March was another productive month in my studio, as I continued to create new work in my northern lakes series. I am preparing for my Spring Open Studio (which is on the last weekend in April every year) and I need to replenish my commercial galleries for the upcoming tourist season.

Shown above is Misty Memories, watercolour on panel (no glass) 12 x 16", a scene inspired by the raft at my husband's family's cottage in the Kawartha Lakes region. Over the years, I photographed this raft in many atmospheric conditions - calm, wind, sunshine, storm, sunrise, evening, fog, and so on. This scene evokes the memory of a tranquil morning moment, looking out at the quiet lake cloaked in mist, anticipating another special day at the cottage. A gentle breeze has started to ripple the water, beginning to reveal a glimpse of pine trees on the far side of the bay. Click here for more details about Misty Memories.

Pictured above is Mystical Morning, watercolour on panel (no glass) 12 x 16". This is the fourth and largest version I painted of this scene, which depicts a red canoe pulled up onto the rocky shore, nestled under two glorious white pines on the point. Wisps of mist rise from the lake to reveal the forest on the far shore. A new voyage of exploration is about to begin. Click here for more details about Mystical Morning.

The painting above is titled Drifter's Dream, watercolour (no glass) 12 x 12". I deliberately left the bottom half of this composition without wildlife, boats, canoes, rafts, or any other evidence of human presence. I want viewers to experience the restorative peace of this quiet lake and let their imaginations decide what is hidden beneath the enveloping fog. Click here for more details about Drifter's Dream.

Shown above is Last Cast, watercolour on panel (no glass) 8 x 8". I created this simple scene as I was experimenting with different colour combinations for lake mist. I thought this rose/violet/gray combination was lovely and the scene is very calming. Click here for more details about Last Cast.

Back in 2006 I painted Sun, Sand and Sea, watercolour 5 x 14" shown above, and it sold later that year. I always thought this charming scene would look great as a larger painting.

This winter, I finally made time to create the new version, titled You Can't Catch Me, watercolour on panel (no glass) 12 x 24", shown below. I used more dramatic colour contrasts in the new work. Click here for more details about this piece. 

You Can't Catch Me sold before I finished it. A collector of my work saw the painting in progress in my studio and loved the scene because it reminded her of a beach in England where she visited with friends regularly.

After she took the completed painting home, she emailed me to say “It’s hung! And am I ever pleased. It’s hung at such a height, I feel as though I could walk right into it. It will take me back to England every time I see it, which is all day, every day.”

And that is how I make the world a happier place... One painting at a time.

Which painting is your favourite? If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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Many of my paintings are inspired by my travels to wild regions of North America, but this one came about thanks to a shoe store, the Toronto Cottage Life Show and a collector of my work who loves Lake Superior.

The story began in 2010 at the Cottage Life show in Toronto, where I rented a booth to show my paintings. There, I met this fellow who had a family cottage (or 'camp' as they call recreational seasonal properties up north) on Lake Superior. He bought one of my Featherstone giclee prints because it reminded him of heron feathers on his camp's pebble shoreline on Batchawana Bay, north of Sault Ste. Marie.

Fast forward to 2017, when I mentioned in my monthly email update that I had started a new series of paintings based on my Lake Superior trips. After seeing that, the collector from the Cottage Life Show emailed me these two photos he took during a Zodiac trip from his camp to North Sandy Island, in case I could use them for inspiration.

I thought both were excellent shots but the one with the shoe and underwater stones really ignited my imagination, and I already had my own reference photos of pebbles under clear water. I noted the idea in my 'to paint' file.

About 9 months later while holidaying with friends in Kingston, I chanced upon a sidewalk sale table of colourful running shoes. They immediately reminded me of the underwater shoe painting I wanted to make. I took a photo of the display table of shoes and now had all the references I needed to design a painting.

I started working on the 18 x 24" painting shortly after that, beginning with a very complex line drawing, and then completely finishing the painting, section by section.

For a large, intricate painting, this sequencing strategy avoids what can feel like weeks of drudgery when the whole painting is going through its unattractive, formative stage (I call this the 'teenage phase'). Finishing small sections creates excitement for me because I can glimpse the finished effect sooner and feel like I am making progress toward a positive outcome. The excitement is what motivates me to put in the hours necessary to finish the painting.

I interrupted the painting process many times to take photos of each stage, so I could make a time lapse video story of the painting's creation and title. I hope you enjoy this 2-minute video and that it helps you appreciate the thought and work involved in creating this intricate painting in watercolour. Click on the image below to view the video.

