HCL- The three-year-old down the street and hydrochloric acid might have the same initials, but it's no match for her power to melt your heart.  'Might be one or two repeats in this post, but there it is!  She's worth it.

HCL as P3- From a photo by her dad entitled Three Peas.  Age about 14 months.  Watercolour on 300lb. paper

HCL in Sunshine- Caught in the afternoon light of their living room by her dad.  Age 18 months.  My most popular painting.  The blurry section on the right was the result of an accident.  Many watercolour artists will tell you accidents are often the unexpected cause of a successful painting.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

HCL aig a'Ghluine (At the Knee)  Title from an old Gaelic phrase.  This was a graphite study for a three figure image in the landscape.  Age 27 months.  Her mom's knee.   Graphite on paper

HCL in Pink-  A tiny (4"X5")  portrait  from the sketch above.  Age 30 months.  Oil on masonite board

HCL at Shubie-  Checking out the slide alongside the historic Shubenacadie Canal here in Dartmouth, NS.  A rather quick, charcoal sketch with a dash of pastel colour.  Age 38 months.  On paper.

HCL at TIBS-  Like their dad, her five-year-old brother loves to photograph people.  Whenever he tries to catch her, she throws one of her crazy poses.  In a local coffee shop on the hottest day of the summer which resulted in a "bad hair day" image.  Age 39months.  Semi-hard pastels on smooth paper 

HCL in Fall Sunrise.  I roused HCL and her mom early one fall morning to pose for a picture they weren't even going to be in!  I just needed a little girl and an adult to get the scale right.  Like the troopers they are, they turned out on the front lawn.  I did this quick pastel sketch as a practice piece on smooth paper.  Age 40 months

HCL- Hey Look!-  This picture one from a previous post seemed a good choice as a close out of this Mini-show of one of my favourite subjects.  It was the day she and her brother discovered Cow Bay, near Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia.  Age 39 months.  Acrylic on canvas

HCL on the Harbour Trail-  Out for a walk with Mom, big brother and I.  Her brother snapped this pic of HCL on the Dartmouth side of Halifax harbour.  Looking across in the afternoon sun sun your can see the towers of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia and behind them the banks and parapets of the Halifax Citadel, Canada's most visited historic site.  Age 39 months.

A few charcoal portraits.  These are mainly monochrome charcoal drawings, but some have a small dash of pastel colour to brighten them.

JW at the Corner-  One of the talented (and beautiful!) musicians living in our neighbourhood at a birthday party.

JS san t-Seann Sgoil-  A visiting scholar from Scotland at the old schoolhouse in the Nova Scotia Highland Village.

RAG outside Broad Cove Chapel-  That Cape Breton sunshine brings out the squint in everyone.

SH on the Field-  Even the occasional Dutchman shows up at the Broad Cove Concert in Cape Breton.

You go First- A conversation between a telephone pole and a fireplug in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  Acrylic on canvas

You Go First (side view)-  This painting was done on a gallery frame canvas, so it's worth seeing who's driving that bicycle.  Acrylic on canvas.

Seumas Chun a' Chladach- One of Cape Breton's foremost proponents of Gaelic culture standing in his stomping ground, opposite the Nova Scotia Highland Village in Iona.  Charcoal on toned paper

Gaelic Day at St FXU-  MI at St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS.  This was my first attempt at an "alla prima" (all at once) portrait.  Approx 8" X 10 ", finished in one hour and fifteen minutes.  Oil on canvas.

Highland Wedding-  A wedding portrait of two friends on a hilltop in Iona overlooking the Barra Straits in central Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Here Comes the Bride-  SML turns her head to see the bride, shown above, coming up the aisle.  Oil on  canvas

MN in Iona- Another guest at the wedding.  Charcoal on toned paper

SJ in Iona - Another guest at the wedding in Iona.  Charcoal on toned paper

A Spooky self portrait- This monochrome study was my first oil painting.  I did it as part of a course in portraiture and it keeps the mice at bay down in our basement workshop.  I posed by looking into a mirror which explains the "deer in the headlights" stare.  Oil on masonite board

Full colour self portrait-  Another self-portrait from the portraiture course.  Same mirror, same catatonic gaze!  ;-)  Oil on canvas

