Gena LaCoste, Artist

"Eleven-sies" .... so far

2012-03-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

Here's the progress on "Eleven-sies". It's so much fun. Should finish it in the next few days. Been busy teaching workshops this week, and thinking about this painting while I'm away from it. It's good to have a break and have an objective look at a piece. I can often see flaws when I look at a painting on my camera or the computer that I can't see standing right in front of it.

300 lb Fabriano 22 X 30"

Orpington Stroll

2012-02-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

Ah, the silly roosters; there's something so comical about them that I can't resist painting them. I really should have chickens of my own and am so grateful to my friends for sharing theirs. So far I haven't even had to clean the hen house!

5 X 7" 140lb Lanaquarelle

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Workshop Poppies

2012-02-28T22:48:00.001-07:00

This morning I taught a workshop; the poppies are the "demo" I did for the participants. The workshop was fun, I got a "daily" done, and all this was accomplished before noon!

11 X 15" on 140lb Lanaquarelle

p.s. I did a bunch more drawing on the horses....ready to start painting tomorrow. Stay tuned.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $300 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Drawing All Day

2012-02-27T22:48:00.001-07:00

So this is about 8 hours worth of work.... a new piece, full sheet size (22 X 30", 300lb Fabriano)

When the painting is that big, I have a hard time getting my drawing in proportion, and with this bunch of horses they have to be in the right relationship to each other or the painting won't work! So my strategy is to measure where they intersect with each other. I use a large grid to get them established in the right quadrant of the space (you can see the lines if you look closely). Once their outside shape is laid down, I can then draw in the shadow shapes that define their features, bone structure and manes etc. Still lots of drawing to do before it's ready to start painting, but we're on our way.

Pink Church @ Piapot

2012-02-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

Having wondered for years what the town of Piapot (Saskatchewan) had to offer, I finally turned off the Trans Canada on my way by, and checked it out. It's barely a Hamlet, whose better days are long gone. Actually the place has the eerie feel of a ghost town, would make a great movie set for the "Halloween" movies. There's not a lick of paint in the entire place, except for this fairly fresh coat of pepto bismol pink on the church! I'm thinking I have a new place to visit when I want to paint on location.

-for more on Piapot including history of the name and the area, go to www.piapotsaloon.com

7 X 5" on 140lb Lanaquarelle

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Gold Spring Afternoon

2012-02-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

I found this partly finished painting in my sketch book while visiting in Saskatchewan this w/e; this from a trip up to Buffalo last fall. So, thinking that it maybe had some potential for my blog, I finished it. Nothing prettier than a sagebrush covered river flat in the fall.

5 X 7" on 90lb paper

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

February Feed Ground

2012-02-25T01:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I visited family on their beautiful Saskatchewan ranch, and this is the sight that greeted me on my arrival. As the sun was going down and the sky was threatening snow the cattle contentedly fed.

I did this quick impression in my sketch book, and it is my offering for today.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Orpington Rooster

2012-02-23T21:13:00.001-07:00

This magnificent rooster belongs to friends, who have a wide variety of livestock and pets. Evidently this breed, the Orpington, is renowned for it's charming personality, gorgeous silver and gold plumage and it's delicious meat. Not that he'll have to worry about finding himself in a stew pot! As long as he's living where he does, I believe he's in for a long and decorative life.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Cottontail

2012-02-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

These little cottontail rabbits are, I think, one of the species that adapts itself to whatever seems to be the trend. I see them out city green strips and yards, as well as in rural areas where they've always been. Unlike the Canmore bunnies of recent infamy, these little guys don't seem to be proliferating at a problematic rate, and who could ask for a sweeter lawn ornament!?

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Carl's Chuckwagon

2012-02-20T22:29:00.001-07:00

So here we have the finished chuckwagon. I left the background white...I think it's ok to do that. This is really more of an illistration for a book than it is a bonafied painting, and it was busy enough without adding the coulees in the photo or even a sky. I'm the artist so I get to decide!

10 X 14" on 140 lb Lanquarelle

Chuckwagon Drawing

2012-02-19T22:36:00.001-07:00

Today was a day of drawing, which is one of the best ways I know to get onto the right side of my brain. This was a challenging piece...all that harness, not to mention the darn wheels!

This is a project for a friend of mine who is doing a cookbook....more will be revealed on that topic in the future.

Sorting

2012-02-17T22:31:00.001-07:00

Ranchers are some of the most resourceful, resilient, hardest working and optimistic people I know. Can't thing of anybody better to have stewarding our native grasslands and growing our world class food..Thank you all for all that you do. SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Sweetgrass Remuda

2012-02-16T21:43:00.003-07:00

Something has the wind up these guy's tails; they're up to more than looking at the scenery.....those Sweetgrass Hills again. Horses in a herd are like birds in a flock, they move together like they're all of one mind. I think that's because they are. Next time you get the chance, watch, and see what you think. SOLD

Moe

2012-02-15T23:45:00.001-07:00

Meet Moe, a pup belonging to some of the young people in my family, who just wins hearts wherever he goes. Lately though, feeling a bit of cabin fever, he took himself out to the highway and hitched a ride to the bright lights of Medicine Hat
After several hours of terrible anxiety, his location was discovered; Winston & Jolene went to town and broke him out of the crowbar hotel. Hopefully that's enough adventuring for awhile.
SOLD

