Bigger

24x24 acylic

I liked this painting in the small format and thought that it would be even better, bigger. Now, I'm not so sure. I'm always frustrated when the glitter doesn't show up because it adds a lot to the painting. Oh well, it's gooing up on the dining room wall for a while and I will think about it.

The plural of elk is elk

Lots of texture and bold colors. Abstracts look like they would be easy but they are not! I am hoping to try more over the winter.

This is my nephew Davin, who visited for a week. I think he enjoyed himself. It was so neat to get to know him as we have never had a lot of time together. He is very literate and intelligent and unfortunately has inherited the Cravens trait for sarcasm which can be funny but also mean.
Here he is contemplating a shave at Ft. Steele.

The Gruff Family

OK, I know they are not goats but Bighorn sheep look more like goats than sheep and besides, I like the title. I took this photo down by the lake and the little family was all lined up grazing down the hill.

White Buffalo

On our 2006 Arizona trip, we visited a buffalo farm outside of Flagstaff. They are raising a few white buffaloes, an animal that is highly revered by the plains indians. The fence surrounding the enclosure is an artwork in itself due to all the little tokens tied to it.

Deer Crossing

This is my third entry for the abstract show. I like playing with textures and layers of paint. Photographing the gold leaf is challenging however. It shows up a lot shinier in the photo than in real life. The brown patches are more interesting than the photo shows because they are instant rust.

The Devil's Ride

I saw this car parked in a driveway in Banff. I thought it had a sinister smirk.

I am off to Victoria B.C. tomorrow to visit my eldest daughter. I hope to take lots of photographs for painting later. I also have several competitions, etc. to prepare for. January will start me off busily! I hope 2009 is a very good year.

Island Pond

Island pond is the name of a pond about 15 km south of Canal Flats. I like the trees in the middle and it is intersting to look at. I was hugely frustrated the day I painted it outside. The light kept changing! One minute the background was quite dark and the next minute is was a mid-tone. Plein-aire painting is very challenging but I am hoping to do more of it this summer.

Oedipus

After realizing that he has killed his true father and married his mother, Oedipus puts out his eyes and becomes a begger.

For an interesting version of Oedipus in 8 minutes, performed by vegetables, see the following link.

http://www.newvenue.com/production/

Summer Grazing

I love watching the reservation horses up near the Akisqunuk band land. They have so many pinto, appaloosa, roan and solid colors. They are very suspicious, only allowing me to take a few pictures before they move off out of my sight. I always hate parking along the highway to take my photos (I am phobic about traffic--too many family members killed in pedestrian/vehicle accidents). But the horses are too hard to resist. I hope to do a series about them.
I'm not satisfied with this painting yet.

Setting Her Boundaries

I like the idea of experimenting with texture and text. I have had trouble in the past setting boundaries, trying to be a people pleaser so that people would like me. I finally figured out that about half the people will like me and the other half won't no matter what I do (outside of going berserk and decimating part of the population). So, now I try to please myself and care less what people think. Sometimes I just need to circle the wagons and keep everyone a little apart.

Chicks with Sticks 1 (1938)

I based this painting on a photo I saw in the Valley Pioneer, the local newspaper. I learned to enjoy hockey when my youngest daughter joined a team a few years back. I admired the toughness and speed of those young girls as they zipped and fell on the ice. And I'll admit I cried with pride when the Canadian women's hockey team took gold at the last olympics.

The girls in the photo were a team in Invermere in 1938. I believe the gal on the left would have been Doreen Lamond, a fiesty young woman who became an intriguing figure as she grew. If I understood her correctly, Doreen followed her husband to England in WW2 when so many people were fleeing the country. I can't decide if that was a lack of imagination or a surplus of spunk!