BLUE HORIZON

BLUE HORIZON by Sea Dean 8 x 10 inches 2011-2020

I found this 2011 canvas panel painting while I was spring cleaning my studio. I decided to add to it. I was amazed at how quickly I could critique and adjust. I suppose 9 years of professional artistry teaches you something. I’m very happy with it now. Pop it into a frame and it will grace any home.

DAY 30 of 30 LAKE MORNING

LAKE MORNING (final) by Sea Dean 11x9 inches Watercolour and Graphite

 This was painted on competition paper that I don't usually use. It has a creamy look but not as cream as the images show. I’ve tried to lighten it, but when I do I lose the true colours of the painting which are beautiful. The graphite is also hard to photograph, but it shows quite well in this closeup. I really like the effect.

Final day of the challenge. Stay tuned for the collage of my submissions tomorrow.

 30DCG2020  and ODP

Day 4 of 30 - LAKE MORNING and Oscar Feedback?

Josephine has left home and my thoughts have been drawn to my next victim, sorry, project. Since acquiring this manikin over a year ago, he has been known as “Oscar”. I think he got the name because he has a hint of the movie award about him. He is big and beautiful, exuding a strong but peaceful aura. I often give him a hug (at 6 ft 2 inches and 33 inch waist he is the perfect size).

I have two ideas rocketing around my head...

1. Josephine sported many quotes from famous artists, so to add Oscar as part of the series I could cover him in the top 100 movie titles, famous actors and movie quotes such as “I’ll be back” TERMINATOR, Arnold Schwarzenegger - “Raindrops on Roses” THE SOUND OF MUSIC Julie Andrews or “Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn” GONE WITH THE WIND Clark Gable. Another option is to stick with Oscar winning movies and stars.

2. Alternately, his white base paint is just crying out to be covered in traditional Maori tattoos with no text except my signature.

As my main market is south, I think #1 would be more attractive to buyers and I like that it continues the series, but is all over text too much? (Josephine had text and abstract painting). Another question is that if I go with #1, should I paint his skin gold, which is tricky and currently not super trendy? I love the look of black or grey writing on white, but should I write in gold??? It’s a quandary, but if it’s #1 I should market him during Oscar season which starts soon, so he needs to get underway now! Also I cant leave him in his briefs for ever, or can I?

HELP! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Please comment below.

DAY 4 - LAKE MORNING Work in Progress
Note that I photographed the color version to show the silvery additions of graphite pencil, in the birds, water and distant landscape. The pencil line is blackish, but glistens silvery in raked light. I’ve never done this before, but I love the effect.

LAKE MORNING (watercolour and graphite) by Sea Dean

LAKE MORNING (noir print) 

LAKE MORNING (in incandescent light)

 30DG2020 - ODP

RIVER - DAY 25 - 30 in 30

An image taken while photo walking a trail beside Mission Creek. I enhanced the color to make it look more like a painting. The reflections remind me of some of Monets later works painted “Plein Air” at Giverny.

POT OF GOLD and RAIN - Day 13 - 30 in 30 Challenge

I couldn’t choose, so here is a selection of my recent digital images. Some are enhanced, but mostly just cropped for composition.

POT OF GOLD by Sea Dean

RAIN by Sea Dean

Before the Wind

One of the joys of living by the lake is watching the yacht club outings. During the week there is the odd sailing boat out on the lake with many kayaks, canoes, SUPs, inflatables and noisy power boats; however, on the weekend many groups of small sailing craft practice right in front of my window. Recently we had a treat with the annual regatta which kept me occupied enjoying the view.

Sailing instruction has changed since my day. Each class is escorted out by a minimum of one instructor power boat. They are then put through their exercises all in a row, gybing and tacking in unison. It’s quite a sight to watch and very relaxing. I could watch them for hours.

My favorites are a small group of red sailed craft which make a change to the regular white. On the rare occasion a colorful spinnaker breaks the water, but I suspect its an instructor showing off ;-)

Feel free to use my images for inspiration. No use of actual digital image for collage etc.

Monet must have felt the same joy I do. Below my painting taken from a Monet.

Red Sails

RED SAILS by Sea Dean $125

A slight rework of a seascape for my solo. Originally the sunset was a bit too bright, taking the eye away from the magical red sail. Red sails are traditional for the fishing fleet in Cornwall, England and thoughts of Cornwall inspired this piece. I always think sails should be brightly coloured as white sails could be mistaken for waves. Theres no fear of a red sail being missed in a search or collision.

In the exhibition I hung RED SAILS with SUNSET OVER GEORGIA STRAIT below.

