The Kayakers

“The Kayakers” 9”x12” oil on board.

This is my first blog post, so I hope that I won’t bore you to death. At first I thought I would talk about esoteric art ideas, but to tell you the truth there are many people out there blogging about these ideas and doing a really good job at it. I then thought that I would find examples of other artists work that influences me, but then I thought they may not appreciate that. So I guess I will just talk about my own work. I am an expert on that, right? So I will pick a painting that I have completed and talk about what went into it, my thoughts, and feelings.

The first painting I chose is called “The Kayakers.” It is 9”x12” oil on birch board. The board was recycled from an acrylic workshop that I took years ago. I put a coat of brown paint over it. I should have sanded it, as there was texture from the acrylic paint; however, that texture has turned out to be an interesting addition to this painting.

I paint mostly from pictures, and this one is no different. I spent the day with the school I teach at out at Kloiya Bay, which is about 15 minutes outside of Prince Rupert. The students went kayaking while I stayed on the beach and painted with the few students who didn’t want to paddle. The day was beautiful and misty foggy in the morning and this is what I was trying to capture in this painting. As the kayakers were paddling back to the beach I took a photograph which inspired this painting. What I like the best about it, is just how small they were, just how far away they were, yet the shoreline and trees look like they were near. I like the illusion that the trees give, and just how large our landscape is. And when it comes down to it, how small we all are.