A Foot in Cold Water is one of my master works and every time I look at it I am taken to a happy place in my memories, filled with the excitement of discovery, exploring the stone-filled shallows of the North Shore. Sheer Paradise.

For more information about this painting, click here.

Have you taken an amazing photo of Lake Superior that you would like to show Karen, perhaps to inspire a painting? (She loves rocks, water, waves, trees, skies, sunsets, islands, reflections...) If so, please email your photo to karen[at]karenrichardson.ca and include the location, and the story of what makes the photo special to you.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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February was another good month for painting summer lakes scenes in my studio - the perfect antidote for winter winds and snow blowing outside my windows.

The first two paintings shown here are 18 x 24", which is the largest size I can make due to size limitations of the standard wooden art panels and 300 lb watercolour paper I prefer.

Above is pictured 'Welcome to the Lake', which is inspired by the view from my husband's family's cottage in the Kawarthas. I love the clarity of light in this scene and the flawless reflections. I remember that wonderful feeling of anticipation when arising in the morning, looking out at this peaceful lake and getting ready to enjoy another fun day at the cottage. I have wonderful memories of this place.

The diving raft, kept afloat by four empty 45-gallon drums, was one of several rafts built over the years by my husband-to-be, his brother, or his dad. The shoreline of the Richardson cottage property was sand with a few weeds, but I took the liberty of changing it to smooth stones in the painting, to make what I think is a more interesting composition.

For more details about 'Welcome to the Lake', click here.

Shown above is the second 24 x 18" painting, 'Whispering Waters', which is part of a new series depicting islands in northern lakes. I am thrilled with the mist in the background, which nicely contrasts with the dark hues of the island and adds a sense of mystery to the scene. The complex reflections were very challenging but turned out even better than I had hoped.

Everything in this piece is taken from my imagination and general reference photos from my trips throughout northern Ontario, except for the green cedar-strip canoe. It was made by First Nations (Huron) in Wendake, Quebec for Simpsons-Sears. My husband bought it in their store in 1963 and we still own this fine craft.

For more details about 'Whispering Waters', click here.

Shown  above is 'Mystified', a larger (9 x 12") version of the two little square canoe-and-mist scenes that I painted and sold in January. I love the sense of mystery in this piece, and the little pop of red from the canoe is the perfect contrast to the green trees and gray background.

Three of the galleries representing my work, who saw this image when I posted it on Facebook, asked if they could have one for display. A popular scene! I plan to paint a fourth version in a 12 x 16" format. It is impossible to make the paintings identical to each other, due to the serendipitous nature of watercolour, so each painting will be unique.

For more details about 'Mystified', click here.

Continuing with the concept of misty canoe scenes, shown above is a new 12 x 12" work titled 'Island Spirits'. The scene is from my imagination, but based on many northern lakes I have visited and explored by kayak. Places like this revitalize me and renew my creative energy.

Watercolour is a natural when it comes to portraying fog or mist, but it takes precise timing, moisture control, and lots of practice to get it right. I think I have the hang of it now and am keen to do several more misty lake scenes. They are satisfying to do and it just feels so good to immerse myself in these calm and quiet locales.

For more details about 'Island Spirits', click here.

Now comes something completely different. I finally finished this lively tulip piece, 'Spring Splendour', 12 x 9" shown above. This was a demonstration painting I did for a workshop several years ago. The original blue-green background had granulated and looked odd, but I loved the composition and colours of the flowers. Not sure how to proceed but unwilling to discard the painting, it languished in my unfinished works drawer for years. I recently decided I had nothing to lose and painted 4 coats of a very dark watercolour mixture I call 'Black Magic' over the background. I love the drama this creates.

For more details about 'Spring Splendour', click here.

And as our winter turns to spring, I look forward to creating more new paintings and sharing with you the stories behind them. Shown above are the tools of my trade, all ready to go.

Which painting is your favourite? If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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Pictured above are the five new paintings I made last month. To my great delight, the three canoe scenes have found new homes already, thanks to my daily posts on Facebook and my 2000 wonderful friends and followers there.

Shown above is the first canoe scene, Secrets of the Mist (8 x 8"). This little painting was inspired by a photo I took last fall on a lunch cruise of Lake Muskoka, organized by the Women's Probus Club of Lindsay, of which I am a member.

I had been hoping for fine weather for our cruise and when I heard the wet forecast I figured I wouldn't get any good scenery photos. How wrong I was. The rain provided a misty atmosphere and I ended up with dozens of paint-worthy reference photos. I added the red canoe to the painting to introduce a human presence and a pop of colour to the scene.

