Giving titles to paintings

Watching the Tourists, oil on canvas board, 8" X 10"

I felt that this little rodent was watching us just as we were busy snapping photos of him (or her). We were enjoying walking on the trails at Two Jack Lake in Alberta (Canada) on our trip to the Canadian Rockies last month. I took photos of various ground squirrels, chipmunks and other small rodents. I can't really identify which one this guy was, but I thought he was cute. (Then again, as an artist I also think iguanas are cute too.) I never know what to title my paintings, so I decided on a little bit of irony for this one.

I had difficulty making a good photo of my artwork.  The first few I tried had too much reflection on the pigments even though I was not using a flash. 

I also started another 16" X 20" oil painting from our last trip.  This view is of the Athabasca River just before the Athabasca Falls.  I'll continue working on it this week. I had some good photos of the falls, but I didn't feel like painting another waterfall this time (I've done those in the past).

I'm not sure what I'll tackle next, but I prepared another 8" X 10" canvas board with black gesso again since I liked the way that looked on the dahlias painting. I may experiment with it a little knowing that I can always cover up my messes or wipe them off.  That's the nice thing about painting, it's easy to fix mistakes.

Dahlias in My Garden, 8" X 10", oil on canvas board

I was happy with the way this painting turned out. I made some cards too and will be bringing some cards and prints with me to "Trolley Night" this week in downtown Manchester. I will have a few paintings on exhibit at the gallery across from Pappy's Pizza (1528 Elm Street, Manchester, NH). The free trolley runs from 5:00 to 8:00 around the downtown with interesting stops at various venues.

More painting progress

This is my first painting from the trip to the Canadian Rockies.  It is a view of Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks (in Banff, Alberta, Canada). I still struggle with composition and colors, but I'm happy with the way this came out. It was a magnificent view of the mountains and glaciers.  I hoped to give some sense of the massiveness of all those mountains.  As usual, it was hard deciding whether or not I was finished or if I would still do a little touching up, but I think this is done.

Oil painting, 16" x 20". You can buy a card or print here.

Meanwhile, I decided to do a couple of small panels.  These are not done, but I'm having fun with them.

This little guy seemed to be watching us. I'm going to continue working on the panel this week. I'm calling it "watching the tourists". Oil on canvas board, 8" X 10"

I planted dahlias for the first time this year in front of my house. I took a photo of the first one to open. I'll be working on this one and hope to finish it this week. I'm happy with the way it looks so far. Oil on canvas board, 8" X 10".  The background is black gesso. I think I'm going to leave it that way as I like the way it sets off the flower and leaves.