I’ll be honest: 2019 was not the easiest year BUT I did get back into art-making, and that’s got to count for something, right?  I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season with family and friends, and may 2020 bring joy to all of you in large ways and small!

Now THIS was some stunning scenery!  We went camping there in the summer of 2018, and everywhere we looked was another beautiful vista.  I think I read somewhere that these are the highest peaks in Canada East of the Rockies.  Well worth a visit, but keep in mind that it’s a little cut off from civilization.  In fact, you’ll lose internet access 20 min. before you’ve even reached the entrance to the park!

With this piece, I began to wonder if I might want to reconsider limiting my Photoshop brushes because there just HAS to be a better way to paint masses of trees.  Also, the driver was in need of updating.  See how the brush marks on the clouds are all one thickness?  That’s because the “pen pressure” option wasn’t working, and that was a sure sign that my Photoshop driver was out-of-date.

That blue-green mountain in the background may be too saturated to make sense, but it just makes me happy!

I love large, dangerous-looking cloud formations that dwarf the countryside.  This is definitely one that I would consider re-doing in oils!

With this study, I tried very hard not to get caught up in every little leaf on the trees, but to simplify, simplify, simplify.  For that reason alone, I’m happy with it!  And hey, who DOESN’T love a bright blue summer sky?

This was my second lunchtime landscape sketch, and already, you can tell that I was feeling more comfortable with the tools.  The reference photo was taken while we were camping at Parc National du Mont Orford.  I really feel that not allowing myself to use a gradient gave a better result for the water!