 Countryside from Above. Oil on cradled wood panel. 10x10 inches. $135 Ontario, Canada is known for it's beautiful rural countryside. This painting depicts the countryside from above. I used a photo reference for this piece - a photo my dad took many years ago, on a hot air balloon ride.
Till Tomorrow, Kathy
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 A Field of Flowers and a Barn Quilt (plein air). Oil on canvas panel, 5x7 inches. $70 Today's work is a little plein air piece I painted back in July at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.
There is this field of flowers that blooms a golden yellow - it is really quite striking. Till Tomorrow, Kathy  The light in me honours the light in you, kid. Oil on canvas panel, 5x7 inches.
 My experience painting people is summed up well with this cartoon! Credit: www.AwkwardYeti.com  Barn on Medway. Oil on Wood, 11x14 inches. $170 Today's painting, one of the larger pieces I will do during this challenge, features the same barn from day 1 (at a different angle). If you love old barns, comment below ... share a word, a story, or a sentiments that captures your feelings towards these old, rustic barns! I'd love to hear from you! Change is inevitableIn the spirit of honouring rustic old barns and their evolution over time, I have included some aerial photos of how my parent's dairy barn has changed over the years.  Farm on Richmond. Oil on Board, 9x12 inches. $140 Quick studies lead to more finished studio paintingsThis painting was completed using a smaller painting I did on location as my reference. The original study was a small value study - an assignment for an online course I have been auditing ("Landscape Sketching in Watercolor and Gouache" - taught by Nathan Fawkes). I was quite pleased with the final painting.  Rest Time (plein air), oil on canvas, 8x10 inches. $105 The subject of today's painting is a little bit, shall we say, different. At first glance it probably looks like a rustic little hut, but in actuality, it is the restrooms at a local winery, Quai du Vin. I hope this painting serves to show that beauty can be found in unexpected places! I was visiting the winery as part of the 'Off the Wall' Art Show were I was one of the 'plein air artists'. I've included a couple photos from the day. Till tomorrow, Kathy  One Room School House (plein air), oil on canvas panel, 5x7 inches. $70 I am very lucky to live close to 'Fanshawe Pioneer Village' and frequently visit to paint plein air and take my dog Wylan for walks.
"Fanshawe Pioneer Village tells the story of rural communities in the former townships of Westminster, London, North Dorchester, Delaware, West Nissouri and Lobo in Middlesex County from 1820 to 1920 and the founding and development of the City of London up to 1840." (from the Fanshawe Pioneer Village website) This painting depicts the old Pond Mills School, which back in the day was known as School Section #7. According to Pioneer Village's website, "The school was originally located in the village of Pond Mills, Westminster Township, which is now a subdivision in south east London. S.S. #7 was in existence from 1825 -1966 and began as a one-room schoolhouse on land which is now part of Pond Mills Cemetery." Today, the inside of the school depicts a Masonic Lodge.  Road Behind the Barn (plein air), oil on canvas, 8x10 inches. $105 This scene was painted on location - at my parents farm. This small dirt road can be found behind their dairy barn and leads to the back fields. I have many memories of this little road...
