January Blues

JANUARY BLUES is a compilation of recent work using a dominant palette of blue.

Two small series are included: Rocks, State Of Flux, and the soft-pastel plein air pieces: Fisherman’s Wharf, Willow Beach and Playfair.

I usually work in an abstract style using a complimentary palette. The use of bright pinks and yellow are perhaps a response to our Covid times. We certainly need some brightness in these strange times.

I draw inspiration from nature around me. I have found that since moving to the Island a few years ago, I am quite influenced by the coastal environment. The Rock series originated from my photos of the rocks on the southern part of Island View Beach. Whether it is rain glistening on stone or water pooling around the rocks as the tide goes out, lines, shapes and textures appear. As a former rock climber from Alberta, I love to ‘read’ the rock surface. The edges, bumps, nooks and crannies, lines and cracks are perhaps pathways on the map that lead us around the ‘stonescape’. I strive to create a certain mood in my work in hopes to elicit an emotional response in the viewer.

Though I often start with a specific idea, I paint intuitively, marking, scraping, adding and subtracting paint using everything but the traditional paintbrush. This can happen over many layers. It feels like excavating through layers revealing what lies beneath.This process is most interesting to me as the work often takes on a new direction. I never quite know where it will end up. On a few pieces, I have added oil and cold wax on top of mixed media/acrylic. I often start with my favorite water-soluble graphite sticks. I love the process of layering various media.