Backlit

2012-02-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the finished product. Not sure what to think. The illustration board produces different results than watercolour paper or board; the paint doesn't flow, but tends to sit there and dry in blobs. Also the surface is not nearly as tough as w/c paper, so I can't scratch into it or rub or scrub, without damaging the surface. There was almost no detail in my photo...a pure silhouette, so I had to make up the horses faces etc. It was fun though; a good experiment. I may try it again one day, but using a true watercolour support. SOLD

-from a photo by Courtney Todd

"Backlit"...so far

2012-02-13T23:20:00.001-07:00

Back to my bigger work.....here's what I did so far on a 9 X 14" painting. I've drawn it on a piece of illustration board, which I somehow acquired accidentally. This is just an experiment; because the board is hard to deal with, I thought I'd do a silhouette-y piece that I could splash around in the paint with. If it doesn't work, no big loss.

I did the drawing and then slopped in a bunch of paint. Next I'll paint the horses & rider....who knows how it'll turn out!

March of the Magnificent

2012-02-12T21:57:00.003-07:00

Guess I'm on a heavy horse kick these days, after painting aspens for days and heading off on various other tangents. Clydesdale mares, again. So magnificent. Hope you had a great Sunday.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Echodale Horse Power

2012-02-12T00:42:00.000-07:00

We have a beautiful little regional park here near Medicine Hat; an old homestead, right on the S. Saskatchewan River. Complete with houses, barns, machine sheds, gardens, poultry runs, and a blacksmith shop, Ecodale Park takes us back to times as they once were. Today's painting is of Ecodale's heavy horse teams, always ready to provide the horsepower and steadfast work ethic so crucial to the success of our forefathers. What would we ever do without the power and loyalty of our horses?

f you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Sweetgrass Sunset

2012-02-10T22:50:00.002-07:00

There's a sweet little bundle of hills straddling the Medicine Line between Alberta and Montana. A sacred place of the Blackfoot people, who also straddle The Line, they are named for the Ceremonial sweetgrass so important to them. Rising above the plains (the tallest, the West Butte, is nearly 7000 ft.) they have their own ecosystems and a separate geology from the Rocky Mountains. They have a powerful, sometimes mystical profile and dominate the horizon for nearly 100 miles. SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Saunter

2012-02-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

Don't you enjoy horses in a bunch; the way they mill and wheel, pace and....saunter. These are 4-year-old bucking horse prospects, and I can feel their teenage energy, can't you?!

-from a photo by Courtney Todd

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Ramparts

2012-02-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

More vertical landscape from my trip to the mountains...this wall of towering rock is just west of the Canmore townsite. When you're born and raised in a horizontal landscape, as I have been, this sight is awe inspiring!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Jill

2012-02-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

This beautiful spark is one of my several wonderful nieces. Jill is a teacher and a talented writer, a skier, hiker, swimmer, musician, golfer, linguist, coach and all-around character. Her stance in this little painting tells it all! There's never a dull moment with Jill around.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Cochrane Barn

2012-02-06T22:21:00.002-07:00

On my recent road trip to the mountains, I stopped in at Cochrane for a bit. This formerly sleepy little cowtown tucked into the foothills of the Rockies, is now a happening place as Calgary creeps (and leaps!) ever closer.
I was glad to see that this red barn, like an old friend, is still part of the landscape.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.netMinimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

East & West Aspen

2012-02-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

OK, humor me with just one more aspen painting....this one with the same method as yesterday.

This elegant little clump is on the East & West Ranch, where my Grandad and his brothers came in 1896. These trees are almost at the top of the "bench", the highest point in the Cypress Hills, and on the watershed for both the Missouri and the Hudson's Bay systems. It's comforting to go there and find this landscape pretty much as it was in 1896.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

FT. Walsh October II

2012-02-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

I wasn't content with yesterday's aspen, so today I decided to just paint without doing a drawing at all. I spritzed the area of the paper where the yellow of the aspen foliage would go and then dropped in paint and let it bloom. I built the rest of the painting around that. I think I like it better. How about you?

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Fort Walsh October

2012-02-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

Fort Walsh in Cypress Interprovincial Park was the site of the first NWMP post and the pivotal point for law and order during the taming of our Canadian west. In those days, this was a hive of activity, with the likes of the whiskey trader, settlers, and refugees from the American "Indian Wars" playing out their dramas.

These days, it's a tranquil and naturally beautiful place to visit.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Red Sunflower & Friends

2012-02-01T23:06:00.002-07:00

Time for some sunflowers. And cosmos and a zinnia or 2 at the back. The weather feels spring-like, so it gets me thinking about gardens and flowers.

5 X 7" on 140lb Fabriano. SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Dust & Light

2012-01-31T23:22:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Calgary Stampede Ranch early in the morning, the sun just hauling itself up the eastern sky. The guys were moving a couple hundred head of horses into the corrals, and the combination of dust, light and horses was a sight to behold.

