered what they might think of a man peeking out from the bushes.

A Brush with Highlands Part I

This is the first painting I did at A Brush with the Highlands which is a plein air festival held north of Toronto at the beginning of August, a civic holiday in Ontario. It is near the Haliburton School of the Arts, the Highlands in the title refer to the Haliburton Highlands. Most people camp for the weekend and on Sunday, the final day, there is a three hour exhibition with prizes. All in all an excellent experience.




The painting above  (8" x 10")was done the first morning in a slight drizzle which fortunately cleared up. The painting, easel and I were out in the rain with an umbrella I was lent for shade protecting my supplies on the ground. This painting I later sold.

The painting at the right was done in the afternoon at a place called Centre Lake. The black specks are, of course, bugs stuck in the oil paint. The area around Wilberforce, Ontario is full of Provincial Parks so there is plenty to paint. The organizers also arrange with private landowners for permission to paint on their property

Cherry Beach

Even though I have done some recent paintings en plein air I will quickly post those from a year ago so that I can catch up. This was painted on a bright day last June at Cherry Beach looking east past the Life Saving Station.

Back on the Islands

Back to the Toronto Islands for another painting workshop with Gary Smith in July 2011. This was the first painting that I did that day which I later sold at the November Show at the Don Valley Art Club, also known as the Large and Small Picture Show.

This was the second one that I painted of a houseboat sitting on the channel that runs through the centre of Ward's Island and forms a river-like area that serves as a mooring area for boats.