Boomers Rainbow: Paintings by Eileen: Summer Painting 2017

Happy Hippy Quail
Watercolour 8 X 10
$70.00

Summer is often a busy time of year with family and friends dropping into our beautiful oasis in the Osoyoos desert. I started using acrylic paints this year, found an amazing mentor (Carollyne Sinclaire) and launched myself into capturing the breath taking valley landscape with its vineyards and mountains and lakes. It certainly helps that the inspiration for my paintings lies just outside my picture window! Carollyne walked me through invaluable exercises applying the conscientious contrast of values in my paintings (and so much more!). This spurred me on to be happily painting even if it was tiny little squares of blues and yellows to prove the colour wheel is correct - you get gorgeous greens! Fifty or more! All at my fingertips.

I started the painting, Tulameen River Afternoon as my first experiment in applying this knowledge about the mix-ability of greens. I also used glazing liquids to help with layering transparent pigments (like in my watercolour days!) as well as adding light to my mountains. Even my vineyards started to sparkle!

I then started my painting, Here Comes the Sun (thank you, Beatles!) and set out to capture one of the phenomenons I discovered when I first moved to Osoyoos: the unique halo of clouds that encircle the mountains in the morning and how the sun slowly chases the valley mist away and lights up the vineyards with golden hues so obvious you can almost see some giant paint brush move gently across the tips of the vines. Both pictures started with reference photos but I was soon painting from my memory and, I hope, a little from my heart. I am practicing this more and more to encourage my fingers to loosen up on the brush and let the paint move more naturally. Nature is filled with unpredictability. I want my paintings to reflect that.

My two Similkameen Sweep I and II watercolours were painted in between the larger acrylic paintings to keep my inventory up at The ART Gallery Osoyoos Summer Artisan Market (affectionately known as SAM to the local artists!). Both applied the principles about value contrast and focal points. The Vineyard by the Lake II turned out with a flick of my wrist - it really just flowed! (PS I am now working on The Vineyard by the Lake III - no flick-of-the-wrist ease with this one!!) All three of these paintings were sold in the market within a few weeks. So fun when there was no agony required for the ecstasy produced! The Vineyard painting found a home in Calgary - I couldn't stop grinning as I met the lovely couple who purchased the painting the day before they bought it.

In addition, some great news for this emerging artist: five paintings sold this summer (4 were watercolours!) and I believe the hard work is paying off as three of those five were works I completed during and after my sessions with Carollyne. I know someday I may become jaded a little with the mundane selling of another painting but then, again, they are all my "babies" as one point or another so.....maybe not!

So, with summer officially over, I present my summer work:

Note: My unsold paintings can be purchased from me through online payment and shipped (at your expense). I do make trips to Calgary and Vancouver throughout the year and can transport to those locales if the timing works for you.