SUNSET OVER GEORGIA STRAIT by Sea Dean $125

Available at my solo exhibition - 150 Years of Abstract - or by contacting me

On show at Lake Country Coffee House until May 18th
The Coffee House has new owners and extended hours, so head out on the rail trail and take a detour to this great venue for a latte and lunch.

Bottom Wood Lake Road, Lake Country, BC, Canada
behind Lake Country Art Gallery, which currently has a wonderful pet portrait exhibition

Why were sails traditionally red? Actually it was a red/brown color caused by the tar preservative used to prevent mould and mildew and make the cotton canvas sails last longer. Some owners stick with tradition, even though modern canvas is treated with colorless chemicals.

Lugger
The lugger was the workhorse of Cornish fishing fleet for over 200 years. Two distinct variants emerged; their design based upon whether they were to be used for fishing in the harsh waters of the Atlantic or calmer coastal regions.

This song dates from 1935, but the Cornish fleet pre-dates it by some distance

Red sails in the sunset
Way out on the sea
Oh, carry my loved one 
Home safely to me

She sailed at the dawning 
All day I've been blue
Red sails in the sunset 
I'm trusting in you

Swift wings you must borrow
Make straight for the shore
We marry tomorrow
And she goes sailing no more

Red sails in the sunset 
Way out on the sea
Oh, carry my loved one 
Home safely to me

Red sails in the sunset
Way out on the sea (ooh-wee-ooh, wee-ooh)
Oh, carry my loved one
Home safely to me

Songwriters: Wilhelm Grosz / Jimmy Kennedy

Read Sails in the Sunset lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Shapiro Bernstein & Co. Inc.

Stolen Beauty II

This is a complete rework of STOLEN BEAUTY from last year. I removed the veil and acrylic rocks and repainted the acrylic scene. I was aiming for an abstract landscape and although at first glance it appears traditional, the brushwork is very bold and there is mid field texture in heavy gel which pushes it back towards abstract.

This is the kind of landscape which does well at the coffee shop, so I had to include it.


On show at Lake Country Coffee House until May 18th
The Coffee House has new owners and extended hours, so head out on the rail trail and take a detour to this great venue for a latte and lunch.

Bottom Wood Lake Road, Lake Country, BC, Canada
behind Lake Country Art Gallery, which currently has a wonderful pet portrait exhibition

May God hold you in the palm of his hand

Sunrise over the bay ACEO by Sea Dean - On Sale here

May the road rise up to meet you. 

May the wind be always at your back. 

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

May the rains fall soft upon your fields 

and until we meet again, 

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Since I first saw this blessing It has given me a warm glow and made me feel important and loved. I hope it does the same for you this St Patrick’s Day. 

If I was in Ireland I would go down the local pub and spend a pleasant evening listening to great music, chatting with friends (everyone is so friendly there) and imbibing some glorious draft Guinness, followed by Irish whisky or real Irish coffee without sugar on the rim and with delicious fresh cream from an Irish cow! I would then step out into a dank drizzly night and almost fly home with a rosy glow to sit in front of a roaring peat fire.

If only I was in Ireland....

Thank you for visit my blog. Happy St Patrick’s Day

Amazing Miniatures

I know everyone is waiting for Black Friday and Cyber Monday to purchase their larger gifts, but I wanted to give you a heads up that I have a sale on small gifts over on Artfinder. The sale covers many of my tiny ACEO miniatures, which often come mounted in a mat ready to pop into a standard frame.

PRE BLACK FRIDAY AMAZING MINIATURES SALE.

Article on the origins of ACEO

Glorious to Grey

Goodness me it’s been a long time since I posted. I’ve been wading through kitchen renos and busy with submissions and commissions, so not much time left over.

My kitchen cabinet doors finally arrived! That’s 10 months and counting, because one was the wrong size and the rest had manufacturing faults. I’m told a “rush” replacement takes 10 weeks. That means no doors for Christmas. I’ll have to hang up sheets or something. Grrrr!

The view from my bedroom

Enough of my woes ... I woke up the other morning to a beautiful surprise, our first dusting of snow.

I get a better view of the creek in the winter

All in one day it snowed, rained, the sun came back out, it frosted that night and then most of the remaining leaves fell off. Glorious to Grey in a day.

 

Island Light

This looks so much nicer in the original. The texture of the cold pressed paper works really well for getting shine on the ocean. It struck me today that I really should be living on or near a beach, especially with my desire to make more wood sculptures. Hmmmm.

