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Poppy Balser

@poppybalser.bsky.social

530 followers 300 following 330 posts

Watercolour and oil painter. I paint outside when I can. I’m inspired by the sea and natural landscapes of the Canadian Maritimes See my work here: www.poppybalser.com Banner: oil painting of a sailboat Profile: me next to one of my paintings

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · 11h

Hey, #Halifax! Tonight is Nocturne, an annual one-night-only art experience. Dozens of galleries open until late, up to 80 artists presenting their work. I won’t be there, but my paintings are on the wall at Teichert Gallery on Hollis St, in their #Nocturne exhibit. Check it out!

#halisky

Oil painting titled “Weathered Coast” measures 11x14 inches. Shows a rocky basalt shore in South West Nova Scotia. Hazy light highlights the varied colours of the rocks.

Artist statement: This painting is a studio piece based on plein air sketches on a sunny July late afternoon. What I love to paint about these rocks at the later time of day is how as the light slants and angles light reflects, bouncing onto the shaded sides of the rocks and revealing colours that are harder to see at mid-day when the sun is straight overhead. These rocks are ancient basalt, left over from immense lava flows causing mass extinctions over 200 million years ago. As we follow the path over this shore we have no hint of the destruction unleashed when these stones were born. Now the rocks lie peacefully under gentle summer sun and invite us to explore the coast

Watercolour painting titled “Revereberations” measuring 28x38 inches. Shows a rocky coast being washed by immense waves in a November gale. The size of the waves is implied by the trees dotting the coast above the cliffs.

Artist Statement: This painting is based on plein air sketches I made during a November gale on the shores of Point Prim , outside of Digby. I was tucked behind some sheltering rocks as I watched massive waves scour the shore. Over eons similar storms have weathered the rocks and stripped away the topsoil, revealing the bones of the earth below. These stones are truly ancient. They date back to over 200 million years ago, when the piece of land we now call Nova Scotia was part of the super-continent Pangea.

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · 4d

Very interesting report on a basic income program for artists out of Ireland. Supporting artists so they can do their creative work reaps societal benefits! From @halifaxexaminer.ca

www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file...

Regulatory overreach or lessons learned? After the failures that led to the Bloomfield fire, inspectors take aim at Dartmouth's Sanctuary Art Centre - Halifax Examiner

We have fire regulations and fire inspectors for a reason.

www.halifaxexaminer.ca

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · 24d

@seebo429.bsky.social thanks for the repost, much appreciated !

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · 24d

The Open Water 2025 watercolour exhibition I have been working on for months is now open at Teichert Gallery on Hollis St, in Halifax. The show will be up until October 2.

For #Halisky fans of #watercolour, this exhibition is well worth a visit!

#Canadianart #maritimeartists
#halifaxart

Shows two artists, Gary McFarland and Poppy Balser with their paintings hanging in the Open Water 2025 exhibition at Teichert Gallery in Halifax.

Shows 5 watercolour paintings on a wall in Teichert Gallery in Halifax, NS. The wall displays the name of the exhibition, Open Water 2025

Shows the sidewalk sign for the Open Water 2025 Exhibition and the entrance of Teichert Gallery on Hollis street in Halifax. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia banner hangs on the wall in the middle distance.

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · 25d

That is one of my favourite sounds

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · 27d

I thought it was a reasonable peanut butter substitute but my kids got tired of it fairly quickly

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Sep 17

In my role as exhibition Co-Chair:

The 100th anniversary international watercolour exhibition of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour is open at Teichert Gallery in Halifax, NS.

This undertaking took months and many hands. Check it out: Open Water 2025 cspwc.ca/open-water-2...