I posted an in-progress photo of this painting on Facebook on Jan. 23, and the finished version the next day. By Jan. 25 I had four offers to purchase - from collectors in Muskoka, Whitby, Brighton, and Oshawa. The Facebook post of the finished painting went on to garner almost 400 'likes' and 200 comments, which I think is the highest response to date for a single post of mine.

For more information about this painting click here. This artwork is going to a collector in Whitby.

Not wanting to disappoint the other three collectors, I painted a second 8 x 8" version of this scene, Secrets in the Mist, shown above. Click here for more details. This one went to its forever home in Bracebridge.

I plan to paint more versions of this scene in other sizes and will offer them to the remaining interested parties on a 'right of first refusal' basis before showing the artworks to the general public.

The third canoe scene, Bring a Paddle (12 x 12", shown above) was inspired by numerous reference photos of northern lakes, islands, and canoes. I was particularly pleased with the way the water ripples and reflections turned out.

Shown below are the reference photos for the lake reflections and autumn foliage, a concept sketch for the island, and the initial layout drawn in pencil on watercolour paper.

I posted in-progress photos of this painting on Facebook on Jan. 28 and 29, and had an offer to purchase before the painting was finished. The Montreal buyer said "I keep missing opportunities to get the ones I love. The last one left before I could... Bring a Paddle already has my heart even if not done yet... As soon as I saw it I knew I couldn't live without [it]... I see great things all the time but yours speak to me." Click here to see more details about this painting.

If you wish to see my paintings on Facebook as they are created, here is the link https://www.facebook.com/karen.richardson.studio.

Shown above is Morning Has Broken, watercolour 9 x 12". It was inspired by several of my photos which are shown below: two of an amazing morning sky I saw from my front porch, one of the sun reflected in a lake, and one of a white pine. The rocky ridge was inspired by many I have seen during my travels throughout northern Ontario. The photo below also shows the concept sketch for a tree on rocks, and the initial stage of the painting after the first layer of colour was applied to the background.

The sky was quite difficult and its depth of colour eventually was achieved with many layers painted over several days. I really enjoyed painting the tree with its branches reaching outward, as if Mother Nature is embracing the dawn. You can see further details about this piece here.

The fifth painting from last month is Lady in Red, watercolour 14 x 11", shown above. One of my Facebook acquaintances, Gerry Kaiser, is a professional photographer from Windsor, Ontario. Last October he posted a glorious photo of a red and gold sunset he took at Point Pelee National Park (Lake Erie). Gerry kindly gave me permission to use the photo as reference for my watercolour painting.

This was an extremely challenging subject. I masked out the sun and its reflection and then painted the sky wet-in-wet with several layers to achieve the depth of colour. I painted the lake reflections on dry paper using hundreds of horizontal strokes of colour. There was a lot of experimentation involved in this piece but I was very happy with the result.

When I posted an in-progress photo on Facebook and asked for suggestions for a title, I received 80 responses. I chose Lady in Red and recorded the rest to use for future sunset paintings. (Lady in Red was the name I gave to my third motorcycle, a red Honda Pacific Coast.)

I wrote a description for the painting using some of the beautiful words suggested by my Facebook friends: "This painting presents the fiery crimson blaze of the setting sun making her final bow before the heavens fade to black. Her radiance is reflected on peaceful waters as shimmering ribbons of scarlet and gold. We all have fond memories of splendid days that ended with breathtaking displays like this one."

You can see more details about this painting here.

As our winter continues, I look forward to creating more new paintings and sharing with you the stories behind them.

Which painting is your favourite? If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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A few weeks ago some of us got to see the Wolf Moon - Super Moon - Blood Moon in the heavens. This cosmic event reminded me of my most recent moon painting, 'Hunter's Moon', shown above.

In the normal course of my artistic practice, once I paint a specific scene, my creative curiosity is satisfied and I happily carry on to a new inspiration for the next painting. Some people refer to this in terms of  "been there, done that" but I think more in terms of a 'bucket list' of painting ideas that I check off one by one.

But, every now and then, a certain painting I have completed continues to haunt my creative mind. It is as if the scene or subject isn't done with me yet, and I feel the need to recreate the scene, perhaps in a different size or format.

With watercolour, it is impossible to exactly duplicate a previous painting, because of the serendipitous nature of the medium. I think of painting with watercolour as a dance, with water as my dance partner, and I don't always get to lead. This means a second version of a scene will always turn out differently than the first version.

