My Favourite Headache

The Angler I originally posted this shot with a number of post...

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:21:26 -0400

The Angler

I originally posted this shot with a number of post processes going on. At the time, I thought I had done a reasonable job making it look more ‘artistic’ but I was given some great feedback that I had muddied it up and taken away from what may have been an interesting shot.

So.. I have gone back to the original RAW file and made some slight contrast adjustments and converted to black and white using a Topaz Filter.

Make:Canon
Model:Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed:1/2000 second
Aperture:F/2.8
Focal Length:104 mm
ISO Speed:100

Fish or Cut Bait This Gull sat on the bait cutting table just...

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:49:47 -0400

Fish or Cut Bait

This Gull sat on the bait cutting table just reviewing the ocean below the Santa Monica Pier.

Make & Model:Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed:1/8000 second
Aperture:F/2.8
Focal Length:200 mm
ISO Speed:100

Off the Wall This is a shot from the Venice Beach Skate park. I...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:33:40 -0400

Off the Wall

This is a shot from the Venice Beach Skate park. I had to lie down on the side walkway to get this angle. I added a little motion and post processed using a more retro feel with some vignette, cross processing and grain addition.

Venice Rail Slide Shot of a guy doing a Rail Slide in Venice...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:38:00 -0400

Venice Rail Slide

Shot of a guy doing a Rail Slide in Venice Beach, California.

Shopping in Venice

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:52:22 -0400

This is a street shot I took in Venice California. I loved that I got mix of people all doing their thing with not a one looking at me. The mix of suitcase handles, cowboy hats and hanging bags really added to the mix of textures and lines.

Aperture f/2.8

Focal Length 70mm

Shutter Speed 1/640

ISO 100

The Cove

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 18:08:00 -0400

The Cove at la Jolla north of San Diego. I’ve no idea how to take good landscapes nor how to post process them so this would be a first time for me. Any critiques would be appreciated.

Through Her Eyes

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:14:29 -0400

This is another mixed media piece created from varied different materials. The background is very textured and the flower was somewhat sculpted before I began painting it. This allowed me to use techniques such as rubbing and washing layers of paint off to achieve a very tactile and ‘real’ feeling when you look at it. I’m not so happy with the pearl I used and may mute that at some point. It is a 30”x24” canvas and painted using acrylic glazes, paints and washes.

I will be adding it to the paintings I will likely take to the Stouffville Strawberry Festival (once I sign up for it) unless it is purchased beforehand.

Burnt Flowers (Triptic)

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:00:54 -0500

I was busy working on the background for my next painting and while it was drying I spied these three canvases in the corner. I decided to give some freehand flowers a shot. I had watched a tutorial by Isabelle Zacher-Finet who is one of my favourite artists and decided to give her method a try. SO.. there is no doubt it is a ripoff of her painting but it is my attempt. I didn’t do it exactly as she taught but it seems to look ok. However.. not sure anyone has the decor to put a bright red painting in.

It is on 3 *” x 24” panels making a 2’ x 2’ square. It is done in acrylics. Red, Yellow, Black and white only.

Free

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:55:00 -0500

“Free”

This is a 24” x 20” canvas painted using acrylic glazes.

The background is layered using tissue paper, paper towel, various acrylic medium textures etc. The colours were developed layer by layer using multiple glazes of gold, burnt sienna, brown, black, greens and blues.

The zebra was painted in the same method using only glazes adding layers of glaze to build up colour. I have also added blues, roses, orange, gold, brown, silver and grey glazes to try and capture and emphasize/embellish how the late day light might hit white hair.

Right now I think this might be one of the best paintings I have done to date. Perhaps due to the amount of work it took, it feels like a large accomplishment.

Winter Dreams

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:41:06 -0500

‘Winter Dreams’

This is a 30”x24” Acrylic mixed media painting on canvas.
It was painted using sand and shells collected from the south end of Myrtle Beach. The beach portion is covered in a layer of pearl gel and the waves are made using tissue and acrylic gel. The ocean is painted in layers using multiple blues, greens and golds. In the right light, you will see some iridescent blues and greens in the waves.

I was feeling a little glum about the weather, and thought how nice it would be to be at the beach.

Might be a nice piece for someone’s cottage or summer room. Let me know as it is available for purchase.

Nikki Sixx in Acrylic

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 22:00:00 -0500

Nikki Sixx. This is an acrylic painting on a 11 x 14 canvas of Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue and Sixx AM. I’ve been working on this off and on for quite some time but the crunch was on as I had intended to give it to my boss as a Christmas gift and I suddenly realized on the weekend..Christmas was a week away! So I sat down tonight and pumped another three hours in and decided it is as finished as it is ever going to be. It is a combination pop-art and portrait. I used some different techniques to develop the background. I used 3 colours only - ebony black, titanium white and crimson.

