The Phyramid (Sketch)

This blog has always shown finished products, but here is an example of a doodle from some notepaper. I am starting to scan the old drawings and keep a digital record. Not sure what to do with the original sketches as there are nearly four cartons full of them!

Note, I there is no painting based on this sketch yet. Currently I am translating 2013 sketches and also planning something a little different and political in nature for the next painting. There are a few new ones to show but I have trouble getting quality photos when the lighting is poor.

The End of Ego (High Tide)

I just finished posting a new blog on an old painting (Creation's creations). This one is a recent doodelism painting done from doodles done while I was paying attention at work-related meetings. When I doodle in a meeting the theme is that of escapism, which has a little bit to do with claustrophobia, agoraphobia, and snoreaphobia. Here, a character is surfing while holding a branch. A creature crawls upside down on the top of the painting suggesting an unseen ceiling. A sunken pirate ship sits on the bottom of the ocean over top of the city and sky. Welcome to doodleism!

Recently I have though a lot about where you are in life, and how you transition from receiving from other people (parents, teachers, family) to giving to other people (spouses, kids, students). As a scientist growing up it was all about me, but now it is all about something else that is not me. While I grappled with these thoughts of ego, this painting was the only way to express it. The end of ego signifies a transition. The fluid nature of this design represents transition. But who the heck really knows, it's abstract art after all...

22x30" Watercolour 2016

Creation's Creations

The naming of this painting was a lesson in using apostrophes, creations are being made by creation's products namely humans, who also invented religion and discovered DNA, the root source of evolution. Puzzled? So are the characters in the picture who huddle below, scientists and clerics shoulder to shoulder. A DNA double helix comes from heaven connecting to a cross, or is the cross sending the DNA up to heaven? It's one of those chicken-and-the-egg things, which came first?

This painting was done around 2008 shortly after I made a disastrous painting which had attempted to merge doodleism with a rolling ocean surf (not shown on the blog yet). I wanted the next one (which became Creation's Creations) to be the best painting ever, especially the technique. Every part of this painting is carefully executed, including the sky. Sunbeams penetrate the fluffy clouds illuminating everything in an ethereal glow. When painting clouds as such, there is little room for error, every mistake shows. I really think painting the sky and clouds here was one of the most terrifying things I have done, at least as terrifying as it can get when painting watercolours!

Note, I put an impression of my five fingerprints next to the top part of the coil quite on purpose. Though I may have been trying to cover up a mistake ; )

22x30" Watercolour 2008

Small Study Number 4

Small studies can be done a lot faster than large ones in most cases, which can have several advantages. For one the small study provides quick gratification since one like this can be completed in one or two sittings. There is more learned from doing 10 small studies than 1 large one. About two years into my painting 'career' I tried to switch to large format, but it did not go well at first and so I switched to mostly small format paintings. In 2004 I did "Construction at site 22" part of the lab book series which would be one of the largest at 44 inch x 30 inch. This one is about 5 inch by 7 inch. There is another version of the same design on the back of this painting, I was not happy with that version so this was the improved version.

Watercolour 5x7", August 2015

Church, London Ontario.

Every painting I do is on a piece of 100% rag acid free watercolour paper, usually from Windsor Newton or Arches. It tends to be a little pricey at times so I buy in bulk when possible. Occasionally I paint on the back of the painting but not very often, it is to save paper, and to salvage what would otherwise be a bit of a waste. This was a front-side painting done from a photograph taken in London Ontario. I do not often paint from photos because it is difficult to capture the energy and spirit of the scene, which is after all the essence of painting. I decided to paint on the back of this one, I think Eggs and Mankind is on the back. Notice the bright yellow fire hydrant in the foreground, it is my favorite part.

22x15" cold press watercolour. 2003.

Eggs and Mankind

How many eggs does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 11, because one is scrambled. But seriously, this painting was done from a group of doodles, which were assembled into a complete work of art. The art work contains some typical features of this style, including a tree line and a sunset. The eggs are meant to look like eyes in the sky, and the mankind, well, its hidden behind the trees.

Controlling watercolout paint is possible, with a lot of practice. When I first started painting many years ago the paint was an uncontrollable animal, but over the years the animal was tamed. Look in the top part of this painting, there is a series of grey and red streaks on a yellow background. to achieve this, the yellow wash is applied, and at precisely the right time (about 20-40 seconds later depending on relative humidity in the air) you drop in the redish mix which is altzerian crimson and viridian green. Then when that is just about dry you drop in a stronger mix of the same colours with more of the green, and a touch of ultramarine blue. If the timing is perfect then the colours bleed into each other. If too wet it all mixes, if too dry it looks choppy. This whole painting is filled with the same technique, I guess you would call it a triple wet-in-wet. As they say in the e-sports world, good luck and have fun.  

Eggs and Mankind, 11 1/4 x 14.5", cold press watercolour, 2015 (No.1759)

Gas Pump, NDG, Montreal

Here is a small landscape painting done on location in the neighborhood of NDG, in fact, this is the view from the front of my building! The red-green complimentary colours caught my attention, and so did the strong blue shadow cutting across the foreground towards the left bottom. Painting landscapes on location is tricky, you want to catch all the details, but time constraints mean that you have to pick and choose where to put the details. In this example I spent most of the time on the gas station pump and the light post, and much less time on the surrounding elements. Unfortunately a giant SUV parked in front of the pump during the painting, so I had to make up a few details. That's called artistic license!

5x7" watercolour, 2015