The paintings shown here have been sold. They were done over a number of years; many in my studio in Toronto. If you see something you like and want to commission a painting, please contact me.
The Hanging Fish
After discovering a book on Spanish still life of the the 1600’s, and especially the paintings of Sanchez Cotan, I became interested in hanging elements in window frames. This opened up new possibilities in arranging still life compositions. The fish were fresh, from Kensington market. I had to work fast! This painting was awarded Best Watercolor at the Arts and Letters Club Juried Show in Toronto.
32” x 30” watercolor
Cyclamen and Pears
The negative black space around the elements of this composition is what interested me, inspired by the work of Sanchez Cotan, a Spanish monk. The cyclamen blossoms effectively carve out shapes from the background fabric, which was probably my favorite fabric because of its weight and pattern.
25” x 18” watercolor
Amaryllis
Here I was experimenting with using suspended pears to pierce the spaces between the leaves and blossoms of the amaryllis. One feels the weight of the pears and the pot - an inverted pear shape - contrasting with the paper-like blooms. Variations of reds and greens unify the image. Isn’t the crescent between the two overlapping leaves lovely? All the lines direst the eye down to the pot and then back up, following the pears to the blooms.
22” x 29” watercolor
Lace in the Window
When I showed this painting, it drew unexpected comments. Some saw symbolism in it regarding innocence and virginity. I like the way the string cuts across the sky and the window made by the black hanger. For me, this painting is all about the light of one ephemeral moment and the open sky.
30” x 22” watercolor
Yellow Tulips on Blue
Tulips are the ideal subject. They have a delicate but concrete structure and the leaves have strong curving edges reflecting light in all ranges of green. They are framed in white and surrounded in complementary blue. The hydrangeas play a supporting role.
28” x 22” watercolor
Sheer Beauty
Wildflowers gathered from the New Brunswick countryside are combined with a sheer curtain and white cloth. Like “Lace in the Window”, it is all about the light and the lines drawing the eye in on the tabletop, and especially the two wild roses in the round glass.
29” x 21” watercolor
Peonies and African Curtain
In a real studio, I had room to recreate larger interior settings - more Vermeer-like. The scene out the window is not Queen Street, but our lake view in New Brunswick. On the table under the peonies is a book on Matisse, another fan of African textiles.
43” x 33” watercolor
A Mombasa Lane
In the 80’s, we lived in Kenya for two years. This neighborhood was near ours. I came on this scene on my way to visit a sick friend in one of these houses. The light came in on the path, canna lilies and string of laundry from the right, illuminating the rain puddle.
20” x 15” watercolor
Kiondo and Kyanga
While in Kenya, I began to paint the beautifully patterned kangas and the kiondos. The kiondo bag on the right was given to us at the airport when we landed in Kenya by an elderly Kikuyu woman whose daughter lived with us in Canada while in university. I loved going to the shops in Kenya where the kanga fabrics were hung all over the walls of the shop. Stunning.
29” x 21” watercolor
African Fabrics and Autumn Leaves
I believe this was my first oversized painting. The size was daunting at first. Still experimenting with suspended elements, the leaves form a curving line leading into the pink curve and then the fishbowl. The goldfish was a whimsical element I will repeat. Kenya kangas figure prominently in this painting.
42” x 40” watercolor
Home from Africa
Fresh out of high school, our adventuresome daughter returned to Kenya and taught English in a girls’ school for one year. I painted this after she had returned safely home to us.
38” x 28” watercolor
Sunset on the Washademoak
We look directly west from our cottage at the western treeline. Everyday the coming sunset brings happy anticipation - like a wrapped gift, it’s always a surprise. I’ve always been fascinated by the line of turquoise that appears briefly as the sun is sinking.
15” x 8” watercolor
Lemons in a Window
We are deep in the country at our cottage, so there is not the option to run to the store for props - I had to make use of what was around me. Strawberry boxes were a versitle prop, and, of course, fruit, which was always on hand. Sometimes the children were waiting for me to finish a painting so that they could eat!
