Tag Archives: tropical landscape

Coubaril – 30 paintings in 30 days, #5

Coubaril, 11"x14", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $200.
Coubaril, 11″x14″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. Sold

It has been a busy “back-to-school” week, every day the kids brought home more homework for ME – an endless stream of forms to fill out, checks to write, shopping to do and appointments to make. So, I am no longer “ahead” when it comes to the challenge.

Today I attended a meeting at Burlington City Hall, to discuss the Culture Days event that I will be participating in on Sept 26, 12-9pm. They are providing me with a canopy, table & chairs, and I will be painting my heart out in public, in front of City Hall! Of course I have painted with people around many times before, but this is the first time I’m going to attempt to start and finish an actual painting with people coming and going (and filming and photographing). And, it’s outside!

It will be a very full and fun day, “featuring activites and performances from musicans, dancers, filmmakers, poets, fine artists, photographers and more!” The Burlington Fine Artists Association plein air group will also be setting up wherever they find interesting spots, to paint the goings on. If you’re in the area, add this date to your calender, I look forward to seeing you there!

Today’s painting is from a photograph I took of the view from my Godmother’s house a few years ago. Coubaril is an interesting neighbourhood in St. Lucia, as a child I always felt as if we were going somewhere special and magical when we entered the area. The trees form a canopy overhead and the road is narrow, so it is like you are going through a tunnel.

Anyway, many of the houses are on sloped properties, and there are also a lot of these black rocks in the gardens. I’m glad I don’t have to cut their lawns, it must be quite the workout. On the other hand, as a kid, it is great for playing hide and seek!

 

Moody landscapes – new acrylic paintings

 

Behind the garden gate, 30"x40", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1800.
Behind the garden gate, 30″x40″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1800.

This painting is inspired by a photo shoot I did at The Pink Plantation House Restaurant in St. Lucia. The family that owns the property have both cooking & gardening in their blood it seems. They also know that maintaining the gorgeous gardens brings value to their business just by adding to the atmosphere. You can’t help but have a positive experience surrounded by all that nature. And, as with their other businesses, the artwork of one sister Michelle Elliot can be found all over.  This is just one of the places I visit when I go home to St. Lucia, to gather inspiration and reference photos for my paintings.

Perception, 24"x36", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1400.
Perception, 24″x36″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1400.

This is actually another view from the grounds of The Pink Plantation House. There is just something nostalgic about a tire swing.  What memories or feelings does it bring up for you?

Stepping out, 30"x36", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1600.
Stepping out, 30″x36″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. SOLD

This view is looking out of the original stone archway to the King Louis XVI mineral baths at the Diamond Falls & Botanical Gardens in St. Lucia. I love these old stone buildings, especially the ruins, covered in tropical foliage. Not for what it stands for … the turbulent history of man on the island … but for the reminder that Nature overcomes by outliving us all.

If I’m looking at the same landscape that my ancestors did hundreds of years ago (I belong to the 5th generation of my family born in the Caribbean) … then it puts all the fuss & worry over everyday modern life into perspective.

We are but flowers blooming for a short time on this planet.

Let me know what you think of the recent landscapes, I think of them as moody or magical, someone said “dreamy”.  I am enjoying this expressive way of painting, compared to my more realistic paintings of hibiscus etc. It is nice for me as an artist to be able to go in either direction, depending on my subject and my mood.

 

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