Work in progress. I've always been fascinated by the poison dart frog. It is as ferociously cute as it is poisonous ;). View all my work on Instragram: @CritiQ
I have been teaching myself stippling. This is a work in progress on a birch tree bark. I've always admired birches and have strong childhood connections with them. I am a keeper of some very fond memories of our summer house and three beautiful big birch trees in the yard. I could sit under them for hours: watching the delicate leaves dance in the summer breeze; watching them turn golden during autumn; feeling my way around on their uneven bark full of valleys and crevices.
This very small sketch/doodle, enlarged, inspired a six foot tall painting. The background on the painting is incomplete. I'm back at this work in progress based on this small image from a sketchsheet. This painting will appear at my solo show in Thunder Bay in a couple years.
Daily sketching is one of the best habits every artist should build.
The second important habit is sharing your work. It doesn't matter if it's a sketch, a work in progress, or finished artwork. Just share!
The Tool Bench marks my 50th canvas—completed exactly one year to the day after I finished my very first one. This piece is a tribute to work, memory, and the quiet corners where both creativity and responsibility live.
Drawn entirely freehand, it’s built like a snapshot of a lived-in workspace: mismatched tools, worn wood, scribbled reminders, and the little personal things that actually make a place yours. The clipboard holds a “Honey-Do” list that never seems to end. The Polaroid-style sketch of my wife sits taped to the wall like a reminder of why the work matters. The shadows on the back wall match the tools lying on the bench—suggesting a moment in progress, a task paused, life happening between motions.