Dust & Light- Drawing Stage

2012-01-31T00:48:00.000-07:00

Here again is the beginning of a painting. The support is watercolour board, size 16 X 20". I really love the w/e boards; no stretching or waiting around for the paper to dry, just this beautiful flat surface, ready to go. When finished, I'll varnish it (if it turns out) with 7 layers of acrylic varnish, and it can then be framed without glass.

Brit

2012-01-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

This little portrait is of Brit, a beautiful Australian Shepherd who belongs to my friends at Kananaskis Guest Ranch. Brit is a very intuitive, brilliant and low maintenance mutt. She's happiest when her "family" is all together, and she's available to help out. She doesn't go in for plane rides or a lot of other frills. We can add sensible to her list of attributes.

5 X 7" on 140lb Fabriano

Festiva Maxima

2012-01-27T21:20:00.002-07:00

OK, here it is, done I think and ..... it really was fun to paint. Again, it's all about "value"; the scale from darkest to lightest (white) and the colour and temperature of that value. Peonies are very complicated, but many of the most interesting things in life are!

140lb Fabriano watercolour paper 21" X 14"

Peonies

2012-01-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Been drawing on this one for 2 days, and this is how far the painting of it got today. I haven't been this cross-eyed since I did a painting with about 10 zebras in it! What was I thinking? The concentration it takes to stay focused is good for my aging brain (or that's what I keep telling myself).

Petunias Again!

2012-01-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

I know! enough with the petunias already.
I had a friend over today and he wanted to paint petunias, so that's what we did. We each had a piece of 140lb Lanaquarel paper, (10 X 14") and a photo of white petunias. We chose our weapons (pencils then brushes ) and got to work. What a great way to spend the afternoon!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $350 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Sundown @ Five Bends

2012-01-24T22:56:00.001-07:00

Today's project is a commission for a friend; the S. Saskatchewan River as it winds southeast towards Medicine Hat. From the top of this hill, you can see 5 bends on the river, and the Cypress Hills, blue on the horizon. As always, first I had to have a really good drawing. The river breaks are complicated and if I try and paint them without knowing where the paint should go, I always wind up in a real mess.
This is one of my favourite places to paint, and at sunset it is truly magic.

Above Quarry Lake

2012-01-23T23:27:00.001-07:00

This little painting is from a photo I took yesterday, once the sun had returned on the wings of Chinook winds...you can see the edge of the Chinook arch in the upper right hand corner, and the temperature soared to +3! This peak is beside the one from yesterday's painting and forms part of the steep craggy ramparts that embraces the town of Canmore on the west.
Such a spectacular landscape. I'm promising myself that I will go there more often.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Up Spray Lakes Road

2012-01-22T23:13:00.003-07:00

Well, I'm back to the flat lands and back to my Wifi connection after an absolutely lovely w/e in the mountains. I was pretty busy fooling around, but I did get a couple of small Pleine Aires done.
Saturday was socked in and grey, with a Chinook moving in, thankfully warming things up. I found an open meadow part way up the Spray Lakes road, and sat in my car to do this little piece (it was still -20!) The sun came out today though, and I'll undoubtedly try and do this same mountain lit up with sunshine.

SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

En Pointe

2012-01-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

With temps hovering around the -30's, I'm consoling myself with an iris in full bloom. It's one of my "dialy-size" 5 X 7".
I'm off to Canmore in the morning though, for a change of scenery. Maybe you'll see some Rocky Mountain Highs in the next few days. Stay warm.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Traditional Dancer

2012-01-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Painting size 5 X 7"
This extraordinary young man was one of the dancers at our Aboriginal Day celebrations last summer here in The Hat. There's something very powerful about the drumming and dancing of the plains tribes, and this guy was one of the most colourful.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Matriarchy

2012-01-16T22:44:00.001-07:00

Let me say that all your interest in this project has been heartwarming, and I want to thank every single one of you who visits this blog and makes comments.

So I think it's finished, except that I may put a layer of colour on the barrel of the big mare on the left...I think that highlight on her side is a bit too bright.

These big horses belong to friends of mine who live south of Moose Jaw, and I can only imagine what a pleasure it must be to own and raise such magnificent animals.

Progressing

2012-01-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well, the horses are all done...barring adjustments. I left the sky and background till last because this painting feels like a portrait to me, even though there are 6 subjects rather than one. The background will hopefully enhance and not compete with the horses. I'm a bit apprehensive and hope that by tomorrow night I won't have screwed it up.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Plunge in With Paint

2012-01-14T22:11:00.002-07:00

And here's another progression, showing the
development of colour, structure and light.

This is the scariest time of all, when you have to plunge in with lots of paint and try & make black horses out of that flat drawing on a piece of flat white paper (300lb Fabriano by the way). My heart just pounds when this is happening, and it's more fun than anything ever! I paint with the 3 primary colours, so like I said, black can be tricky. I layer as little as possible, & as you can see, I'm trying to get enough paint in there on the first attempt. Stick around!

