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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Jim Speers-Exquisite Pottery

High Fired White Stoneware Jar
Copyright Jim Speers Pottery

This is another post in my series of My Favorite Artists and today I want to introduce you to Jim Speers, a fantastic potter that I went to art school with.

I attended the Alberta College of Art and Design in 1971, and Jim and I met on the first day when we were put into groups of home room classes, and we became friends right away. I wanted to become a painter, and Jim was interested in taking pottery. In first year we did everything, drawing, painting, print making, pottery, and sculpture.

I found out early on that they did not teach Watercolor, and I was not fond of the work of the painting instructors, and did not want to take commercial art either. So after much thought, discussion with classmates and a fair amount of "wringing of hands" I decided to take pottery as well because they had excellent instructors, and I knew that it would be a great learning experience.

Jim moved back to Edmonton Alberta after college, and eventually set up his own pottery studio, and now creates a wide variety of production pieces, and one of a kind pottery works of art.

Without question in my mind, Jim has grown into a master potter and his work is truly exquisite. I love his attention to detail, and his designs are just beautiful and inspiring with a brilliant expression of form, shape and design.

Jim is also an avid photographer, creates 3D imagery, and spends some time building websites as well.

So if you are interested in pottery, I invite you to visit his website Jim Speers Pottery and take some time to view and enjoy his amazing works.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

View Of Mount Rundle From Vermillion Lakes


Mount Rundle, Banff, Alberta, Canada

I visited my brother and his family for Christmas in 2009, and had a wonderful time over the holidays, with wonderful friends, lots of good cheer and plenty of fantastic food.

On December 23rd we went to our favorite photo taking spot in Banff to get some shots of Mount Rundle, which is probably the most photographed mountain in Banff National Park.

It was -21C on that day, very cold and crisp, and the photo was taken in the late afternoon as the sun was close to setting. I managed to capture the glow of the afternoon light, and the colors were just wonderful.

This was taken with my trusty Canon Powershot.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Sunshine Coast Memories Watercolor Painting


5" x 5"
Watercolor Painting

This is the final painting of four that I have completed as Christmas presents for this year. It feels good to get this accomplished

This again is done in the style of Ukiyo-e which I enjoy very much. The painting was mostly done with Derwent Watercolor Pencils, and finished with Winsor and Newton watercolors.

On another note, It just came to me that this blog is now one year old. It has been quite an enjoyable experience, and I want to thank everyone who has visited.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and good health and success in the New Year.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

View From The Ferry Watercolor Painting


6" x 4"
Watercolor Painting

This is painting number three of four paintings I am doing for Christmas presents. One of a series of paintings from photos of my trip to Gibson's BC on the Horseshoe Bay/Langdale Ferry last summer.

This one was also done with Derwent Watercolor Pencils. I quite enjoy using this medium, they are easy to control and the set my brother gave me has a fair number of colors to choose from.

I think in the future I will do some more paintings with the pencils using Watercolor Board which has an ultra smooth surface.

Langdale To Horseshoe Bay Watercolor Painting


6" x 4.5"
Watercolor Painting

This is the second of four paintings that I am doing for Christmas presents. This is also done in the style of Ukiyo-e, and part of a series of paintings based on the views from my ferry trip to Gibson's BC in July of this year.

This was quite a challenge as I was using a cheaper Watercolor Block, and it wrinkled up quite a bit when I was putting in the wash for the sky.

My solution was to try out the set of Derwent Watercolor Pencils that my brother gave me last summer. I must admit I feel more comfortable using drawing medium than I do painting. Once the color was laid in, it was easy to apply a water wash and blend the colors in. Additional layers of color were added after the paint was dry.

You might want to give the Derwent Watercolor Pencils a try.

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