Spring Ice, Red River
oil
10.2 x 15.2 cm (4" x 6")

This painting was done in April of this year, and first posted on April 13th as Ice, Red River. I didn't like the original painting very much. Recently, while I was trying to decide if I should throw it out, it occurred to me that the painting might be improved by cutting out the foreground and slightly repainting the river to make the ice a little more visible.You can see the result.

The original painting is posted below. The composition of the original is fine, but somehow, overall, the painting doesn't work very well. (It is probably because of the lack of definition of the ice in the river and the ugly foreground - an ugly foreground will do it everytime.)

Ice, Red River
oil
16.5 x 19.8 cm (6.5" x 7.75")

T. Seated
graphite, ink, and gouache
30.5 x 22.9 cm (12" x 9")

I didn't make that much progress with this painting. It was done during a three hour session, although with breaks for the model and a late start, the actual time I had to work was more like two hours. I was too concerned with not losing the drawing to really attack the painting. In the end this is more of a coloured drawing than a painting. There is nothing wrong with that, however; at least nothing that I know of.

The model is a contemporary dancer who is off this week to Vancouver to attend a butoh dance workshop. I believe that the workshop is the 12th Annual Wreck Beach Butoh Workshop, given by Kokoro Dance.

T. is a super model.

The gods were smiling yesterday. My computer problems were solved, and now it's back to posting as usual.

Culvert, Seine River
oil
19.8 x 16.5 cm (7.75" x 6.5")

Earlier this month I posted the sketch for this painting. Usually the sketches have more power than the paintings themselves. Of the two, the sketch and the painting, I am not sure which I prefer.

Immediately below, for the sake of comparison, is the sketch for this painting. It was originally posted on July 5th, 2007.

This culvert is almost at the mouth of Seine River in Winnipeg, where the Seine and Red Rivers meet.

Sketch for Culvert, Seine River
gouache
17.8 x 11.4 cm (7" x 4.5")

Until my computer is back in order, which should be any day now, I'll post some work by some of my favourite artists. Today it's Canadian artist, David Milne.

Embassy Club, 1939
watercolour
25.4 x 35.2 cm (10" x 13.875")

David Milne (1882 - 1953)

David Milne over his life time produced a lot of brilliant and beautiful art. His work is devoted to a beauty which is difficult to describe, except perhaps as transcendant and mystical.

You can see bits of many artists work in Milne: Maurice Pendergast, J.W. Morrice, his contemporary, John Marin, and Fauve artists such as Marquet, Derain, and Matisse. Whatever his influences, Milne managed to produce an art that was uniquely his own.

King, Queen, and Jokers V: It's a Democratic Age, 1943-44
watercolour, charcoal, and graphite
55.6 x 76.7 cm (21.875" x 30.1875")

David Milne (1882 - 1953)

Decorate Your Home
Heinrich Kley (1863 - c.1945)from Skizzenbuch II, 1910.

Because of computer problems, I am unable to post any of my own drawings at the moment; however, I can give you this drawing by one of my favourite artists, Heinrich Kley. Kley's drawings are wonderful.

It is hard to think of another artist who drew with such facility. We'll never know how much work went into these seemingly facile drawings, since only the outline of Kley's life is known.

If you are not familiar with Kley's drawings, check www.heinrich-kley.com from Coconino Classics.This site seems to have the most complete collection of his drawings. Donald Weeks' introduction to a 1968 Borden book, The Art of Heinrich Kley, seems to be the biography all Kley sites use. The most complete quotation of the Week introduction is at www.bpib.com

I was expecting that the computer would be back to normal yesterday, but the gods have decided to delay everything once again. Tuesday of this week would seem to be the earliest that I can expect to be able to post drawings again.

I will be involved in an exhibition opening on August 16th at 7:30 p.m. at the cre8ery in Winnpeg. The exhibition, 99 Pieces, will run from August 17, 2007 until September 8, 2007.

Gallery hours are 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, with the exception of two days, Saturday, August 25th, and Monday, September 3rd, when the gallery will be closed. For further details please check the gallery's website, www.cre8ery.com

Banana Peel
oil
30.5 x 54.6 cm (12" x 21.5") ■


This painting was done a year and a half ago. It was done in one twelve hour session, working with the banana peel and pot on the floor in front of me. At the time I was working on a series of still lifes, some in oil and some in gouache. This is probably one of the more successful paintings of that series.

I may not be able to post much, if anything, over the next few days because of computer problems. I hope to have things cleared up as soon as possible.

Pink
gouache
30.5 x 22.9 cm (12" x 9")

Pink would seem to be the model's favourite colour: pink nails and a pink robe.

The model is an extraordinary woman, who has recently been working as an exercise jockey at the local racetrack.

The painting was done in a couple of hours, working directly in paint without a preliminary drawing. The paper was toned with burnt sienna before starting.

Sketch for Bike Trails, Westview Park
gouache
11.4 x 17.8 cm (4.5" x 7")

This is the sketch for a small oil painting in the series of Winnipeg Landscapes that I have been doing. I'll post the oil once it's dry.

Westview Park is a former Winnipeg landfill. It's slowly been transformed into a park, and it's the only hill of any size within the city. Winnipeg is on the northeastern edge of the North American prairies, as well as the Red River flood plain, which is why the city is as flat as it is.

smARThistory presents art history through means of podcasts. A great site.

There's an interesting signage project underway in São Paulo, Brazil. The Walker Art Center's blog, Off Center, has the story.

Portrait of a Woman
ink and charcoal
17.0 x 20.0 cm (6.7" x 7.9")

A quick portrait. The drawing was first done in ink, which is probably not the best way of proceeding with this type of drawing. The ink lines are hard to hide if they're not where they should be. On the other hand, they show the artist at work, searching for the right line.

Sketch for Culvert, Seine River
gouache
17.8 x 11.4 cm (7" x 4.5")

This is a sketch for another painting in the Winnipeg Landscape series. Sketches often, if not always, are freer and have more life than the finished painting. I'll post the final painting in a week or so.

This scene is near the mouth of the Seine, where it meets the Red River. It's a favourite spot for fishermen.

Feet up, Head Down
graphite, ink, and charcoal
27.9 x 33.7 cm (11" x 13.25")

An older drawing.

The squiggle in one corner isn't a signature. It's a squiggle to make sure the pen is working before I start inking the drawing. (Squiggle is a great word, isn't it? A meaningless scrawl is how my old Funk & Wagnalls dictionary describes it. I like that, and I'm sure the subject of yesterday's post would concur.)

Franz Kafka
ink
19.1 x 14.2 cm (7.5" x 5.6")

"Don't worry, be happy." That was Kafka's mantra, wasn't it? Didn't he have an eighties band, The K Boyz, or something?

I could be wrong.