Drawing "The Matriarchy"

2012-01-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today's blog is the result of about 3 days worth of drawing. Remember what I said about watercolours being coloured drawings? Well that's really true with the kind of work I do.Thus these horses have to be drawn right, so that I can know where the paint needs to go. Value is so important, and these are black Clydes, which will make it tricky....there are lost edges within the horses figures where we can't tell where one horse ends and the other starts. It's giving me butterflies, because #1 it's quite big (18 X 30) and #2 there's a lot of really dark shadow in there! To start I put some grass colour under their feet, so that I can paint their hooves down into the negative spaces that are the grass...that is, IF & When I even get that far!

Two Roans & a Buckskin

2012-01-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Today's small painting is a quick pen & ink, with a wash of watercolour over it. The subject; some of my sister's family's ranch horses hanging out on a summer day. There's nothing more beautiful than horses, just being horses, don't you agree?

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Locked and Loaded

2012-01-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

A team roping horse, backed into the chute,waiting for the barrier to release, every muscle aquiver, totally intent on his task, alert to every possibility.....makes me think of a term the military guys I know use for a state of hyper-readiness. "Locked and loaded".

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $120 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Wesley

2012-01-09T23:20:00.001-07:00

Here's an "almost daily" for you. This is Wesley, who a neighbour brought to me; he'd been wandering the hood for several days, apparently lost. I kept him for a day, then quickly off to the SPCA....another day with him & I'da been a goner! He loved to gaze into my face with this slightly daft expression, and his eyes are "off", which only endeared him further! Absolutely adorable. However, Possum was outraged and there were some pretty explosive kitty fisticuffs happening. I will be checking in to be sure he gets a home....if not, I promised I'd come back for him.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

The Not-So-Pedestrian Petunia

2012-01-08T22:45:00.002-07:00

Well, here it is, looking somewhat different than it did yesterday. It's all about value, right? The magic of watercolour means that the white is the white of the paper, and I feel like a magician when the flat white paper becomes 3 dimensional.....AND I didn't even paint the flower; that is naked paper! Another cool thing is that I used to be a snob about petunias; thought they were pedestrian. However, I have come to love them; especially the plain old white ones. They're so voluptuous and radiant, like a beautiful bride. SOLD

Licorice Plant & Petunias

2012-01-07T22:29:00.001-07:00

On to a new project today. Actually I've been drawing this one for a couple of days. Who knew that drawing basically round flower shapes could get so complicated? Wait a minute. I did! Been there before!
This one is about 13 X 21". I drew the flowers and the foliage around them, and now I'm slopping on a wash of yellow-green. It's very loose and wet & I'm hoping it'll have some interesting texture...even though I'll probably paint over most of it. Painting on 140lb Fabriano (rough). Love this paper for florals because it's so white, and because of it's toughness and it's beautiful texture.

Riders at Camel Coulee

2012-01-06T22:34:00.003-07:00

Well it's finished today.... I think. In the reference photos the figures were almost black, and I wanted to preserve that silhouette "feel", so to achieve that I painted them as one solid entity, dragging the paint from the shadow under their hat brims right down through to the ground. I seldom layer; what I did here was add colour to the wet paint till it was dark enough and/or the right colour. I used more "local" colour in certain spots...like on the blue and yellow horses, the chaps or saddles. If you look closely though, there are no "edges" within the figures.
I was listening to one of my favourite watercolourists (Don Weller) today on You Tube and he says that he likes watercolour because it's really "coloured drawings", and I realized that that is exactly how I feel about it. The drawing was extremely important in this piece. SOLD

Next... the Sky

2012-01-05T22:40:00.001-07:00

Finally got back into my studio today, and here's what happened. I painted in a sky. Starting at the top, I used vertical strokes to represent the light of that early morning. Pulling the sky colours right through the riders and the ground they're standing on will help prevent the figures from looking as if they've been pasted on. Also I wanted a loose and exaggerated sky to balance the crisp-edged silhouettes of the riders. We'll see how that goes tomorrow.

The Start

2012-01-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I started a new piece today, and this is the result of several hours of drawing. It's going to be a row of 7 riders silhouetted against the sky, and requires that I have no doubt about the edges of my figures....no loosey-goosey drawing! The guy on the right (out of the photo) didn't come together well and I did a lot of erasing. I use a kneaded eraser though, and hopefully didn't damage my paper with all that "messing around". I'm using watercolour board instead of paper and the painting will be 11 X 22". We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Grandma Armstrong

2012-01-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of renewal, I've been going through mountains of old photos and turfing the dead wood. I came across one of my grandmother, and decided that I needed to paint her.
Born in 1898, she came to Canada from Missouri with her family when she was about 12. As a girl she was fun-loving and daring to the extent that she rode race horses. She married George Armstrong and ranched with him in the Cypress Hills where they raised their family. As grandparents there are none finer than the 2 of them. I marvel at the resilience of people of their generation; they were born into the horse-and-buggy era, yet lived to see the space shuttle. And they did so with wisdom and grace.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Cows at Sunrise

