The hay fields are so beautiful in the fall, and it is sad to see them get mowed. The clover and pea flowers are so dark they look black, and it is always a pleasant shock to realize it is a huge field of flowers - pink, purple, white and yellow.
This oil painting is 24x10 inches on canvas.
I completed two paintings today, both of hay fields. The first one is on a 3.5x5 inch canvas, and the second one is on a 4x6 inch canvas. Both are painted with acrylic.
Another version of the mountains at Moraine Lake in Lake Louise, this time a bit bigger (8x10) and a bit more interpretive than photorealistic. This was primarily painted with a pallette knife, which is a beter tool to create the striations in the rocks.
The water is icy cold and never gets much above a couple of degrees above freezing, even in the heat of summer. The water comes from the glaciers in the mountains above, and there is so much sediment that it is murky even at the shallow edges of the lake. The high sediment content is the reason for the strange color, which is always a beautiful teal blue-green.
I found some tiny little canvases at the local art supply store that are only 3.5 x 5 inches, and they are made of real canvas on real stretcher bars. They were so cute, I had to buy a few to try them out. I haven't painted in this small format for a while, and it has it's own challenges. The brushes and even the paint consistency has an impact on the final product. For example, adding too much water to thin the acrylic paint makes it difficult to paint because the water always forms droplet size paint globs, which are often too big for the image (like the trees in this example).
This is a picture of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park. the stippling that appears in this photo is actually the grain of the canvas, and is not as evident in the actual painting. The image also looks bezelled, but that is because I painted the image on the sides of the canvas as well, so the picture wraps around the sides, top and bottom, right to the wall.
This one is finally done - I think. I still need to stretch it, but I am satisfied with the colors and the way they work together. The centre fold is still a bit evident, but I will see if I can minimize if after it is stretched.
I like these type of paintings. They look like a riotous flower garden in full bloom, which is how my flower gardens usually end up.
