2006 was a watershed year for my painting. I worked a lot on different paintings, mostly in oils, with some realistic works yet with explorations of abstraction in landscapes. Late in the year was when it all came together following a course on "Free Style Painting" that showed me some of the techniques and critical thought processes that go into completely abstract, "ad hoc" painting. I have been pursuing painting in this direction with some success, I think.

In December I took a two day course from Erik Visser that he called "Free Style Painting" in what I would call an abstract expressionist genre. This was the founding spark for my present direction in painting. I found the experience to be enlightening, enlivening and thoroughly enjoyable. It allowed for as much creativity as you could muster with the excitement of creating a painting from a totally blank canvas with no real concept of where it was going, and with no rules as to how to get there. Awesome! Highly recommended.

Canola Field North Edmonton

10x12, oil on canvas board. SOLD

This is a small field study that I did in July, 2006. It is not remarkable for much other than it prompted me to start thinking about abstract representations of landscapes. Just how abstract could a landscape become before it was not longer recognizable as such? This lead to further investigations along this plane.

Angel Glacier

20x26, oil on canvas. NFS.

This is a fairly realistic depiction of Angel Glacier, Jasper National Park that I completed in October using only palette knives. I tried to do watercolour sketches on site, but the continual drizzle foiled me, so I took photos and then did a small oil sketch with a palette knife in the studio. I worked up the initial stage of the painting in public at the St. Albert Art Walk and completed it in the studio.

Experimental Landscape I. Red Beach

20x24, oil on canvas. $80.00 unframed.

This painting followed as a result of my thinking on abstracting landscape. There is a defined horizontal with the areas above and below it in gradations of colours that are not natural. There is a random triangle bisecting the horizontal and a vertical series of colours on the left. Most people recognised this as a landscape, despite the abstraction.

Experimental Landscape II. Yellow Beach

20x24, oil on canvas. $80.00 unframed.

This is my second painting exploring abstract landscape, but in a vertical format with a change of colours. Again, most people had little problems with recognising it as a landscape. I had intended to continue the series, but got distracted by other things, somewhat more momentous in my artistic development.

Earthscape I, Prairies

24x24, acrylic and oil on hardboard. $360.00

During the spring and summer I also began a series of abstract aerial landscapes. I have always been fascinated with landforms as seen from the air, and began to express this interest in an abstract genre. From reading on abstract theory, I adopted a square format to avoid any implications of a horizontal versus vertical format, using hardboard to support the layers of acrylic. Using symbology I depict some of the landforms seen on the Canadian Prairies.

Earthscape II. Near Ft St John

24x24, acrylic and oil on hardboard. $360.00

Following "Prairies" I did this painting from memories of flying over Fort St. John and being amazed at the amount of human intervention into the forests of the area. There were roads, cutlines, oil wells, fields, burned areas and some forest.

The Sleeper

8x24, oil on canvas. NFS.

This is a fairly abstract depiction of my wife's side profile while sleeping. It took several months as I was continually frustrated by the shadows on the pillows. I was not pleased with the final effect, but it was time to move on.

Kind of Blue

18x24, oil on canvas. SOLD

The theme for the October St. Albert Painter's Guild art show was "The Colour of Music", so I attempted to capture the swirl and tones of Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. A doctoral student from the Netherlands requested permission to use the image for the front cover of his PhD dissertation. I agreed. After finishing his PhD in medicine he purchased the work and sent me a copy of his thesis. Tres cool!

Red Michelle

11x14, oil on canvas. NFS.

I snapped a photo of our eldest daughter Michelle in the summer and worked it into a portrait over the winter. I think I captured the startling red/black hair quite well. I was pleased with the results.

Polar Contemplation

11x14, oil on canvas. NFS

The motivation for this simple "portrait" was a photo from the local paper. The bear is obviously aware of the viewer, but is simply curious, for now.

Wabamun

24x24, acrylic on canvas. $260.00

This was my first painting with Eric and so I actually had a concept when I started of a lake, or marsh. People at my office thought it looked like Lake Wabamun after an oil spill, ergo, the name.

Blue Monday

24x24, acrylic on canvas. SOLD.

Again the folks in my office thought up the concept of what this looked like, a very bad day driving in winter. So, it had to be a "Blue Monday". The white line through it helps to push everything else to the background.

Butterfly Nebula

24x24, acrylic on canvas. SOLD

The final painting in Erik's course, I was experimenting with heavy texture when he suggesting simply wiping the palette knife through a bunch of the built up textures with a swirling movement. Again, the white spatter across it pushes the rest further back into the painting. Amazing results! Some people see an Indian in a head dress, others butterflies, I see a nebula. I liked how the white and yellow spatters pushed the other paints into the background.

Florid

24x24, acrylic on canvas. Gifted to a wonderful co-worker.

This was the third painting with Erik, he encouraged us to use everything we had available to move the paint, including banging it on the floor. Not having a preconceived concept of the painting prior to starting makes it somewhat difficult to name them. However, the people in my office insisted this looked like a flower garden, so I provided a name reminiscent of flowers, but not quite.