Happy New Year

So, a new year has arrived. For me, there is always a  feeling of renewed spirit and hope at this time of the year. I started to paint consistently about a year ago, before that I could only say that I dabbled at painting sporadicly at best. I feel that I have learned so much, growing with each work I do and also realizing how much there is still to discover. This is only because of the continual work consistency, something that I remind my students to be aware of. Setting goals, meeting them and working daily is a healthy habit to grow into. I say grow, because it doesn't happen over night. We start, do well, and at the certain point we inevitably fail and want to quit. The point is to pick yourself up, learn from your failures and continue again.

Here are two new paintings for 2011. Sunsets and sunrises are my favorite times of the day. Colour temperature is so extreme, with all the warms and cools mingling together, sun rays hitting at a low angle, sneaking trough threes and buildings creating what sometimes looks like a theater set. It can be cheesy and if it is, I am guilty and loving it.

Sunny Side Pavilion

I am trying to paint a bit looser and less tight, focusing on what I feel is the most important, omitting and simplifying what is not. Simplifying also helps since light and shadows change rapidly at sunsets, and chasing light can be very frustrating.

Sun Pillar

I have never noticed one before until the other day when I was out near lake Ontario. From about 3:30pm till the sunset, the sun pillar was visible, and intensifying as it was setting. It turns out that solar pillars are formed when sun is at a low angle and floating, plate shaped ice particles reflect the sun rays back down to ground. Pretty cool eh?!