Paintings by Tim Warris

06/18/2024

I will be participating in this year's Open Studios in Port Dover on July 13 and 14th. Most of my paintings and some of my CNC wood carvings will be on display. Drop on in if you're in the area!

July 13 & 14. Tour the art studios & galleries of Port Dover. This is a free self-guided tour. Studio locations can be found at www.openstudiosportdover.com

06/16/2024

Reference image and my interpretation, flaws and all. "Waiting in the Wind" 16"x20" Oil on Canvas.

03/28/2024

"Waffles and Friends" 16"x20" Oil on canvas. My dog Waffles, with a couple of his stuffies. The expressions on these toys just had to be painted. Waffles dishes out unspeakable abuse on these poor toys, and the look on the orange squirrel says it all. The green turtle is a new friend and is still naively enjoying his time, but before too long, he will also meet his fate in the jaws of a hyperactive Jack Russell.

My goal with this painting was to focus on light and contrast. I always struggle with that in my paintings, I tend to end up with tones that just aren't bold enough. This time, I spent a lot more time matching the colours and tones to my reference image, even though I was usually convinced they weren't right. The reference image had a lot of harsh light and contrasts in it, and I was determined to recreate that in this piece.

03/12/2024

"Boots" 8"x10" Oil on canvas. I painted this for my Dad's 90th birthday in February. He had this cat for about 45 years. Really. He always had a cat that looked like this, and it was always named Boots. Sometimes it was also named Tiger. But this painting is of the last Boots he had, who died in 2021. He really loved this cat.

02/05/2024

"Poppy's in the Sun" 12"x16" Oil on Canvas. While I finished this one over a month ago, it's just getting added to the collection now, as it was painted as a birthday gift for my Mother-in-Law. While this piece looks like a simple painting of some poppies, it's actually a composite of several meaningful items. Poppy has always been the nickname of my father-in-law, and the cup they are in has long been a favourite of his. As a letter carrier for 30+ years, I included some mail in the piece, along with a Canadian stamp from the early 1980's. This was a very challenging piece to paint!

01/31/2024

"Waiting the Wind" 16"x20" Oil on canvas. This is my first major piece in oils, and I'm happy with how it turned out. Oil paints are very different and take a bit of getting used to, but the way they capture light and colour is pretty nice and worth the effort. This is the third time I've painted this piece. It's my favourite picture of Bryn. I captured it one day when he was sitting outside, staring off into the distance, thinking about whatever he would think. It really captured him as I saw him. Shortly after I had to let him go, a friend posted what she saw about Bryn on my timeline, and I thought it was perfect...
"Bryn was, basically, your first-born. Your sole companion through traumas, new ventures, new homes. Your friend, your buddy, your would-be protector from a green-eyed interloper who wanted to be his new mom. He won’t be leaving your heart or your home any time soon, but his little tail be wagging wildly when the time comes to fill your home with more furry love. "
I hope he's having a good time wherever he is, waiting in the wind.

01/10/2024

"Pickles" 9"x12" Oil on Canvas. This started as an exercise in painting a glass jar with oil paints, but I ended up spending quite a bit of time on it. It is amazing how well light can be captured using oil paint, the long working time allows for complex blending to be achieved. Providing you stop blending before it all turns to mud.

12/13/2023

"Sake Set" 8"x10" Oil on Canvas. Another still-life exercise in oil. This one was a struggle. I reworked parts of it several times to get the shapes right, even the most subtle shift in an edge, and everything looks "funny." I also re-painted the background completely after noticing that my tinted glasses were shifting the colours I see toward warm, causing my colour mixes to end up cool. Once I switched glasses, I realized I had to repaint the background again. That change made all the difference in the final painting.

12/05/2023

Gourds. 8"x10" Oil on Canvas

12/05/2023

Egg. 8"x10" Oil on canvas.

11/27/2023

Second attempt and painting in oils. I probably spent way too much time worrying about the little details, but I do that with everything I do. I'm not sure if that is good or not, but it's just the way I'm wired up. Pretty happy with the results of this one. Onto the next!