25” x 18” watercolor
Centerpiece
I often collected wild flowers found in the fields and along roadways. This is a composition that appeals to me - the white-on-white rectangle as a centerpiece, repeated discreetly by white framed mirror.
29” x 22” watercolor
End of Summer
The Rudbeckia didn’t bloom till August in New Brunswick, so their appearance was bittersweet. It meant the end of summer was approaching. The book is the one which introduced me to Spanish still life of the 1600’s. The tall blue glass vase was a thoughtful gift from my children who knew exactly how it would be used.
21” x 25” watercolor
Yellow Daisies
This composition is borrowed from a Matisse subject, which also featured African textile (from Morocco) and a pink and orange combination in a window. Light softly edges the leaves of the Rudbeckia, the pink cloth and fruit.
12” x 23” watercolor
Pansies in a Window
If Rudbeckia make the beginning of the end of summer, pansies mark the beginning. They are hardy, so they are among the first flowering plants coloring all the corner stores in Toronto in May. Done in my Toronto studio, the landscape and butterfly were imagined. The white cloth repeats the rise and fall of the distant hills.
24” x 18” watercolor
Cape Breton Coast
When I finally made it to Cape Breton and explored the Cabot Trail, I found the trio of rock, water and trees offering again and again a beautiful balance of smooth and scruffy texture and also warm and cool colors. The coastline is vast, ancient, mysterious and in movement.
40” x 30” watercolor and pastel
Spring Barrel
The beloved barrel at the spring, our source of drinking water years ago. It has long since rotted away. I painted this subject in both autumn and winter, when natural ice sculptures grew up out of the rocks and frost edged the barrel.
19” x 16” watercolor
Thank you Sky, Thank You Lake
My son had a bedtime ritual with his little boy. He would say, “Thank you, sky.” My grandson would repeat it. This would go on and on. They would give thanks to the lake, the sun, the trees, and so on. This painting was a Christmas gift. “THANK YOU SKY, THANK YOU LAKE” are faintly stenciled at the bottom edge.
36” x 20” diptych acrylic
Winter Leaves and Kiwi
Beginning in the late 80’s, for nine years, a friend and I would head to our cottage for a winter painting trip. It was a intimate time with short days and long evenings. Small low-lit still life painting like this were often the outcome.
18” x 9” watercolor
Geometrics
This was inspired by a still life painting by Caravaggio, which also featured a dish of grapes and fruit. The white napkin anchors the eye which then follows the slope of the cloth up the grapes and around again.
18” x 12” watercolor
A Gentle Trio
One of the ways in which watercolor painting is different from painting in acrylic and oil is that the bare paper provides the white. Clean simplicity of the whiteness of the paper is a characteristic that lovers of watercolor are drawn to. In technique, this is a challenge for beginners in the medium.
29” x 21” watercolor
Turnips
The curly new spring-green leaves of the turnips are backlit and translucent. The dark background gives this simple subject drama. This painting is in my daughter’s private collection.
12” x 7” watercolor
Grapefruit
This is a companion piece to “Turnips”. Both hang in my daughter’s kitchen. The light passes through the translucent wedge like stained glass.
12” x 9” watercolor
Purple Vine
I kept the lighting subdued for this delicate subject. The four blooms follow the round edge of the plate, the leaves eventually overlapping the green of the plate. The black vase anchors the composition.
16” x 10” watercolor
Composition in Red and Green
This simple subject makes me think of Norman Bryson, who would say that still life is about “looking at the overlooked”. Beauty is all around us in daily life, and because of moving light, each moment is unique and ephemeral.
13” x 9” watercolor
Pears in a Basket
This is a companion piece piece to Composition in Red and Green. It is no wonder that pears are in some cultures associated with fertility and the female form. There is something sensuous in the shape. I was always happy if I could find them at the market with leaves still attached.
13” x 9” watercolor
Anniversary
This was a commission for friends who were celebrating a wedding anniversary. The view out the window is their backyard. All the items were either a wedding gift or a treasured possession of their son or daughter. It gave me much pleasure to do such a personal still life for friends.