Seascape - Bob Ross in Acrylic 1-9 - #30in30 - 10

I’m spending the month with Bob Ross and trying to get my head around converting his wet in wet oil techniques to acrylic. I’m doing this for the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge and this is day 9.

So far, in the first series, Bob had painted a lot of trees, mountains and rivers, but for this painting he said he was going to do something different. It sure was! After a few brush loads and color changes he said that people watching were starting to think he was crazy. It did seem that way, but being experienced with this kind of brilliant light and color from my impressionist work, I felt quite at home. Actually I was having so much fun that I got a little ahead of him in places.

It’s an unusual color scheme for me with a touch of 80’s, but the foreground really saves it. I’d even like to do some larger works along these lines. This painting is on auction over at my Daily Paintworks gallery for a ridiculously low start, so catch it before it’s gone.


Bob Ross Seascape Season 1 Episode 9

The 30 paintings in 30 days blog with hundreds of entries



My challenge painting for day 9 is posted at #8

30 Paintings in 30 days - First week review - #30in30 - 7

All the paintings above are currently on auction with low starts - just click on the links

A Walk in the Woods
Winter Moon
Winter Mist
Quiet Stream
Blue Moon
Mountains

It’s been an interesting week of discoveries. I hope you’ve been reading my tips for following Bob Ross Oil painting videos and converting his techniques to painting with acrylics. I’m doing it so you don’t have to suffer.

Version 1                        Version 2

I discovered that I can follow Bob by stopping and replaying sections. I’m not trying to copy his paintings exactly because I want to add local landscape features and make them more saleable in our era. However I do want to try out different methods, colors and compositional tricks. There is a lot of information to take in during Bobs half hour show, some of which I had never considered and some which don’t really work with acrylic paint. I may try some oils later in the month to see if I can use his wet in wet techniques with water solubles.

Version 2                    Version 1

I complete one of Bobs follow along paintings in about 90 mins, but I find that after consideration there are always a few tweaks needed. Only one of this weeks paintings escaped without a tweak. The one at the top, A WALK IN THE WOODS, is the one that needed the most work. I added a more modern color scheme and some more impressionist brush work. I love it now and I think it counts as a whole new painting for todays submission to 30 in 30.

The others underwent some minor adjustments. Can you spot them?

A little tweak in the waterfall

Posted on 30 in 30 today as #7

Moonglow - Art Walk - 8/30

MOONGLOW

12" x 36" Deep Gallery Wrap Canvas

3D Clear Collage, iridescent and interference paint, stars and glitter

$325

The call for this exhibition is "Are we there yet?" Canadian Roadside Attractions. I went through many ideas and settled on the Horseshoe Falls at Niagra and the Northern Lights. The exhibition is at Lake Country Art Gallery from August 30th to September 30th, however, it is also part of Art Walk, "Colour me Canada" which runs the weekend of September 9th and 10th. Art Walk is the largest show in the interior of B.C. and buyers come from all over Western Canada to attend. I was pleased that the curator chose to hang my painting in a prominant position that allows the light to dance on the iridescent and sparkle areas.

This project wasn't an easy birth due to the tall format; it was difficult to give both the night sky and the falls presence without cutting the painting in half horizontally. In the end I settled for slight dominance of the sky.

There are some progress shots below and as you see, I painted the sky several times before I was happy, finally settling on fabric collage and transparent paint. It includes a dusting of stars, multi colored aurora and three definable constellations taken from winter star charts, Cassiopia, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The moon is full and is the only unmodified Titanium White on the canvas, creating one of those magical moments where things seem to glow from inside.

The lower part of the painting is clear texture up to 1" deep depicting the crashing water and there are liberal helpings of iridescent, metallic and sparkle paint.

This painting is so unique that it should be seen in person, but if you love it, I can put it on hold and ship it after the exhibition closes on September 30th.

I'm one of the artists taking part in the Leslie Saeta 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. This is the ninth time Leslie has held this event and I've taken part in each one. This is # eight of the thirty I plan to complete by September 30th.

I love the energy of the challenge and that it inspires me to create new work each day. I finished and submitted this painting just before the challenge started, but Leslie allows painting a few works in advance to spur momentum.

See all the Challenge Artists Work here

I'm at #6

Another brief shining moment

Gotta catch those fleeting glimpses of sun! I had scheduled a restock of my farthest flung gallery an hour away and how wonderful it was to wake up to sunshine. I cant say I like it, but I've got used to the gloom, so when the sun arrived it was almost too bright, too technicolor, too awe inspiring. No wonder tourists flock to our valley.

