Blog/Articles

There are many steps in the process of creating a painting. It might come as a surprise to learn that actually doing the painting part is often not the most difficult part. For my money, generally speaking, coming up with the subject idea is probably the toughest part of the process and can take months, although there are rare times when it takes virtually no time at all. Naming the painting...

I am thrilled to introduce you to my new website which I’m hopeful will help take my art career to a new level. Website technology has changed so much since I launched my original website that I find myself astonished at the improvement in image quality, and ultimately this is a business of image quality. Please browse through this site for a fresh look at my work and to see where I’m...

Artists are frequently asked if they take on commission work, and almost as frequently they never hear from the potential client again. A serious commission enquiry that is followed up and leads to an assignment is not nearly as common as one might expect from the number of enquiries received. I surmise most people that never follow up with the artist were either just making conversation, were...

Last year I was asked by a cancer survivor who I know to donate a painting to a major fund-raising gala held annually by the BC Cancer Foundation. Finding treatments and cures for cancer is a cause worthy of support, and knowing how important this was to the person that asked me, because he had recently been successfully treated, I agreed to make the donation. It wasn't an easy decision...

No, this is not about taking little coloured pills to get into a party mood. If you are one of those pathetic people that needs artificial stimulants and your search engine has brought you here looking for drugs, search elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want to experience massive mood swings naturally, and aren't suffering from bi-polar condition (but maybe are curious what that must be...

As much as I get great personal enjoyment from my own painting endeavours, I've often been perplexed by the question: What is the point of it all? Painting as a hobby for one's own personal pleasure is easy enough to understand, but what is its significance in the grander scheme of things? What possible value other than decor does painting serve, if any? What is it that I am striving for when...

Many of you reading this may not be familiar with the twice weekly letters from Robert Genn. Robert is a very accomplished and successful Canadian artist who generously shares his thoughts, insights, and experiences freely, via his emailed letters, with tens of thousands of subscribers from all over the world. His letters always elicit lots of comments from his subscribers, and yesterday's...

My father turns 87 this year and while he still lives on his own in a tiny apartment, his health has deteriorated to the point that he can barely get around inside his own little home let alone venture out anywhere. He now orders his regular groceries by phone and frequently laments about the bland, tasteless quality of any fruit that he receives. He doesn't even order fruit anymore even...

Before we go too far down this path, I want to be clear that I mean I'm not an idiot most of the time. Like most people, I've certainly done the odd idiotic thing (such as failing to change the fuel filters in my boat engine regularly � what a jackass!), but in general I like to think of myself as being pretty sensible.

We've just come out of our summer in which we had some very warm weather...

There is generally one of two reasons artists are asked this question.

The first is really an expression of awe at the high level of detail and the accuracy of proportions, perspective, and colours. The viewer is thinking "I couldn't do this in a hundred years", and is seriously interested in being astonished by the artist's answer.

However, often the question is asked when the implied...