2012-01-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

That lazy old sun is finally hauling his butt up over the edge of the earth at about 8:30 in the morning. I was on my way to Calgary last week and saw these cows silhouetted against the dawn. One benefit to winter is that I don't have to get up at 4 a.m. in order to see the sun come up!
As I write this, it's barely the dawn of a new year. 2012. Wow. I've been doing this blog for 365 days, and have painted 347 little paintings for it in that time. I posted a few photographs, and I admittedly missed a the odd day. It has been an incredible experience, showing me that anything is paintable, and to get over myself and get on with it! Your participation has been incredibly beneficial, and I thank all of you who are following, who have commented and who have bought little paintings. That has made it such an interactive and joyous experiment.
Don't go away though. I'm going to continue to blog, and will try to do so almost daily. I think I'll get back to doing my bigger pieces, and maybe let you in on my progress with them and a bit about my process. Look for the little ones too, but not every single day.
Finally, Happy New Year to everyone every where. My wish is that we can collectively turn the bus around and start heading in the direction of Love and away from the direction of Fear. Our planet and everything on it is counting on us.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Bouquet of Feathers

2011-12-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Funny the things we collect. For some reason I can't resist rocks and feathers, and have been picking up interesting specimens of both all my life. The other day, when cleaning out my studio so it could resume it's role as "dining room" I took a moment to stop and appreciate the beautful found still life that my collection of feathers makes against the red walls.

Ahhhhhh, I am so easily entertained.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Q Ranch Sunrise

2011-12-29T23:36:00.000-07:00

There's a beautiful ranch gate just north of the Montana border and here it is on a morning in June.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

On High Alert

2011-12-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

Horses are herd animals and their basic instinct is to run from the slightest threat to the safety of that herd.
So, whenever they aren't sure about a given situation you can see the individuals in the group focusing on his or her chosen direction. Watch a group and see their heads and ears collectively covering every degree of the compass, and if a threat presents itself, they move as one flowing, liquid entity. The depth of communication is something that we humans can only wonder about.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Mrs. Snowman

2011-12-26T22:23:00.003-07:00

So I blogged about my sister Kath and her talent with children's toys and literature. Well I have 2 talented sisters. Laur showed up yesterday with this fabulous pottery snowman/candle holder she made. As a relative newbie in the pottery arts, I think she's really got somethin' going here! Her hand built tiles and sculptures...this one for example, are so quirky and fun. I know that this item here is the latest in my collection of artsy treasures. Oh and the apple pies she brought were pretty darn awesome as well.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

In Memory

2011-12-24T22:36:00.001-07:00

Today's painting is in honour of those of us who have lost someone precious, and for whom Christmas can be a poignant time of year. I've painted this scene of the river hills at Buffalo before, but what I didn't say is that it's the site of a memorial to Mona Elliott who died of cancer last year. Along with Mona's family, in this household we think of the Blocks and the Mosses, my friend Anne who lost Bryan this year and all the families of lost and injured Canadian soldiers including Chay's friend Steve Stock. Our hearts go out to all of you, especially at Christmas.
SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Kitchen Angels

2011-12-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of angels around this house, especially at Christmas time. These two however, are on my kitchen wall all year around (these ones don't sing as loud as yesterday's crowd).

The big one on the left, made of barnwood and with wire hair, I purchased in Santa Fe about 10 years ago. The smaller one with the wings made of old quilts, was given to me by a lifelong friend..

Looking around though, I think I maybe should've started painting my angles a week earlier. There are still quite a few to go.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

The First Noel

2011-12-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

My good friend Sharon made these darling choir girls for me a couple of years ago. Their heads are made of cloth and plaster, their hair from Kurly Kates. The middle one sports a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. They're glad to be on the cupboard in the living room, having been relegated to the spare bedroom for most of the year. Well really, what would you do... "The First Noel" gets a little old by the middle of January!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I was invited to make gingerbread with my friends Carol and Dan and their grandkids. Carol actually did the baking, using her grandmother's recipe and cookie cutter. We all sat around the kitchen table and I got 3 of my own to decorate! then I realized what a great "Found Still Life" they made.
Thanks Carol & Dan, Leah & the little guys, for including me in your family tradition.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Heart Throb Kitty

2011-12-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

You're getting more critters from my house. This December series has made me aware of all the "toys" I have here. I truly enjoy all these treasures, and notice them every day. I think the creativity that made them gives me a boost, and it's fun to honour that by painting them.

This is a tree ornament that I leave out all year because it's so funky and adorable. It's about 3" high, and is 3 dimensional, made of tin. Stay tuned; there's lots more where this came from.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Family Dispute

2011-12-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

How about these characters? They inhabit a beautiful artisans shelf in my living room. Given to me by my dear cousin, they're truly works of art. Made by a local woman out of gourds that she grows herself, they're over a foot tall, magnificently carved, painted and befeathered.To me they look like tribal people...He's the chief, and his little wife is not nearly as impressed with him as he is with himself. She's taken the time out today to lay out her opinion of him. I told you there are dramas going on in this house!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Common Redpoll

2011-12-18T22:49:00.001-07:00

These little guys have been prolific this past 2 or 3 weeks at my feeder. I've seen them in the Cypress Hills in summer, but evidently they're most typically seen here only in winter. A member of the finch family, they're extremely winter resistant; there are even several arctic sub-species. Anyway, it looks like they all got the memo about wearing a red toque. Maybe that's the secret to winter resistance! I too need a red toque. Santa!!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Kramer

2011-12-18T00:36:00.001-07:00

Time to switch it up and do a doggie portrait. What's Christmas without our mutts and cats, horses and ....frogs? .....ot whatever kind of animal your house shelters. This is Kramer, a beloved member of my friend Terry's family. Each pet brings it's own magic formula of mayhem and delight. Merry Christmas to all the pets in the world. SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Toy Story III

2011-12-16T23:07:00.001-07:00

Further into my book case toy collection, here's my froggie in a pinafore. Who doesn't need one of those?