30” x 22” watercolor
Yellow Tulips on Blue
In my first real studio, I had the space for larger still life settings. I began to work on oversized paper and room-like settings, in which I could layer colors and textures and suggest a narrative. Edges of furniture and frames lead the eye around the yellow and blue focal point.
29” x 22” watercolor
Shells and Striped Pot
Again, in my studio, I could recreate an interior. Here I was interested in the white-on-white of the shells on the tablecloth and the contrast of the orange on the blue background.
38” x 35” watercolor
Yellow and White
Again, white-on-white figure importantly in the composition, with the single white bloom repeating the round opening of the pitcher. Blue fabric transverse diagonally, the wood crate and orange fabric mirror each other. Here there is the quality of early summer.
40” x 32” watercolor
Onlooking Angel
I saw this pot and thought it would be a very good prop, but it was a little dear. My generous daughter went back to the store and surprised me with it. The cherubic face overlooks a miniature landscape of props. A print of a Monet painting provides the scene with sky.
29” x 23” watercolor
Lilacs
Few fragrances take me away likr the bloom of lilac in May. Here bounteous bouquet of lilac is circled by art books, fabrics and other props in various states of green. The composition is punctuated by a few spots of fiery orange as the oriental poppies lean in.
30” x 32” watercolor
A Warm Setting
This subject puts on sophisticated airs of elegance, candlelight and roses. White folds cascade and envelope the hanging apple. Candles bring the white forward and pass the highlights on to the glass. Strong contrast in lights and darks make a romantic setting.
28” x 21” watercolor
The Auction with Lilac
By the time I had set this subject up, I thought it was beginning to look like a garage sale, with an eclectic bunch of items casually displayed, so I called it “The Auction with Lilacs”. Black and white tile are the classic background for color. I like the brown sports jacket in this painting and the brown paper bag.
40” x 32” watercolor
White Tulips
This oversized subject has the staged formal quality of a window in a department store. Portuguese pottery are featured and the rich terra cotta color is picked up by the fabric and leaves. An art book and another painting frame the upper left corner. The darks anchor the subject with an inverted “T”. Again, there is the goldfish.
41” x 40” watercolor
Pink Tulips
Here the Portuguese pottery offers up pink tulips. narcissus and crocus join in. The meandering line of pots and bottles at the bottom is repeated in the connecting clothes. Monet’s landscape appears again.
41” x 40” watercolor
Yellow Tulips on Blue
Tulips are an ideal subject. They have a delicate but concrete structure and the leaves with their strong curving edges reflect the light in many shades of green. They are framed here in white and complementary blue. The hydrangeas have a supporting role.
29” x 22” watercolor
Persimmon and Roses
The subject here eludes a narrative. It is just about the play of light on the curves of linen, china and the plump forms of fruit. The gray-green of the dry persimmon and rose leaves catch the light in small rectangular planes.
32” x 30” watercolor
Delphinium in Blue
Cezanne, widely considered the father of modern painting, often used wedges of fruit in still life. It is full of possibilities, creating angles cutting into space and planes for light. Blue delphinium and yellow begonias cannot be surpassed as subjects, but my personal favorite is the simple wild rose. The setting is the deck of our cottage.
25” x 20” watercolor
Sunflowers and Frames
We drove out to the country one Saturday and a man was selling these flamboyant sunflowers. I took the whole pail. I’ve never found any others quite like them. This is one of only a few paintings that I would like to have back. I like the sunflowers coupled with my friend’s china.
41” x 31” watercolor
Tabletop Composition
The complementary colors of blue and orange intensify one another when put side by side. Delphinium tower above everything else in the garden, and act as a lightning rod for hummingbirds and butterflies..
32” 30” watercolor
River of Cloth
Artists have their favorites, and this is one of mine. The primroses look down on the scene, heads bowed. One pear blends in with the twisted white form - the other is dramatically framed by terra cotta. Earth and sky are suggested in this “landscape”.
30” x 26” watercolor
Raggedy Ann and Andy
This is probably the oldest painting in this collection. My sister made these dolls for my children. On the far left you can see the folded hands of a child giving thanks at this tea party.
28” x 22” watercolor