Turbulence

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:30:51 -0500

This is a 4’ x 3’ canvas painted with acrylic. I titled it Turbulence because of the state of mind I was in and painting process I went through. The original idea when I first picked up a brush was no where near what it turned out to be. The painting shows the conflict and confusion that gripped me while I was creating it.

Undertow

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:34:22 -0500

This is a ‘re-purposed’ canvas. My wife had a painting she bought a while ago at a print store and got tired of it. So she suggested I paint over it. This is the third attempt. I struggled with the odd size of it..3’ x 1’ as I couldn’t seem to get any idea I had to look right. I started by adding texture using a number of different techniques and then layering paint. I would have preferred a smoother transition in the colours but she likes it and the kids think it is cool so who am I to argue. The title is something I came up with while I was painting it and imagining I was tumbling around under a wave.

Limelight

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:15:30 -0500

Decided to try a slightly different colour palette before embarking on my painting for our kitchen area. I had just finished watching RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage and while I always liked Rush, I never called myself a Rush Fan. Watching this film made me remember things from my teenage and young adult days that were inextricably linked to Rush songs. One of these was ‘Limelight’. There were a number of memories that I have that when I think of them, this song is playing, either on the radio in the actual memory or as a mental soundtrack.

I tried to capture that song and the feeling I get when I listen to it, and when I think of those times long ago that are linked to this song. I’m not sure I really like this painting but then again, not all my memories were ones I can enjoy having. Maybe that means I nailed this one perfectly.

“Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme

Living in a fish eye lens
Caught in the camera eye
I have no heart to lie
I can’t pretend a stranger
Is a long-awaited friend

All the world’s indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another’s audience
Outside the gilded cage”

-RUSH, ‘Limelight’ from Moving Pictures 1981

Summer Night Calm

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 19:28:38 -0400

This is a photo of my kids and a friend enjoying a summer evening on the Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach. It was a great evening for light and the pier has these wonderful sodium style and coloured lights. I used some topaz filters in photoshop to pull out the details and take advantage of that unique lighting.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
F-stop: f/4.5
Exposure: 1/13sec
ISO: 1600

South Carolina Lightning

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 13:49:00 -0400

I captured this photo on Myrtle Beach in July 2012. There was some incredible lightning happening and I had never tried photographing lightning before. not easy.. in the least.

I converted to black and white and worked the contrast, exposure and grain to come up with a more vintage effect I think.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
F-stop: f/3.5
Exposure: 1/15sec
ISO: 2000

Bag of Tricks

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:27:30 -0400

Just trying out a few things suck as a different palette of colours, a taped frame and painting entirely without a plan. This is acrylic on a 24x20 canvas. It was disappointing to me when I finished as it didn’t come out like I though and my wife was not enamored of it either however now that it has been a while since I finished, it is starting to grow on me.

Markham Waxer Skateboard

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:33:00 -0400

This is a Skateboard that I did for a friend who has a son on a Markham Waxer Hockey team which is to be auctioned off at one of their team’s fundraisers. It is a 7 ply maple deck made by ATMclick and purchased at the North of 7 Boardshop in Stouffville. I painted 90% of the deck using an airbrush and some homemade stencils and hand held shields. The hockey player at the bottom was drawn freehand. Unfortunately the photo does not capture the depth of blues used in the main logo and heart. It has both a metallic sheen as well as hot rod sparkle and a 3D depth.

The top of the deck was created using a blue metallic marbling effect and then the club name cut out of the grip tape.

Blue Dream Collision

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:06:00 -0400

Perhaps not the greatest title but one I felt fit the piece. This is a 20”x”24” canvas painted with acrylic. I know it seems hokey but I’ve had a couple dreams where I was working on a similar painting or at least similar in the colour choices.

I tried to channel some emotions I have been going through lately due to my 45th birthday coming and going, my daughter turning 13, stresses with work, life, world etc. I wanted it to look optimistic rather than depressive but still show there is a dark part.

The painting is available.

Simple and Clean Stouffville Clipper Goalie Mask

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:33:00 -0400

A commission from the son of a good friend of mine. Matt wanted his goalie mask painted but he is a very conservative guy and didn’t want to go too flashy. In the end, he settled with Stouffville Clipper colours, a simple bright red with a black stripe with 2 white stripes. On the back plate, his initials in a script font and a simple, non-stylized four leaf clover. It seemed pretty boring when we talked about it but I really like how it turned out and so did he. Mission accomplished.

Painted entirely by airbrush using Wicked Red, White, Black and Createx Pearl Green.

I do take commissions.