I wonder if when I'm away or out of the house, if these toys come to life and have on-going dramas and adventures-maybe even a romance or two. Probably not; Possum would undoubtedly put a swift end to any such nonsense. It wouldn't be pretty.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Toy Story II

2011-12-15T23:14:00.001-07:00

More "characters" from the top shelf of my book case. With Christmas approaching, this kind of subject matter seems appropriate.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Toy Story I

2011-12-14T23:23:00.001-07:00

I have a very special bookshelf, made by a local artist out of Diamond Willow, and it is loaded with many of my favourite "reads" of all time. The top shelf however, is devoted to an assortment of "toys" that have come to reside with me over the years. Mostly these are gifts, some (the wooden zebra and the handmade Melissa Weiss bear) I bought for myself. My theory is that it's important to own and celebrate our inner child. Wouldn't you agree?

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Ranchos Christmas

2011-12-14T00:40:00.001-07:00

Ranchos de Taos Church, again. This is the third time I've painted this landmark for my blog. Soon the most photgraphed church in N. America will also be the most painted. There's nothing like the brilliant clear light of Northern New Mexico on ancient adobe walls.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

L'Hotel

2011-12-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

OK, lets have a break from birds in winter and fly to France in May instead. Remember Monpazier from a week ago...the ancient castle-town? This exquisite old, old hotel was found just off the central square, and the modern touches of umbrellas and sign-boards did nothing to detract from the elegance, craftsmanship and symmetry of the place. Who designed a built these places and where are they today? To me this proves that functionality can last for centuries, and beauty does not have to be sacrificed for that.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Sharp Tail in Winter

2011-12-11T22:53:00.001-07:00

Occasionally, when we get deep snow here, the Sharp Tail come into my yard to feed on the Russian Olives. They perch way out on flimsy-looking limbs, and with their feathers all fluffed up for warmth, they look ridiculously unsafe there. Such beautiful birds, they're only one of several species of upland birds we're privileged to have here. This one is actually a guest at my cousin's ranch, down on the Montana border, where the beautiful and increasingly rare Sage Grouse also shares territory.
-from a photo by Kerrie Kusler

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Greetings

2011-12-10T22:10:00.001-07:00

Greetings from my house to yours. I finally got moving on this Christmas thing, and I'd been wondering what to do about the front of my house. I'd thrown away the ratty old wreaths I'd been using, and my lights were hopeless.

So I started over with tiny white lights in the creeper over the entry and in the shrubs beside the driveway, but we needed a little "interest". So remember my horse skull from my Halloween blog?

Here he is again, mounted on the brick wall, and festooned with a poinsettia. I like it. It has a Georgia O'Keeffe-ishness about it. No-one who knows me well will be surprised by my choices I don't suppose. SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Jingle Bobs

2011-12-09T22:57:00.001-07:00

The footgear in this painting typifies the bucaroo style which comes to us from the high deserts of California & Nevada, and influences our cowboys here, especially in ranch rodeo circles. High heeled, high top boots are the norm, and the hand made silver spurs the dream.

These beautiful spurs not only have the big rowels, but jingle bobs as well (tiny silver beads that hang over the rowel). On top of the whirring clank of the rowels as a cowboy walks or rides, you get the jingle of those silver beads hitting on the rowel. Now that's Western Music at it's inception.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Downy Woodpecker

2011-12-08T22:26:00.001-07:00

Well this guy showed up again today, and when he gets in the feed bunk, he stays...and runs everybody else off till he's had his fill! These small woodpeckers (a little smaller than a robbin) are odd little characters. Check out the frilly feathers around the beak, down his back and along the tummy; very unique to this bird I think. Love the dots and bars on the wings, and the jaunty red cap (boys only). There were some pretty p.o.'d chickadees today, and the grocery bill is going to be high, but he's pretty entertaining all the same.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Chickadee in Snow

2011-12-08T00:48:00.001-07:00

This little chum was at my bird feeder this morning, along with some Hoary Redpolls, Nuthatches, Junkos, and a Downy Woodpecker! Quite a crowd. And it was snowing straight down all the while....a very pre-Christmassy day. I might maybe bake a cookie, drag out the decorations, or even send a card or two after all! SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Just Passing Through

2011-12-06T22:26:00.002-07:00

Here's a little bunch of female and juvenile Pronghorn Antelope, on a typical warm winter day, migrating to wherever it is they think they need to be. This exquisite animal is the last wide-ranging mammal on the north American prairies and is found no-where else in the world....in fact it has no other close relatives, being the last member of the family Antilocapra. The second-fastest land mammal in the world (Cheetah's win the prize), they range from the Baja, all the way up here to the prairies of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Some of our winters
(like last year) are too much for them, so lets all wish them better luck this year. SOLD

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Under a Gunmetal Sky

2011-12-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

As we approach the winter equinox, the days get shorter and dimmer, and there's a very intriguing twilightish atmosphere, especially if it's about to snow. There are 2 old houses, built in the depression era I would think, and they teeter on a cut bank above Kingsway, on the way downtown. When I came by there this afternoon, I loved the monochromatic (drab?) colour scheme and the strong contour lines of the landscape and naked trees. The poor old sun was hanging low in the south, doing it's best to burn through the gloom.

