Twelve for 2012

After reading a similar post on Casey Klahn's blog, The Colorist, I thought I'd borrow his idea of choosing 12 of my favourite paintings that I produced this year.   The process of curating and jurying your own work gives you a more critical eye for composition, value and colour.  It can be difficult to step back from your own work and be objective, but whittling down the pieces through a series of slide shows, the same way as any juried work would be selected, helped me make my choices.

So here is my selection, not in any ranked order.  Its a bit of an eclectic bag, but aquatics seems to push its way to the front somehow.  As always, there are other pieces that didn't make the grade, but that I enjoy on various levels. Its a good exercise to go through and I'd highly recommend it.  What you thought may be your favourites may not be once you've really examined them.

Do you have a favourite among them?

Straight Sailing

 Sunshine

 

Weekend Warriors

 

 

Dragon Gate

 

Heat Wave

Lucie Rose

The Edge of Freedom

Shallows

 

Capelin Season

 

Fisherman's Cut

 N'or Easter

Remembrance

Christmas Disguise

Disguise

7 x 11  watercolour

This year, four other members of Arts Northeast and I worked on a Christmas challenge to provide a seasonal image that could be used as a note card or decorative pieces.  A collaborative effort got it all together and with some technology the first of what I hope will be many challenges is on the Arts Northeast blog.  Take a moment to visit the ANE site and see what the other artists have produced for the challenge.

'Disguise' was inspired by some wrapping paper I saw in a shop in late November.  The fairly 'unChristmassy' look of the colours appealed to me and I thought a little fish could fit right in, just floating over the surface.   The colour in the goldfish worked beautifully with the amber in the paper and against the teal background.   I may not want to work quite that much detail in for awhile, but a masking pen is a godsend!

The original for this piece is available for purchase from my website.