Till tomorrow, Kathy  Amazing Graze. Oil on Canvas, 9x12 inches (SOLD) Today's painting captures a heifer (aka a young female cow) and a cow grazing at the end of the day, as the sun is setting. I painted this from photo reference; I snapped the photo last June (2016), on my way home from the 'fun fair' at my nephew public school. I decided to share a few photos from our evening at the fun fair!  Red Barn in Morning, Oil on Canvas Panel, 5x7 inches. $70 Welcome to my September 2017 painting challenge in which I will be posting a new painting everyday for the next 30-days (aka 30-in-30). This will be my 5th time doing a 30-in-30. So, here my first painting of the challenge. This little painting was completed back in July when I stumbled across this nice lookin' barn right beside a vacant public school yard (Centennial Central School - North of London, Ontario) For the duration of this challenge, I have chosen the theme 'Rural Impressions' and hope my paintings can serve as a glimpse into country life in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Growing up on a dairy farm, I have a deep nostalgia for country life (despite now being a bonafide city slicker). This is actually not my first time doing a series of farm paintings. Back in high school, during OAC (grade 13) art class, we had to choose a theme and then create 6 art pieces (I chose 'Farm Life'). See below a college I created of my Grandma MacKay and my dad (he's the baby). My dad has lived on the same farm, in the same house, for his entire life. Till tomorrow, Kathy  A sample of my high school art work - a collage of my dad as a baby and my Grandma MacKay 30-in-30 is back!Each day for the month of September, I will be posting a new painting on my blog and Facebook page. My theme is "Rural Impressions" and will feature paintings depicting country life in Southwestern Ontario!  What else have I been up to? Me and my art wall at the Art Emporium, Port Stanley, Ontario. It's been a good summer thus far. While I haven't been sharing many new paintings, I've been doing lots of painting. In particular I have been doing both plein air work (i.e. painting outdoors from life) and painting ahead for my Sept 30-in-30.
I have been continuing my online training at Watts Atelier. The work in the program is mainly drawing and focuses on figure and portraiture. These are definitely outside my comfort zone - but I am making slow and steady progress. Me and some of my peers at Watts are also taking a landscape sketching class through Schoolism, taught by the talented Nathan Fowkes. I have learned a lot thus far and it is definitely informing my landscape work.  Dappled Sunlight, Springbank Park (plein air). Oil on Canvas, 8x10 inches This past Saturday I spent a lovely morning out with the London Plein Air Group at Springbank Park. It was the perfect day for painting - not too hot, nice breeze, sunny. While it wasn't my plan, this painting turned out quite loose ... I think I may have been channelling my inner Monet. Hope you enjoy. Have a great day! Kathy A few more photos for the day:Hey friends! Back in February (or around that time), I stumbled on a website called the "Travelling Chicken". It turns out, there is this little a ceramic hen that has been travelling all over the world for the past 5 years. The chicken travels from artist to artist and each artist paints their interpretation of the chicken. I LOVE this kind of stuff, so signed up immediately. Now... fast forward 5 months, and yes, the Chicken has FINALLY arrived. I've included a fews photos at the end of this post if you want to check her out! While I will spare you the details in this blog post, you can learn more about the Travelling Chicken Project if you click here (if you are an artist, you could even consider signing up yourself). You can also check out the Facebook page. If you would like to learn about what the Travelling Chicken and her friends got up to while they visited me check out my two blog posts: 1. Blog Post #1 - TC & Senor Azul have arrived in Ontario 2. Blog Post # 2 - Happy 150th Bird-Day Canada! I highly recommend the above blog posts! Here is the portrait I completed for my part of the Travelling Chicken Project!  Happy 150th Bird-Day Canada! Oil on Canvas Panel, 6x8 inches. Fresh off the easel... Late September Afternoon, Telegraph Cove, BC. Oil on Wood, 11x14 inches Last September (2016) my sister and I visited Telegraph Cove in British Columbia. It is such a beautiful area and I have been itching to capture it in paint. Here is my first painting. This photo was taken as we departed the harbour for a whale watching trip. Art Show NewsPaint Ontario My SOLD painting from the Paint Ontario Show. This is Ontario's foremost art show and sale so I was very happy to sell this little piece. Miniature Show, Portside Gallery, Port StanleyCows everywhere! Here are my three submissions to the recent Miniature Show at the Port Side Gallery in Port Stanley (Ontario, Canada). Two of the three sold - which delighted me. These little paintings (all 4x4 inches) were really fun to paint! What else is new?
