Calm before the storm

 I am in the calm before the storm of a busy live painting weekend. A portion of my mind is focusing on the present while the remainder is mentally preparing for new creations that will emerge from blank canvases at two different events.

On Saturday, I will drive up to Calmar, a small community just south of Edmonton. They are holding their SOLD OUT Hand in Hand Humble Roof-Raiser, an annual fundraiser in support of the New Humble Community School Association.

Doug Nicholls has purchased "Cow in the Trees" and donated it to the event.

I spent three days this work creating "New Greatness", a painting of Connor McDavid that sits in the sweet spot between realism and impressionism. To see what I mean zoom in on the crowd. 

During the event I will be doing a live painting of the historic Calmar array of grain elevators. 

As soon as my portion of the event is done, I will hit the highway and drive all the way back to High River as I need to be in the area for another live painting gig the next morning. Heather and I will be at the SEED Homes booth at the Okotoks Trade Show.

I'll be doing my first painting of our SEED Home as a fundraiser for Baby It's Cold Outside, a charity that helps individuals and families struggling in our area. We are also there to answer questions as the first customers to live in a SEED Home.

This shot was taken out our front door at 36 4th Ave SE in High River on one of our first mornings waking up in our new SEED Home. It will be fun to express the magic of this moment on canvas and raise money for an amazing charity.

While I enjoy the quiet of the few days before the weekend I'm working on a new portrait of Neil Young, this one from his younger years.

It strikes me that my other paintings of him are from his more recent years. 

I am at that place of tension between staying with the black and white approach or playing with some colour. I have this idea of doing a cold blue wash over top that keeps niggling at me. When the niggling happens, I usually jump off the cliff to see what the water is like below. Stay tuned.