Time to get out the twinkle lights!!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Grace

2011-12-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

How can you tell I was re-living my trip to France? This painting is also from the visit to Monpazier (see yesterday's entry). It was May and the roses were blooming everywhere. They seemed to thrive between cracks in the limestone; they climbed trellises, cascaded off of balconies and sprawled across ancient tile roofs. From white to deepest red and every shade in between, they brought their Grace.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Doorway; Monpazier

2011-12-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

Monpazier is "one of the most beautiful villages in France", and today's painting only gives a glimpse. One of the most intact Bastide towns, it was established in 1284 by King Edward I of England, and I don't think they've rearranged a stone since. The beautiful sandstone buildings surround a central square, and the medieval village is in turn surrounded by castle-like fortifications, all of which look out over stunning wooded valleys. The day we visited they had their flower market in the square. It was almost too much for the senses; that much beauty in one place at one time!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Feed Ground 2

2011-12-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

You won't usually catch me painting winter, but this is the second little painting derived from a February day that reminds me so much of scenes throughout my life.

I notice that when it's going to Chinook, the air takes on a brilliant blue light, and the play of gold and orange grass and trees against blue and purple shadow is almost enough to pop your eyes out! I'm thinking I'll do a bigger version of this one....one of these days.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Cowgirl Couture

2011-12-01T23:24:00.001-07:00

Sub cultures are very interesting to me, and having been raised in that of the west, I notice that like other subcultures, our is very fluid. What a cowboy or cowgirl wears varies hugely from one event or discipline to another. You can tell by the crease of the hat whether it's a rodeo cowboy or a working cowboy, a cutter or a reiner, whether from Texas or B.C. The same goes for the gear and the clothing. And this just in; after decades of Wrangler being the one jean that almost everybody of ALL disciplines wore, I see that the young roughstock guys from Texas are all wearing Levis. So I predict you'll be seeing that here within a year. Just remember you heard it here first (unless you saw Courtney Todd's photographs from her recent trip to Texas)!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Top End

2011-11-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the top end of Calgary Stampedes' bucking horses; the ones who're likeliest to get chosen to go to the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, or the NFR in Las Vegas ....or both. We have many of the best bucking horses in the world, right here in Alberta, and due to all the care and attention they receive, they just keep getting better.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Brooding Skies over Buffalo

2011-11-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

Yet another painting from my trip to Buffalo in October. The skies that day were as spectacular as any I've seen in years, with each point of the compass providing clouds of a different variety. This thunderhead stretched the length of the northern horizon, and hung there all afternoon. This big old cottonwood has probably seen worse in it's day, and is still around to tell the tale.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Cowboy Couture

2011-11-28T23:11:00.001-07:00

Todays "Gena-a-day" is from the ranch rodeo at Nanton last summer; cowboy gear at it's finest. The cowboys (and girls) in ranch rodeo have a distinctively different style of dress and gear than that of rodeo cowboys. The chink chaps here (short chaps, these ones with extravagantly long fringes) are derived from the "chinkaderos" of the Vaquero, combined with the leggings worn by the native Americans. The high heeled boots and silver spurs also get their heritage from the Spanish. Everything is designed for functionality, but the love of history, the handmade beauty and quality is an added bonus that continues today while the rest of the world seems to go to the cheap plastic "knock off". I guess that's why I've always loved cowboy gear.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Che-Che

2011-11-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

This little Ewok-lookalike is another family dog! My son and his fiance have 2 dogs, and this little prize package is a Brussell-Griffon named Che-Che. She has had to endure the new acquisition in the family, a French Bulldog pup named Sooky,(see blog entry, August 17th). Evidently Sookie is now 20 lbs and has been known to sit on poor Che-Che!

Despite all of this, this charming little mutt maintains a happy and affectionate attitude.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Embudo Station Skull

2011-11-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Today's painting is from one of my favourite haunts in New Mexico,"The Classical Gas Museum", which is located along side the Rio Grande River, between Santa Fe and Taos. I've painted the gas pump collection there many times...several are included in this blog.

