Where the Ocean Meets the Sky Painting

I have been attracted to skies and the water since I started painting landscapes ten years ago - I grew up in the coast where the water and sky were always part of the landscape. They became an important part of my visual memory.Even after I moved away from the West Coast, I would see the landscape through West Coast eyes and the water and sky would be the focus of my paintings. Here in the Peace Region the skies have a unique character that you don't find anywhere else and I explore this in my paintings. I also explore other events of the northern landscape which I have come to connect with such as the highways, mountains - even the oilfield trucks. Capturing the magical quality of light on the subject is my inspiration and creates the visual memory for me. My chosen medium is pastel because it is immediate and I enjoy the effects which can be achieved. I often use hardboard as a surface and prepare it with gesso and an underpainting in acrylic. I cover this with a ground for pastel which gives the surface tooth. I manipulate the pastel using brushes, tortillons or my hands.