This story actually begins six years ago, on a trip to the South Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. For anyone who doesn’t know the area, it is not only uniquely beautiful, but it is Canada’s finest wine growing region and visits to various wineries are almost mandatory. In that spirit, one of our winery destinations six years ago happened to be Inniskillin Okanagan, where a charming and friendly lady working behind the counter providing us with samples of their outstanding wines, noted the shirt I happened to be wearing. It was teal and white. “Sharp,” she called it, with a smile. Well, the following year we returned to the Valley and to Inniskillin, and as luck would have it the same lady happened to be working there again. I remembered her, but as she must deal with a hundred people a day (or more!) I was shocked when she not only remembered me, but also remembered the exact shirt I was wearing when I visited 12 months before. Amazed, I complimented her on her memory and attentiveness, and I asked if she didn’t also have something to do with the visual arts? A logical assumption to make of anyone who remembers a visual cue so precisely for so long. Well, the answer was yes, and a friendship was born.

The lady in question is Sally, and we’ve seen each other every year since and have also kept in touch between visits. She is a painter, and is a prime motivating force behind an art group called the Oliver Sagebrushers.

On June 30th and July 1st 2010 I had the pleasure of returning to give a two day workshop (this was a repeat performance, as I had done the same the year prior) for the Sagebrushers in the peaceful town of Oliver. Located south of another small town called Okanagan Falls, and south of the geological and climatic division that is McIntyre Bluff (it marks the end of the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert, which extends all the way from Mexico through the USA and into southern Canada), Oliver is also located south of a large billboard that tells visitors to “Relax - You’re in Desert Wine Country.” Best billboard ever, if you ask me!

Suitably relaxed, each day of the workshop I gave a painting demonstration and then proceeded to assist the various attendees (there were 8 the first day and 9 the second - quite enough to keep me busy!) with their own works of art. And while several of them turned out exceptionally well - pleasantly surprising their own creators, even - everyone did a great job, and had a good time.

Here are some images from Day One:


My portable easel set-up, showing my palette (very neat as I hadn’t started mixing yet), and some tubes of paint. Astute eyes will notice my preference for paints made by M. Graham and Rembrandt. The following sequence of photos shows my painting in progress:


These Ponderosa Pines are an iconic image and constant presence throughout the Okanagan.
















That first day we painted in a large building affectionately dubbed “Big Blue”. The lack of lighting is a challenge, but we all battled bravely on and the results were well worth it. Some worked on the same image that I was doing, while others worked from photographs (and one even worked from another painting of mine that I had brought!) Having moved our paintings outside to see them in the light, these images show the paintings produced by my students on June 30th:




In the above image my own painting is in the middle.


My painting appears here again, this time on the far right.

The second day we went out on location - joy! Well, for most of us... but I think even those who were possibly a bit out of their element enjoyed the experience and the challenge facing artists who work en plein air. Gracious thanks to Val, who donated his extensively gardened property for our artistic pursuits that day! Here is a sequence of photos showing me painting my Day Two demonstration - a close-up of columbine flowers:


The initial design elements are placed.






My Under-paintings are done with Acrylic paint, thinned to the consistency of Watercolour.








At this stage my Underpainting is complete. From here on all the work is done in Oil paint.










I knew we would be painting in a garden that day, so I dressed for the occasion!






Some close-up images showing the detail and brushwork.






The final touch - signing my name!

It was a great day on location, and I am looking forward to going back and hopefully having the opportunity to teach another workshop for the Oliver Sagebrushers whenever we can arrange it. We talked about countless aspects of painting throughout the workshop, but if there is one thing that I hope the ladies will all remember from those days, it would have to be my Order to Painting:

1. Paint the darkest darks.
2. Paint the lightest lights.
3. Paint everything in shadow.
4. Paint everything in light.

It really does help the artist to have a clear path laid out in front of them. I don’t imagine most of us ever leave the house without knowing where we’re going, so why would an artist consider launching into a new painting without at least the simplest idea of a path to follow? Of course rules are made to be broken, so play around if you’d like - try to paint the lights first, or paint from the top down, or from the distance to the foreground... all are possible, and I’ve done them all, but I have found that this 4-point order is the simplest method, and gives the best results for oil painters. And always remember to simplify! The wonderful American artist Emile Gruppe once wrote, “Learn to look for the essentials and you’ll discover that both painting and life are simpler than most people suppose.”