 February Thaw - Springbank Park, London, Ontario (Feb 19, 2017; plein air), Oil on Canvas, 7x5 inches. This plein air painting was done on location at Springbank Park in London, Ontario. What a warm day - especially for February... 12C (53F) & sunny - a nice reprieve from Canadian Winter! I really tried to soak up the warmth as I'm sure it's only a matter of time till man winter is back!
 Orca Plus One, Oil on Canvas, 9x12 inches. Credit (and thanks) to Andrew Lees for the reference photo! Not for Sale (this one was a gift for my sister).  St. Mary's Train Station, Oil on Canvas, 8x10 inches. SOLD.  Got this one framed!!! Shoot out to Guthrie's Framing for doing such a great job!!  Nugget and Bean. Oil on Wood, 8x10 inches. SOLD.  Poppy, Duncan, and Tate. Oil on Wood, 8x10 inches. SOLD  Hello friends!! I put together this little college to nicely wrap out this 30-in-30!
Thanks so much to everyone who followed my paintings!!! Kathy  SOLD. This Ol' Tractor. Oil on Canvas, 8x10 inches. Yeah!! It's here... day 30. Last day of the challenge. Today's paintings is one of my favourite from the challenge!
So now that the challenge is over, you might be wondering what is next for me? Well here are some of my tentative art goals
Thanks so much to everyone who has followed me along this past month!!! It is so, so appreciated!! All the best, Kathy  Evening Stroll Along the Beach. Oil on Canvas, 6x6 inches. Click here to purchase Today's painting was inspired by a trip to BC a few years ago - it depicts an evening sunset in Pacific Rim National Park. This painting is currently on display at the Art Emporium in Port Stanley, Ontario.
Well as it's day 29 - there is only one day left in the challenge. While completing the challenge will be a weight off my shoulders - it is also a little sad for me. I do enjoy sharing my art with the world! Till tomorrow, Kathy  Fanshawe Lilacs, Acrylic on Canvas Panel, 6x8 inches. This painting was done on location at Fanshawe Conservation area, in London, Ontario
(May 27, 2015). Ok, so truth time - this is not a new painting. However, as I have never shared/posted this work on my website, and since I am quite fond of this piece, I decided to include it in the challenge. A bit of a a cop-out I know... but after my week in BC, I have found completing the last week of painting a bit challenging (jet leg really gets the best of me). Till tomorrow, Kathy  For today's painting, I am sharing a couple of quick sketches I completed. I am a firm believer that hard work, consistency, and grit are essential elements to grow and develop as an artist. I have seen how practising sketching and drawing has led to growth and improvements in my work. This sentiment is echo'd in one of my favourite art quotes -- by John Singer Sargent - a great, great artist! Till tomorrow, Kathy   Today's paintings are two small plein air sketches I completed while in vacation in British Columbia last week. . While I had the best of intentions of completing numerious refined sketches while there, these are the only two art works I completed. I am hoping to develop some larger studio pieces inspired by the trip. Check out some photos of highlights from the trip!! Till tomorrow, Kathy  Beach Town Morning, Port Stanley. Oil on Canvas, 6x8 inches. Today's painting was one completed on location in Port Stanley with the London Plein Air Group. Hope you enjoy. Sorry for the short blog post - after an overnight red-eye flight from British Columbia to Ontario... my brain isn't coming up with much else to write.
Till tomorrow, Kathy  SOLD. Lady LingSu, Oil on Canvas. 8x10 inches. Today's painting, a commission I recently completed, is a portrait of the beloved Lady LingSu. Sadly, Lady LingSu passed away a few months ago at age 14. She will be greatly missed and will forever be in her owners' hearts.
Till tomorrow, Kathy  Summer Fieldwork, Oil on Canvas, 6x6 inches. Today's painting depicts a combine out on the field. I love the atmosphere created by the grain dust!
Till tomorrow, Kathy |
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Kathy MacKay Fine Art
London, Ontario, Canada
mackay.painting@gmail.com
London, Ontario, Canada
mackay.painting@gmail.com
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