The painting shown above, 'Moonlight Sonata' was a little 8 x 5" watercolour I completed in 2005 and sold the following year. I always loved the stark simplicity and symbolism of the scene, which was one I invented using a daytime photograph as reference.

I decided to use the same concept and composition in a new, larger painting. I found a stunning pine tree reference in my photo archives and created the second version of this scene in a 24 x 18" format.

Because I worked from multiple references and in a large format, I really stretched my design, drawing, and painting skills for this project. I had to evaluate after each layer of paint and decide what needed to be done next to make the scene look more real and to get the rich colour effects I was after.

I called the new painting 'Hunter's Moon', which falls in October and is the first full moon after the Harvest Moon. During these full moons, sunset and moon rise are close together, which creates a magical twilight effect.

Fortunately I had the foresight to take photos of each stage of this challenging painting as I worked on 'Hunter's Moon'. From these work-in-progress photos, I assembled a 90-second time lapse video, so you can see the flow of this piece to its completion. Click on the picture below to view the video.

When I viewed the completed painting, I had a compelling urge to visit this imaginary place, to sit under this tree, breathe in the crisp night air, and admire the beautiful moon. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure this scene is done with me yet. Maybe more moon paintings will cross my creative path...

For more information about this painting, click here.

Do moon paintings evoke memories for you? If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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In the summer of 2007, my husband and I (pictured above) toured the island of Newfoundland for two months with our travel trailer, slowly exploring this large province from the western ferry terminal at Port aux Basques to the eastern ferry terminal on the Avalon Peninsula. Pictured in this post are some of the many paintings inspired by our summer in Newfoundland.

The highlights of our trip were many; the hospitable, fun-loving, hard-working people of Newfoundland, their incredible musical talents, world-famous Gros Morne National Park and Western Brook Pond were the top attractions for us.

We greatly enjoyed the historic Viking settlement re-enactment at l'Anse aux Meadows, numerous iceburg-sightings, a vast array of beautiful wildflowers, and learning the history of the cod fishery at Twillingate.

The Skerwink cliff trail and historic architecture at Trinity, magnificent sea views at Bonavista, berry picking on the Avalon, and the vibrant culture of St. John's all were wonderful experiences.

We spent 18 days hiking in Gros Morne National Park, which is on the mountainous west coast of the island. A few photos I took of the colourful stone beaches there have inspired dozens of pebble paintings since our visit.

Recently, I made this 90-second video of the creation of a large Newfoundland pebble painting, to show the layering process I frequently use to create the look of realistic stones. This is of interest to students of watercolour and allows non-artistic folk to get an idea of the planning that goes into my paintings. Click on the image below to view the video.

For more information about 'Beach Rocks Bigtime' click here.

Over many decades, we have toured every province and territory of Canada. Although each place was lovely and interesting to see, the island of Newfoundland remains in my top three favourite Canadian destinations (the others being Yukon Territory and Lake Superior). We look forward to another leisurely journey on The Rock one day soon.

Do you have a favourite spot in Newfoundland I should visit? Or a remarkable Newfoundland memory you would like to share? If you have suggestions or comments, please click on the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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All my life, I have felt the magnetic pull of stone, from mountains to boulders to pebbles to grains of sand. Perhaps it was my childhood spent near Algonquin Park, surrounded by the terrain of the Canadian Shield, that makes me instinctively drawn to rock-filled wilderness scenery.

Many people I meet at art shows or in my art classes are as captivated by beach pebbles as I. We often talk about our shared fascination with smooth stones, especially those displaying unusual colours or interesting patterns.

During a classroom chat, one of my painting students suggested I would enjoy a visit to Pebble Beach in the town of Marathon on Lake Superior's northern shore.

A few months later, travels took my husband and I by that location, and we made a point to check out this beach. Am I ever glad we did! Shown below is the view looking eastward from the entrance path.

Marathon's Pebble Beach is composed of smooth round stones the size of citrus fruits - from limes to grapefruits. The colours are rich and varied, especially when the stones are wet, and many have interesting stripes or other markings. One wonders how stones from many different rocky origins ended up in one place. I was glad I had my hiking boots on, as walking on these piles of shifting 'bowling balls' with camera in hand was a tricky prospect. Shown below is the westward view along Pebble Beach.

I visited there shortly after a rain shower - what I call a 'soft' day. I loved the combination of vividly coloured stones and misty background.

Recently I completed my first painting of this beach (shown at the top of this post) and am totally thrilled with it. I chose a low point of view for the composition to give the stones more prominence, and I selected the title because these stones are as breathtaking as jewels to me.