Self portrait in charcoal-  This portrait was done using a photo taken after an evening of Gaelic singing at a milling frolic in Christmas Island, Cape Breton.  Charcoal on toned paper

Quick, Hide the Waterford!  One of series of paintings around Broad Cove, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia as part of a proposal for a commission.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Put Your Hands Together - Another picture proposed for the Broad Cove commission.  This is known as the Glove Tree and is decorated with fishermen's rubber gloves that drift up onto the nearby beach.  There are still lots of them down there!  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Appearing this Saturday: NJ.  - Another watercolour of the Broad Cove project.  This is the community hall in the cove.   Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Broad Cove Fish Stages-  This picture, from the same proposal, is in an earlier post, but I'm repeating it to show it with the others done in this picturesque corner of Nova Scotia's south shore.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Disney Dancers-  A few Irish dancers from a school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in Florida for a "feis" (Irish dance competition) also took the opportunity to appear at Walt Disney World.

Peek-a-Boo-  The "star" of this view of Broad Cove, County Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is actually the small brown house behind the spruce trees.  It's playing peek-a-boo with the viewer while the two churches provide a nice diversion.  Water colour on 300 lb paper

Peek-a-Boo (fall) -  I tried several versions of this painting including a couple in fall colours.  Watercolour on 300 lb paper

We Followed His Star -  Our Christmas Card from 2012 - Acrylic on canvas

Paddle to the Sea - A small canoe paddle carved and painted in honour of the sixtieth anniversary of the book by Holling C. Holling.  Wood and acrylic

Clearing the Passage-  The eastern passage is the narrower, small craft entry into Halifax harbour in Nova Scotia.  This sloop, about 12m in length was hidden by a small knoll of beach grass and cried out to be painted.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Checking the Draw-  Some of the masters level paddlers at Banook Canoe Club, checking to see what races the coach has assigned them.  Acrylic on canvas

CIM on the River Li - Checking out these crazy mountains in China!  Charcoal on paper

DMG in Bridal Veil - One of our neighbours on her wedding day.  She was standing on a hill looking out to sea while the rest of the party were posing for the photographer..  Pastel on textured paper

G.E. and M.E. in Broad Cove Chapel-  A couple of sisters on a Sunday afternoon at a baptism for a new neighbour.  Charcoal on sketch paper

Belted Kingfishers - The kingfisher was the symbol of the old city of Halifax, NS and was flown on the city's flag in recognition of the fishing industry once based here.  Acrylic on beachstone

Atlantic Puffin - A comical-looking small sea bird found along rocky cliffs along the coast of Nova Scotia.  This beachstone from Cape Breton was split in half, so I painted a different sea bird on each side.  Acrylic on beachstone

Osprey-  Another great fisherman, this one is the provincial bird of Nova Scotia.  The other half of stone showing the puffin.  Acrylic on Beachstone

The Host of the Air-  Irish dancers practicing in Dartmouth, NS.  Title from an old Irish poem.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

The Eye of a Friend-  Title from a Gaelic proverb:  'S math an sgathan, suil caraide.  The eye of a friend is a good mirror.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper.

Gluin ar a' ghluin- From one knee to another, how traditions are passed.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Halifax Town Clock-  The landmark building, designed by Queen Victoria's father, on the side of Citadel Hill.  Two views from the same angle.  First in watercolour on on 140 lb paper and ink on cardstock, then acrylic on canvas.

HCL in the Sunshine-  One of the dear children in our neighbourhood at age eighteen months.  From a photo by her dad, a wonderful portrait photographer.  Watercolour on 200 lb paper

Hardscrabble Bridge-  Another New Brunswick covered bridge.  This one is near the village of Saint Martin's on the Bay of Fundy.  A little disjointed as I had to scan it twice on our little scanner and then stitch the halves together.  Watercolour on 300 lb paper

Gotta be N.B.-  One of the many, iconic, wooden, covered bridges still to be found in the province of New Brunswick, Canada.  This one is at Darling's Island on the Kennebecasis River near Saint John, NB.  Watercolour on 140 lb paper.

Wait for Me!-  The old corner store, which was across the street from our local elementary school.  These are a watercolour and acrylic versions of the same scene.