So when my friend Courtney was through there in August, I urged her to check it out. She liked it as much as I do, and her photos are stunning. You can see them on her blog....listed below in " blogs that I follow", or go to www.courtneytoddphotography.com.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Cactus

2011-11-25T23:19:00.001-07:00

This beautiful saddle horse belongs to my friend Alan, and is one of a remuda that he has bred, raised and trained at his place near Cochrane. Cactus is descended from the great cutting horse mare, Connie Kilobar.
Besides the breeding training etc, Alan probably built the bosal and headstall; for sure his saddle, as that is one of the things he does for a living.
Something I notice about many of my "western" friends, is how very handy they are at a huge array of things, and how many things they're interested in and passionate about. Probably because they've designed their lives to take advantage of this beautiful place we call home.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Still Standing

2011-11-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

The Mossleigh elevators are a little down at the heel, and starting to lean into each other, but they're still holding up the sky.
Most of their kind are gone, and what we've replaced them with are these hulking concrete terminals that block the sun! I wonder if, in 50 years we'll be all nostalgic about the new ones and wish we still built iconic and interesting structures like that. Somehow I doubt it.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Among the Thorns

2011-11-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

Having never attempted painting roses until I became a daily painter, I find I quite enjoy it. They always seemed way too complicated! But, like everything else, you just need to really "look"... and then make a good drawing. From there, the painting is easy. Roses in November.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

St. Henry's

2011-11-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

It's transitioning into winter here on the prairies, and the Holly Jolly Season is just around the corner, so here's a nod to winter.

St. Henry's Catholic church is located SW of Pincher Creek, in the windy SW corner of the province, right on the front range of the Rockies. Most churches thrust their steeples towards heaven, but St. Henry's seems to str-e-e-e-etch itself especially tall, trying, I think to measure up to the landscape.

- From a photo by Kathy Hornby

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Cottonwoods in October

2011-11-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

It's all about that beautiful river again...the river I've lived most of my life near. I like to walk here, south of Redcliff, in a loop around the pasture where Polly (my horse) lives. Every fall, this particular magic takes place, and though we're into dull old grey and brown November now, this is what it was like just a couple of short weeks ago. These huge old cottonwoods seem to radiate their own light, and the shadows of the riverbanks are the perfect backdrop.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Valentina

2011-11-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

My good friend Kim has 2 miniature Dachshund "grand dogs", and this one right here is the famous "Valentina". I had the pleasure of their company for a week in October, and what fun it was. She and her little sister "Oceana" are busy as one-armed paper-hangers, hilariously funny and so smart that they're fluent in both English and Italian. The only person totally unimpressed by ANYthing they did...was Possum (see past blog entries under "feline").

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Deanz Garage 2

2011-11-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

Here's another trip down nostalgia lane. One of my road trip favourites is "Deanz Garage". Located 20 or 30 miles east of High River, this lovely retro-garage has provided me with several painting opportunities...the latest being this one here. This summer I came by there, and instead of the usual ancient old trucks, he had this really bad-ass car. I mean what IS the story here? It's a 40's vintage somethingorother, with an Iron Cross for a rear view mirror, and yes, those are spikes across the sun visor! It's painted matte black, and it looks just plain.....cool! So what is the story here? Any guesses?

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Laur's Giants

2011-11-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

For several years, my sister Laur grew the Russian Giant sunflowers, and let me say, they were gi-normous. They stand about 7 ft. tall, and as they mature their faces turn into a huge disc, their leaves the size of platters....they look like a scraggly row of lanky ruffians. When out in the yard, a person is inclined to have the feeling that someone is watching them!
As I've said before, I love sunflowers, but I've always stuck to the smaller, less stalker-like varieties.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Roxi

2011-11-17T22:40:00.001-07:00

Today's painting is a portrait of Roxi. She is a "Ragdoll". and obviously, a character. Again, whatever would we do without our pets?
SOLD

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Friends and Family

2011-11-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

So FINALLY some horses again! See how long it's been!? Actually, I'm just starting a huge painting of horses...a commission for friends, so this was a nice little reminder of how much I love to paint horses, and that I still know how!

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Old Adobe Walls

2011-11-15T22:48:00.002-07:00

The old adobe wall and it's turquoise gate as so typical of northern New Mexico as to be almost iconic. When you're raised where I have been, this seems so exotic, but once I read up on it a bit, I realize that it's been used for millennia, all over the world. The sun dried adobe bricks are hand made with mud, gravel or sand, combined with straw and water. All the materials needed are found right where the building stands. In my painting, the top of the wall shows the weather worn old bricks, while the bottom part is plastered over with slip of the same mud material. Organic, environmentally sound and exquisitely beautiful, this is without a doubt my favourite style of construction.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Jingle Dancer 2

2011-11-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

Early in the year, I did a version of this young jingle dancer. I did a closer in painting of her face as a demonstration in class this week, which I think is fresher than the original. Maybe I'm learning a thing or two with doing the dailies! Hopefully, eh?

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

Sharon's Window Box

2011-11-13T01:12:00.000-07:00

My gift to you today; my friend Sharon's geraniums.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.

My Lovely Chair

2011-11-11T22:45:00.001-07:00

My friend John Farnsworth has painted many quirky, interesting and odds & ends of chairs, so I decided that I should give that a whirl.

I had had the same old couch and chair for 30 years, so 2 christmasses ago my son bought me a beautiful leather living room suite. This is the chair and automan, my favourite cushion, my Pendleton Blanket.....the only thing missing is Possum!

so there you go, my first chair portrait.

If you'd like to own this original watercolour, email Gena with your bid today! gena03@telusplanet.net Minimum bid $100 (plus gst and shipping). First bid, or highest bid wins the painting.