I photographed each step of my painting process and created a one-minute time lapse video, to show you the flow of this painting's creation. Click on the picture below to view the video and get an idea of how I work.

I am looking forward to doing more paintings of this remarkable beach. If you are a 'rockaholic' like me, you will understand my compulsion.

For more information about this painting, click here.

Do you have favourite spots on Lake Superior I should visit? If you have suggestions or comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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My camping trips to Lake Superior last summer and this spring continue to inspire new paintings. This region of Ontario has become one of my top Canadian travel destinations, and every time I visit there the landscape absolutely captivates me.

For my latest painting in the Lake Superior series, I decided to invent a scene using diverse photographic references. The genesis of the idea was a photo I took years ago in Algonquin Park, of pine tree roots grasping what appeared to be solid rock. I saved this photo for decades, and knew it would make a great painting concept one day.

For the background, I used the actual view of islands in Lake Superior at Rossport, Ontario (shown above). For the foreground I used a photo of a hardwood tree trunk and roots that I captured on the Bruce Peninsula a few years ago. The rocks I made up, loosely inspired by my photos taken on the Lake Superior waterfront trail at Rossport.

Fortunately I had the foresight to take photos of each stage of this challenging painting as I worked on it. From these work-in-progress photos, I assembled an 80-second time lapse video, so viewers could see the flow of this piece to its completion. Click on the picture below to view the video.

Since I did not have one reference photo of the total scene, I really stretched my design, drawing, and painting skills for this project. I had to evaluate after each step and decide what needed to be done next to make the scene look more real. And I had to make sure the lighting and mood of the background and foreground remained consistent.

When I viewed the completed painting, I had a compelling urge to visit this imaginary place, to sit in the shade of this tree, feel the breeze on my face, smell the clean air, and admire the magnificent view. Can you feel it too?

For more information about this painting, click here.

What does 'Holding On' say to you? If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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Last summer, I was thrilled to spend some time camping along the north shore of Lake Superior, not far from the rocky point shown above (you can read about my trip at Exploring Lake Superior - At Last).

I came home with an extensive collection of reference photos to inspire new paintings. The combination of a world-class variety of colourful rocks and stones and extremely clear water makes for awesome painting subjects. I have completed several excellent pieces, and described some of my painting processes in these articles The Superior Paintings Begin and The Making of 'Listen to the Lake'.

The scene above is in Rainbow Falls Provincial Park (Rossport) and was the subject of a three day advanced workshop I taught in my Lindsay studio. Shown below are the steps involved in capturing this scene in a watercolour painting. There is also a short video of part of the early painting process.

After drawing the scene in pencil on 300 lb cold press watercolour paper (above), I used masking fluid to mask out the twigs and leaves of the shrubbery and the three small rocks sticking out of the water. This temporary protective coating preserved the white paper for a later painting stage. Then I painted a layer of warm gray in the reflection of the far point.

I mixed blue and gray washes (below), using test strips of watercolour paper to verify the colours were accurate to my reference photo. All the colours in this painting were mixed from primary colours blue, red, and yellow.

After I wet the paper where the highlight would be off the end of the point (below), I started painting with the blue mixture for the upper portion of the lake water, gradually blending in the gray mixture as I worked into the lower portion of the lake water.

One of my students took a video of me painting just this section above, while I explained what I was doing, and why. Anyone interested in the details of this process will want to click on the image below to view the 10-minute video.

In the photo below, I have painted the gray shadow layer on the large rock outcroppings. I like to paint my shadows first, while I can see my pencil lines clearly.

Shown below, after the shadow layer dried, I re-wet the rocks with clear water, added quick strokes of tan and grey, then sprinkled salt on top. Each grain of salt absorbed a bit of paint, leaving a pale splotch in the colour. When fully dry, the salt was brushed off. I also painted the first layer of the distant shore hills and pencilled in the outlines of the underwater stones.

In the photo below, I masked out the shapes of lichens in the foreground rock, and deepened the grey shadows with more paint. In the background rock, I used dry brush 'scumbling' to suggest rock colours and textures. The shadow layer was added to the distant shoreline.

In the photo below, I have removed the masking from the foreground rock, revealing the lichen shapes. Using negative painting techniques, I painted outside of each underwater rock shape. When fully dry, I removed the masking from the shrubbery and stones, revealing the white paper. 

The final step was to paint the leaves, twigs, and three stones above the water level. The mounted and framed painting, Crystal Clear, is shown below. For more details about this finished work, click here. 

What does this scene say to you? If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

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