George and Friends

Here's a small taste of some of the paintings showing at the Leir House for a few more weeks. "George and Friends" is an annual exhibition organized by George Traicheff with work from 24 artists. It's well worth a look, plenty of variety and some quality work.






Me, I am continuing on with my portraits and starting to get into some snow painting. I will show some of that work as it develops over the winter. I hope you are all keeping warm and dry; and following your own dream.

Painting at the Lakeside

This weekend I painted on location for an event at a local hotel/casino. I thought I may as well photograph the process, as people are sometimes able to get something out of these little demos.

I begin with a white-killing wash of thinner and earth red oil.


Bethany was a great subject; with her dark hair and eyes, I felt her profile had kind of an Egyptian feel to it. She wore a red flower in her hair which I've roughed in here, but I think I'll have to play it down or remove it entirely so it doesn't become a distraction.


My value plan is predominantly dark with Bethany's lighted face being the highest value and, of course, the center of interest. I am using only transparent earth red and a little blue at this stage.



We had plenty of interested viewers. This lady was visiting from the Yukon.


Not being in the habit of working while seated, I am not very pleased at this point. I really need to step back to see relationships. When I'm too close, it is easy for a painting to get away. I will get this up onto my studio easel and see if it can be saved.

Now I can get a better idea of how my painting is working by stepping back. This frees me up to pull out my #10 flat and lay down passages with more confidence, straighten my arm out and get my back into it. That's really hard to do while seated three feet from my canvas. See the finished painting below.


If you are in the Penticton area, come on down to the Leir House reception to "George and Friends" this Friday at 7-9 pm. There is a couple of dozen of George Traicheffs' artist pals showing a few paintings each. I'd love to show you one new one I'm particularly proud of, barely dry but a success, for me at least.

Whats in a name?

A lady was visiting my studio this week and we had a short discussion about the naming of this painting, "The Promise".


When I produce a lot of work I can be so involved with the process of painting that the naming of a multitude of thematic pictures can seem redundant. At one time I was painting so many beach scenes (and really enjoying myself) in a series that I just started numbering them. One doesn't always have the time to consider a piece and let it speak to you . Often I am thinking about the next one before the present one is finished.

If you are the owner of Beach 3 or Beach 11 don't think I didn't care enough to come up with a specific name; I put all my energy into each one. It's just a different process than working on a singular subject.

Large paintings like "The Promise" require more time and energy during their development so the painter gets to know them intimately. They usually name themselves.
This one speaks to me about the promise of new growth in the spring vines and the promise of rain in the gathering clouds. Also not shown but implied is the promise in the coming rainbow of God's covenant , no global flood ever again.

"The Promise" can be viewed/purchased at Sleeping Giant Winery; be sure to try their great fruit wines.

Here's the finish of the painting posted last week. I will name this one "Garnet Valley"

Winter Workshop

It seems that anyone over six feet tall is destined to twist their back every once in a while and stretch something beyond its default setting. That's me this week. I can still crawl anyway.

I found a great old farm building in a small valley to paint yesterday. This still needs some work but is getting close to what I'm after. I'll post the finish later.


I am starting to re-arrange my landscapes to serve my intentions rather than just replicating what is presented to me. The trap of "painting what you see" is that nature does not often offer us great compositions. It has taken me a few years of plein air painting to learn this. So many times I found myself painting some weird looking rock or branch not because it helped my painting but because it was there. Some kind of twisted integrity thing? All good for honing my observational skills but it's time to grow up a bit.

In this case there is a fence blocking the foreground that would restrict your eyes from entering this scene. I would need a much wider aspect ratio to accurately describe this pasture but just needed to move some contours about to get what I'm after.
Notice that I've tied all my dark values together. Squint down to see that. If I broke them up as they are in nature this composition wouldn't be as pleasing.

Some people have recently asked if I would be doing a workshop anytime soon. I think I should put some energy into that if there is some interest. I have been studying and experimenting with the working processes of some great long gone painters and learning some valuable lessons. A workshop may be an efficient way to pass these ideas on.

I can put forward a detailed curriculum outline later but I'd be interested in two days of exploration; how we create our paintings, regardless of medium, with an emphasis on composition and subject selection. We can look at a bit of historical and contemporary art to understand some principles of artmaking that will inform our personal work. This would be a hands-on "WORK"shop for those interested in making a breakthrough in their own artistic journey.

If I get any response I will dedicate some time into developing something worthwhile.

I will be painting on location at the Penticton Lakeside in the lobby I think on November the 13th, 10 to 2. If you are in the area drop in for a chat. It would be good to see you.