Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Tuscan hillside




One of many watercolours painted while wandering in the hills north of Florence. The row of trees leading up the hill to the right shroud the path to a small renaissance church, in whose shadow I sat while I painted. It overlooks the small village of Ponte a Mensola, named for a stream you cannot see amid the trees in the picture.

It was a sunny day in May, perfect for watercolours. Here's another one I did from almost the same vantage point, but looking north rather than east.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Thursday, December 24, 2015

In the bay

This isn't exactly a holiday-themed image, but I made the painting as a small Christmas gift a few years ago, so I thought I'd post it today.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

send me the pillow you dream on



A painting of some years ago, done from life in about an hour. A sleeping model can often be quite boring, but sometimes you get lucky and they repose in an interesting posture on a quilt of many colours.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Reading The Count of Montecristo in the bathtub.

It's not easy - it's a big book.




I've mentioned before that years ago, when I was too poor for canvas, I made small paintings on cast-offs of cardboard. I made this in the bathroom of a student co-op in Toronto, Ontario, using pencil and acrylic paints.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Friday, December 4, 2015

to begin


This is how I begin life drawing sessions. For me, hands and faces are the most interesting elements, so in the initial period, when the poses last only one or two minutes, that's what I concentrate on.

These were all done in china marker, at the Arts Project in London, Ontario.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Harriet



I drew Harriet with a china marker in probably around ten minutes. She was one of those models (in fact, not a regular model but a generous volunteer) who has wonderful features for drawing.