Eye Of The Totem-Watercolor Painting After The Photograph By Flickr Photographer Tim Ennis

7" x 7"
Watercolor on Watercolor Board
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I have always been fascinated with Totem Poles, particularly the work of the Haida Aboriginals, located on the West Coast of Canada in British Columbia.

I often wished however that they painted their Totem Poles in colors that were more pleasing to me than the standard colors of Black, Green, Red, and White. This was my attempt to produce a design that contained colors that reflect more of a West Coast feel to them, reflecting the mood of blue water, with a teal accent.

I also imagined that each Totem was a living work of art, and in my imagination what you see in the painting is the reflection of what the Totem is seeing in the reflection in it's eye. The reflection is a lonely Arbutus tree hanging on to the rock above a seascape.

This is a derivative work, and permission to use the original photograph Wuikinuxv Eye was kindly granted by brilliant Flickr Photographer Tim Ennis.

I use Winsor & Newton Watercolors exclusively

Sunset Over Howe Sound-Watercolor Painting

Sunset Over Howe Sound
9" x 6"
Watercolor on Watercolor Board
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If you ever visit the West Coast of Canada, be sure to take a ferry trip with BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay. I visited the Sunshine Coast a few times over the years, and this view is one of the many sites you will see. I love the shape of Anvil Island in the center of the painting.

This is the second time that I have used Watercolor Board, which is a piece of Watercolor Paper glued to a hard cardboard substrate. No stretching is required. The painting surface is a bit different from watercolor paper in that it seems to absorb the pigment quicker. However once you get used to it, you may want to switch over and never have to stretch watercolor paper again.

Portrait Of Allan Nott-Original Drawing Artwork

22" x 16"
Black Prismacolor Pencil Crayon on Illustration Board

In 1984 I was taking a break from working at jobs that I did not like, and decided to try and produce some art until my funds ran out. One night I was having drinks with my friend Allan, and he kept asking me when he was going to see some of my work. I didn't have much to show at the time, and he kept egging me on and pestering me, so I decided to try and do his portrait.

Little did I know what I was getting into. I came across an artist who was doing clown images in a art magazine using pencil crayons, and the images were very soft, and I was amazed at the visual impact of pencil crayons and had never used them before.

The drawing took me about 200 hours to complete over 3 months, and was the hardest thing I had done in my life. I used illustration board, which has a very smooth hard surface. I managed to use about 10 black pencil crayons to compete the piece. I don't think that I will spend that many hours on a work of art in the future, it was quite a marathon.

Cheers
Terry

I use Prismalcolor colored pencils.



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Mayne Island Arbutus-Original Watercolor Painting

26" x 18"
Watercolor on Arches 140 LB Cold Press Watercolor Paper
$449

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I started this painting in 1984 after a weekend camping trip to Gabriola Island and Mayne Island. I was on the trip with friends, in October, and it was pouring rain. Everyone except me got soaking wet overnight the first night, and the group decided to ferry over to Mayne Island and stay in a motel to dry out.

I stopped work on it because at one point I was stuck on how I was going to finish the Arbutus tree. This often happens to me when painting a watercolor, and I set them aside until I get inspiration on how to go forward. I also started a new job, and was too tired out from that every day to paint.

In the summer of 2007 my dear brother prodded me to finish the painting, so I searched the Internet for photos of Arbutus trees because I no longer had my photograph to reference from, and decided to get it finished at all costs.

The other thing I discovered was that I no longer had a desire to finish it off in the manner that I had first envisioned, and decided to leave it as is for the most part after painting in the parts that were white spaces on the painting.

So the minimalist style was not planned in any way, I found I just liked it as is.

If you would like to purchase the painting please contact me at tkrysak@gmail.com
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