Works In progress: Robson series

Mount Robson paintings
5x7, canvas board
Acrylic paintings by Annette Truong
Santa Cruz, CA
2016

Here are some in progress shots of two Mount Robson paintings.

Mount Robson #3

The next mountain in my "Mount Robson, British Columbia" series is done! I wanted a lucious "layer cake" look, the mountain looking good enough to eat. Robson has varied sedimentary layers, I like to emphasize them as an exaggerated feature.

Mount Robson #3 by Annette Truong
9x11, acrylics on canvas

Love Apple Farm #4

Love Apple Farm is on 20 acres of hillside in Santa Cruz County, California. Almost every square foot of the farm is on a sloped hillside, with flat patches of land few and far between. Walking the farm is like traversing undulating seas of earth, which I represent in my farm paintings as colorful moguls and hills.

Love Apple Farm #4 by Annette Truong
8x10, acrylics on canvas.

Mount Robson #2

Second in my series of Mount Robson paintings.

Mount Robson #2 by Annette Truong
8x10, acrylics on canvas.

Love Apple Farm #3

As I paint each Love Apple Farm painting I think of each secluded spot in isolation and make it a "mini scene" in the overall layout. Generally the locations of each area, are arranged loosely geographically as they are on the physical farm. But sometimes I chink them in at the last minute in the "wrong" location making each painting a unique fingerprint of the farm.

Love Apple Farm #3 by Annette Truong
8x10, acrylics on canvas.

Going Camping

my daughter is getting loaded into the van on a camping trip.

Going Camping by Annette Truong
8x10 acrylics on canvas.

Warm up: portrait sketch

Under painting du jour. The basic colors and values are blocked in with this warmup piece. Acrylics on canvas board. I will refine the details at a later date. I love how a few quick strokes to fill the space makes the under painting look nearly finished.

Mount Robson #1

My family's favorite hiking destination: Mount Robson, British Columbia. Acrylics, 8x10, by Annette Truong.

Work in progress: Trees

Trying a new style of trees on my next Mount Robson painting.

Work in progress: trees!

Love Apple Farm #2

The folk art style of my Love Apple Farms paintings is fun to paint. I like using bright bold colors that remind me of the joy I felt living on a farm.

Love Apple Farm #2, 8x10 acrylics on canvas, by Annette Truong

Aerial Silks

I made this painting as a birthday gift for my carpool partner. She has an amazing hobby called "aerial" where she dangles on long silk fabrics and does poses and movements. It's like yoga in the air.

Aerial Silks by Annette Truong
8x10, acrylics on canvas board.

Dr Ph Martin Hydrus

One supply I like to use are Dr Ph Martin Hydrus fluid acrylics. They are vibrant, powerful colors that respond well to water. I often prep a canvas with bold color using these, rubbing alcohol adds additional interest.

Hens and Chicks

My first foray into painting more realistically after having done a large spate of cartoonish "Emiette" paintings is this "Hens and chicks" succulent.

"Succulent" 8x10, Acrylics, by Annette Truong

Warm up: Sandeine Pelissier flowers

This is a warmup piece where I followed the first few steps on Sandrine Pelissier's blog post, "painting flowers from your imagination."

8x10, acrylic on canvas

Arizona Pit Stop

Arizona pit stop. My family's typical vacation is a road trip. We have made many pit stops at many rest areas around the USA and Canada. The Arizona landscape is a beautiful contrast of reds and greens against the blue sky.

Arizona Pit Stop by Annette Truong
8x10, acrylics on canvas.

Warm up: snowy owl

i did this little warm up ATC in 2013. I was learning how to use gesso and whites. The owl is sketched on top of the simple background with (non light fast!) sharpie.

Snowy Owl by Annette Truong
ATC, acrylics and pen.

Love Apple Farm #1

I lived at Love Apple Farm in Santa Cruz, CA for four years. I love painting this happy place with all its nooks and crannies. The 100+ raised beds like jewels in rows and curves, the big yellow hill with the water tank painted with a tomato, the bees, the buildings.

My dad

I am practicing my portrait style, lighting, shading. This is a portrait of my dad in Terrace, BC, holding a branch of his Asian pear tree.

My Dad by Annette Truong
8x10, acrylics on canvas.

Paint pots

Most of the time I work on small paintings - playing card up to 8x10. For these I tend to use paint out of plastic snap lid containers. I fill the containers over and over from my tubes. Sometimes I put multiple colors in one pot for blending. I love working from my little paint pots!

Past and present

When I first started painting in 2012-2014 I did a series of cat paintings that were drawn by my daughter. One of these is shown on the left below. Our "joint art" name is "emiette". On the right is one of my more recent works, a portrait of my dad with his Asian pear tree.

Learning to paint

I love art, creativity and craftsmanship. In 2012 I picked up a paintbrush for basically the first time and decided I wanted to learn how to paint. Despite working full time with 2 school-aged children, in 3 years I learned a few things in my spare time about paint - how it moves, how it works. In 2016 I want to paint every day, therefore the birth of this blog!

Let the adventure begin!



"Nanton, Alberta." 9x12, acrylics on canvas by Annette Truong

The grain elevators on the Alberta prairies are beautiful and iconic. We saw many on our 2-week road trip from Santa Cruz, California to Edmonton, Alberta over winter break. Nanton has some especially eye-catching elevators near the highway.