I was thrilled to catch a few good shots further down our 80 mile lake and thought I'd share them with you. To give you some idea of the scale of this vaste landscape, that tiny whit dot just right of centre at the edge of the lake is a rather large cabin cruiser. The trees behind it are easily 50 ft tall.

And that island is Rattlesnake Island where Our lake monster Ogopogo is supposed to live in a cave. What a beautiful day!

Watch the Eclipse Today - Be Safe

August 21, 2017 — Total Solar Eclipse

Western Europe, North/East Asia, North/West Africa, North America, Much of South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic.

A total solar eclipse is when the Moon completely covers the Sun. The handy link below has a search area at the top where you can type in your nearest city and all kinds of fascinating information will pop up specific to you. TIP:- Put the city and country without a comma.

If you want to view general information, click on links dated August 21st. You will see three animations and I found the center one most useful. For analytical readers, you can click around and find eclipses for years ahead, images, animations and graphs. 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2017-august-21

NASA Television is offering a special live program, “Eclipse Across America: Through the Eyes of NASA” with real-time coverage of the event from coast to coast. The nearly four-hour program will include unprecedented images of the Aug. 21 eclipse from numerous spacecraft -- including the International Space Station – high-altitude aircraft, balloons and ground observations. Each will offer a unique vantage point for the eclipse. 

Additionally, the broadcast will include live coverage of activities in parks, libraries, stadiums, festivals and museums across the nation and on social media. To watch the August 21st NASA TV eclipse broadcast online and access interactive web content and views of the eclipse from these assets, visit:https://www.nasa.gov/eclipselive

Be safe. Read the information about the correct way to view the eclipse, because every eclipse many people disregard the information and end up with vision problems. 

The above iPad drawing, THE BOYS OF 36 is available in a limited edition 8" x 10" canvas print for $65 plus shipping by contacting me here

Birch Lake

BIRCH LAKE
4" approx. Canadian Birch Slice
Archival Seal
Use with small easel or attached hanger
$49 + Shipping



Or click here

A local lake view painted on a sealed natural Canadian birch slice.

FAMOUS ARTIST BIRTHDAY - DAVID HOCKNEY

DAVID HOCKNEY OM CH RA (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. An important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. 

DAVID HOCKNEY IPAD WORKS

In December 1985, Hockney used the Quantel Paintbox, a computer program that allowed the artist to sketch directly onto the screen. Using the program was similar to drawing on the PET film for prints, with which he had much experience. The resulting work was featured in a BBC series that profiled a number of artists.

Since 2009, Hockney has painted hundreds of portraits, still lifes and landscapes using the Brushes iPhone and iPad application, often sending them to his friends. 

Sea says "I'm not so fancy, I use the limited app that comes with iPad "notes". I must say though that it's very addictive. Lately I must have my iPad drawing fix every day and for someone that was criticized for not having enough drawing in my portfolio, I think that's pretty fantastic."

Hockneys show "Fleurs fraîches" (Fresh flowers) was held at La Fondation Pierre Bergé in Paris. In 2011 a "Fresh-Flowers" exhibit opened at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, featuring more than 100 of his drawings on 25 iPads and 20 iPods. In late 2011, Hockney revisited California to paint Yosemite National Park on his iPad. For the season 2012–2013 in the Vienna State Opera he designed, a large scale picture (176 sqm) on his iPad, as part of the exhibition series Safety Curtain, conceived by Museum in Progress.

"Strangely, I don't ever remember studying his work before. Of course I knew the name and had a vague idea that he was gay and either British or American. I also had a residual memory of swimming pool paintings and water.

When I started my iPad drawing journey, many people I spoke to pointed out that David Hockney was now almost exclusively using his ipad. I was excited by that, but in my usual independent way I didn't want to be influenced by his style and avoided looking for them. 

Now I'm starting to develop my own iPad drawing style it's safe to sneak a peek at Hockneys iPad work. Wow! Wonderful stuff.

And one of my latest iPad abstracts available as a limited edition 8" x 10" canvas print by contacting me here."

And I can't resist sharing one of my latest pool images with a nod to David Hockney.

Summer Breeze Exhibition Painting

SUMMER BREEZE II
36" x 24" Deep Gallery Wrap Canvas



I've been working on this painting for a couple of months. It's one of those paintings that took its own sweet time declaring itself done. I think I had to wait for a nice sunny spring day to feel in the mood to get the colors perfect.

This is one I would like to keep for myself, but it is needed for a submission and if I choose not to submit it will either go to Skyway Kelowna Airport or Ritchcraft Gallery in Kelowna Mission district. However, it is currently for sale at Daily Paintworks, so if you love it, snap it up before it leaves the studio.