Today saw me sneak away from the gallery this sunny afternoon to head over to the big town down the road and receive an award for one of my paintings!  The event was the 39th annual juried art show put on by the Blue Mountain Center for the Arts.  
I was awarded first prize in the 2D catergory for my painting, 'The Roadmaster'.  Funny that when I first conceived this work, I doubted it would have much of an audience, 'who is going to want to look at a slighty menacing rusted out old road warrior,'  I wondered.  As it has turned out, this painting is commented on favourably more than almost any other piece I have done, and clearly the judges of this years' show felt likewise!
So thanks again to the judges, the staff and volunteers at the Center and everyone who has enjoyed this painting!
​DK

I have heard it said that paintings of barns are old news and no longer fashionable.  As one who has lived his life heading in the opposite direction of any 'fashion' trend I come across, the above statement only makes me enjoy barn painting all the more!
My home is in snow country and when the snow is in the air, sensible people stay indoors, peering out the window to shudder occasionally, but a few venture out to experience the onslaught of Mother Nature first hand.  It was one of those outings that was the foundation of this painting.   To finish the piece off, I have framed it in reclaimed timber, full of character, which is likely older than the barn featured in the painting.



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A recently finished commission job, this painting represents the unrivalled beauty that a blanket of fresh snow on a crisp, sunny winter day can create.  This scene is a special one to me as it happens to be the view out my bathroom window!  Currently the snow is gone for a while ( hope!), buds are breaking on the trees and the grass is soon to be needing a trim, creating a wholly different mood and look.   I'm very grateful for the beauty and variety that the four seasons of the year offer us around here and would have it no other way!

For those among us desperate for spring to take a firm hold of things, the above title is in reference to a string of snow related paintings I have only recently completed and had copied.  Any real snow fall will not be of my doing!
Below are 3 winter paintings with a couple more pieces still to come at some point.

This painting had been floating around in my head for some time, and I finally decided to tackle it late last year.  It is a relatively large piece with lots of textures and details, the point of which was to share how spellbinding and intriguing a non remarkable scene like this can be when really focused on intently.  When I look at this painting, I am taken back to the very trail just outside of the village I lived in, but more importantly, studying it also triggers mental memories of the feel of the damp ground, barely covered in snow with the musty smell of the woods filling the air.  Hopefully it will take the viewers to a similar place in their memories!