"House Deer" 36 by 48 inches. I painted this pair of black tailed deer strolling down a street and stopping to inspect the shrubs of a house in a typical Victoria deer nonchalant fashion. I wanted to have the warm abstract background replace any sign of pavement or a street so while recognize houses the scene still feels wild.

The foreground of the urban wildlife acrylic painting “House Deer” shows a Vancouver Island deer painted in realistic detail as she inspects a deer-resistant Barberry or Barberis shrub. The back and feet of the deer fade into the painterly brushed landscape giving an effect of transparent realms of existence.

A realistic black-tailed deer stands alert in the foreground; its fur rendered with lifelike detail but remaining partially transparent, allowing textured dabs of green behind the deer to be seen. The abstract background, composed of swirling green and earth tones, evokes the lush landscapes of Victoria, BC, blending manufactured elements of suburban life with the serene beauty of nature.

Heavy acrylic brushwork with Naples Yellow, white and a cool grey set up a splattered sunrise for a suburban Victoria, BC landscape. The sky is the largest character in this painting, and I was quite happy with how much room I gave it to breath.

Orange streaks of acrylic paint flung onto a Naples yellow and white background suggest a Victoria sunrise while tugging pools of teal and green paint add a palette of earth and shrub tones. A house is drawn with thin paint lines revealing windows, a door and a garage while remaining mostly transparent and blending with the abstract splashes.

A Japanese maple tree blends its maroon leaves into a warm abstract sunset while being a semi-transparent layer in front of a house in this suburban Victoria landscape. It was a challenge to give only light brushwork where the purple maple meets the orange sky towards the bottom of the picture. I often want to add more detailed structure, yet now I’m happy with how this area was left.

Resting in my studio before bringing further expression, the original artwork started as an action painting where large brushes were used to throw and spread in wet orange, Naples yellow, teal and green acrylic paint. The upper warm part of the canvas occupies most of the space, which led to a wide-open sunset.

I use many, many layers of thin acrylic paint to bring wildlife to life in a painting. I build light and shadow on a subject over and over again, as seen in this photo where I’m starting to bring details alive with this urban Victoria deer. I liked the placement of this deer in as it’s almost grazing off the canvas into the rest of viewers lives.