So many of my paintings are subject matter that I experience in and round my home. I am very lucky to live in a very rural area that has hundreds of trails in the vicinity, trails I walk everyday with my dog Tuk. This particular painting was inspired by a set of fox tracks that crossed our path a...

For many years I would visit the same fox den in the spring to see the new editions to the family. This den housed generations of fox, so many that the denning foxes became very accustomed to the presence of humans around the den. Through unfortunate events that I reveal in chapter one the den no...

This painting was inspired by many days beside the pond and water fall at my old house. I found it so relaxing to sit beside the pond and watch birds bath on the ledge of the waterfall and listen to the sounds of peepers, greens and leopard frogs vocalize. Rock and a hard place is one of those mo...

This painting was inspired by the resident Red Squirrel that patrols the forest behind my house. My dog Tuk and I are constantly scolded by this squirrel whenever we venture into the backyard and always from the same perch, so it seems. I loved the lighting and instantly wanted to paint the scene...

Believe it or not this painting was inspired by a harrowing experience with an elk, full story in part one! Loons have always been one of my favorite birds to paint. I find the subtle colour variations in their black sheen to be challenging to paint, making them a whole lot of fun to render.

Pai...

This coyote is almost a daily site at the back of my property. I often see him on his evening perambulation through the woods on his way to the next door neighbors house, a hot spot for chicken dinners. I find myself always amazed at the beauty in their coat, most people see the coyote as a nuisa...

This painting was inspired by a flock of Redpolls that came through my backyard. This was very exciting as it is very rare to see these guys in my area. The reds in the males and the reds of the sumac in the backyard made a perfect combination for a painting.

Learn to use vibrant colour to creat...

Winter filigree is a view from my back porch on a gorgeous winters eve sunset. One evening while out playing frisbee with my dog Tuk I looked to the sky and was instantly inspired to paint the scene I was experiencing. With the contrast of dark and light and warm and cool, I had to paint that mo...

Snow Gazer was inspired by an encounter with a Downy Woodpecker on an afternoon walk. I loved the pose and initially did a pencil sketch which is the Downy Drawing tutorial. Once the sketch was completed I thought that the pose was too dynamic to limit to a black and white piece so I painted a fu...

This painting is one of my favorites, why? Because I always wanted to paint a panda, but have never had the opportunity to visit China, the only place in the world that they are indigenous. I only like to paint things that I experience in person, from my real life experiences. I final got to see ...

Downey Drawing was inspired by an encounter with a Downy Woodpecker on an afternoon walk. I loved the pose so much I ended up doing a full colour piece after I completed this pencil drawing. The full colour piece 'Snow Gazer' is also a tutorial here in the art academy.

Good painting comes from g...

The perfect perch was inspired by a split second photograph of a male Downy Woodpecker. This little guy flew in and perched on this dead wood, had a quick one second look at me, and then flew off into the deep woods. The encounter was so quick I did not think I got the shot of him and was very su...

One of my favorite spots in the world is Jasper, Albert, part of the Canadian Rockies. Each year I taught a workshop in St.Albert and I would venture out to the national park for a few days backpacking after the workshop. The scene in Morning On The Athabasca is one I have seen many times on thes...

Part of the original Power To Paint DVD series converted to streaming video. This video is designed to give the artist a solid understanding of Photoshop CC. The video instructs on how to use the tools and enhancement features of Photoshop to create strong compositions and edit reference material...

This painting was inspired by the beautiful visit to the coast line of Lake Huron. The interesting thing about this painting is that the pilings in the painting are not wave breakers, they are actually old parking barriers! Global warming has raised the water table in this area making these pilin...

This painting was inspired by a visit to Yellowstone National Park. On this particular morning the mist was so thick I could barely see a 100 yards. In the mist I could hear the crackle of a ravens call, but could not see him. Then, just like a movie, the raven soared in and landed on a rock not ...

King of the hill was inspired by a photo shoot I did many years ago with my old friend Daniel Smith. The shoot was so long ago the images were on film not digital. I never did use the images and they laid in my photo pile for well over a decade. When I came across the photos I instantly wanted to...

This painting was painted as a tutorial for how to paint rock textures. It is one of the few paintings I have done that had a purely educational purpose and not a life experience behind it.

Part of the original Power To Paint DVD series converted to streaming video. This video covers all your qu...

Part of the original Power To Paint DVD series converted to streaming video. This video covers how to paint the three major facets of water, translucent water, reflective water and cascading water. Learn how to make your water have volume and form even thought it is an ever changing element. Lear...

Part of the original Power To Paint DVD series converted to streaming video. This volume will instruct you on how to operate your camera on manual mode and balance your exposure through shutter speeds and aperture settings. The viewer will learn how to set up a shot, sample the available light an...