Open Water 2025 - CSPWC / SCPA

100th OPEN WATERAn International Juried Exhibition in Water MediaExhibition Dates September 11 – October 2, 2025 OPEN WATER 2025 is the 100th Anniversary Juried Exhibition held by the Canadian Society...

cspwc.ca

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 28

Nice work! You’ve really shown volume and transparency here

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 22

I painted this while surrounded by the sea on one side and a sea of roses on the other. The roses were in full bloom and their scent enveloped me as I worked. It was lovely. “Coming Up Roses” 9x12 inch #pleinair #watercolor

#summerlandscape #seaside #flowersonfriday

Watercolour painting of a green seaside meadow dotted with roses. A piece of sun bleached driftwood breaks up the green. An ocean cove is behind the meadow and hazy green trees are behind the cove.

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 18

Hi Hank, much appreciated, thanks!

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 18

“The Setting Sun Moves Quickly” 9x12” watercolour, painted on location last month, at St Peter’s Marina in Cape Breton .

#watercolour #marina #summerscenery #sailboats

Loosely drawn watercolour painting of the patterns of brilliant sunlight reflecting off water in a marina in the evening. The predominant colours are a soft blue with hints of orange to show the brilliance of the sunlight

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 14

Thank you, glad you like it 😊

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 14

Thank you kindly!

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 14

Thank you! I bet sagebrush would be a challenge. Not only is it brushy but also a very neutral grey green, isn’t it?

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 14

Here is a recent plein air painting from my Cape Breton trip: “Sandbars, Islands and Sunshine” 9x12 inches, #watercolour

The Bras d’Or Lakes are dotted with many small islands that curve around protected anchorages. We were anchored nearby and I went ashore to paint.

#BrasdOrLakes #CapeBreton

Watercolour painting of a gravelly beach stretching into the painting, until it curves out of sight behind the grassy shore. Another small rocky beach on a grassy island shows across a channel. In the distance there are treed hills and a small farmhouse amongst the trees.

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 7

This is gorgeous!

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 6

Will do for sure! There’s an even chance I’ll be in the uk sometime in 2026 but plans are still very nebulous.

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 6

I love this painting of Cornwall by @haidee-josummers.bsky.social

I’m hoping to paint there myself someday!

Haidee-Jo Summers Artist @haidee-josummers.bsky.social · Aug 6

Plein air oil painting from Polperro in Cornwall, surely one of the most beautiful harbours anywhere?
#pleinair #oilpainting

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 6

I tried Flashes but with a separate account, and then got busy and haven’t done much with it. I should try again…

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 6

I just love painting the way light lays a trail over water. If there is an interesting background, so much the better!

“Evening Marina” 9x12” painted on location in St. Peter’s, Cape Breton, NS

A watercolour painting of sunlight glinting off the water in a marina. Docked sailboats face toward the viewer, with sunlight glinting off their decks and lines. A dock leads into the painting from the left toward the boats. The predominant colours are blue of the water and shaded boats, a muted yellow orange on the sunlit water and the docks and a band of green in the background hills/trees.

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Aug 6

Lovely, Haidee-Jo!

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Jul 31

For those painters and sketchers in constant search for the perfect travelling sketching kit/paint box, check out the Lintner Modular Paint Box, just launched today! www.kickstarter.com/projects/lin... I am looking forward to trying it out!

Modular Paintbox System for Artists & Sketchers on the Move

Stylish Engineering - Compact, Flexible, Lightweight & Truly Hands-Free. Set Up and Paint Anywhere in Comfort.

www.kickstarter.com

Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Jul 21

I cracked open a new sketchbook for this trip. Here are a couple of pages. I use my sketchbook to test out ideas and document where we’ve been.

#sketching #watercolour #capebreton

Shows a very loose watercolour sketch in a sketchbook on an easel. The sketch shows a view of a farm field and house reflecting in calm water, framed by trees with a hazy blue ridge in the distance. The page is dated July 7, 2025

Shows a sketchbook page with a watercolour sketch of a marina, seen across sparky water, under a sky filled with puffy clouds. Inscription at the bottom of the page: “St Peters Marina, July 5, 2025”

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Jul 19

@brunosevilla.com thank you for reposting

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Poppy Balser @poppybalser.bsky.social · Jul 19

Thank you kindly!