Ucluelet Sketchbook

Canuck Iconography

"Blackcomb Mountain" 18 X 24" Oil on canvas.
SOLD to DHW for $500, before the paint was even dry.

I think I may end up famous for my ability to capture early evening light. This one is not too bad. Maybe a little too paint-by-numbers, but time will tell. I may have lost sight of my overall intention, but it is a good piece, for sure. A very challenging piece, but painted with a certain amount of bravado.


"Beached Logs, Harrison Lake" 18 X 24" Oil on Canvas.
This one was crazy hard, but I did pull it off. Have had some good comments on it already. I know people will think of Emily Carr, but it was me who found this one, and I have a photo to prove it! It is a matter of what is emblematic around here, so there will be some overlap by default. Harrison Lake is, of course, not the Coast, but there is something about it that suggests the coast. the fact that the lake has seals reinforces that impression.

I had to beat the sky into submission, but I think I am almost happy with it now.

Finishing these two was all the painting I did this weekend, but I am glad to have them done.

New Studio Furniture

Not willing to spend $100+ on an over-engineered easel at Opus, I decided to make one.

Most commercial easels need two hands to raise and lower the sliders, which means that I have to put my brushes and palette down, which is a pain. Even the ones that you can use one hand on do not work that well. Mose are not very solid and all have limitations. I also wanted an easel to lean against the wall, and everything I have ever seen is free-standing. I don't want a freestanding easel, because it takes up too much room in my flat, and is a pain to transport when I move.

So, being a DIY kinda guy.....


I was walking to the Hardware store though Fernwood yesterday, and got talking to a chap who was doing some renos. The weathered cedar came from him--free! So my studio has some good neighbourhood cred now. Thanks Dave.

I had some other bits lying around. The bicycle seatpost quick-releases as the tighteners on the sliders are a stoke of genius! Thanks to North Park Bike shop for those. I have tested it already, and this system works better than ANYTHING out there! There is a tiny bit of bounce in the thing when I am really going at it. I will reinforce the 1 x4 uprights when I get the chance. But the main problem of 1-hand adjustability has been solved.


Also, when I am pounding on some paint on the far edges of a 20 X24" canvas, I don't end up with the whole deal in my lap.


All good things for $35.