THE ART OF NATURE

2012-01-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

I have bird feeders placed around my house in areas where I can see them easily from my living room or my studio. The House Finch is a year round visitor. They are beautiful birds and fun to watch.

I wanted this piece to be very simple in composition and design, but the background color needed to compliment the colors of the bird. So far so good. This is an 10X8 painting, so not very big, but who said a painting had to be big to be beautiful?

2012-01-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

The Common Raven is the subject of my latest painting. When I was painting the swan picture I mentioned how hard painting a white bird is......then I painted a black bird! It is difficult, challenging and VERY fun. I know I say I love a lot of birds and animals, and I do, but here it goes...I love Ravens! Fascinating animals, absolutely brilliant, both intellectually and physically.

Stay tuned for the rest of this piece!

2012-01-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

I was able to work on a new piece today. It isn't very big, 8"X14", but it turned out quite nicely.

The original drawing was for an 8X24 piece with two other bull elk, but it just wasn't working out the way I wanted it to. I almost threw the whole thing in the garbage can! After taking a closer look at this particular Elk I decided I could make it work. It came together very well and everything clicked.

I now have to decide how to implement my trademark bird subject into this piece and it will be done.

"Prime Time" Oil on hardboard

2011-12-31T16:51:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Snow Angel"

16x20

Oil on hardboard

2011-12-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

This is my very first oil painting! I was 14 years old when I painted it. I had done many pencil drawings before I painted this picture. My mother painted with oils all the time and I told her I wanted to learn how to paint.

She was very patient with me.....I remember complaining more than a little bit that I couldn't paint. She kept encouraging me and this is the end result.

It now hangs in my studio! It is one of the first things I see when I walk through the door. It is a reminder of many things, but mostly of my Mom and her patience and kind words as I struggled through this piece.

I didn't immediately begin working exclusively in oils though. I kept doing graphite drawings and then I moved on to colored pencils. It wasn't until 2004 that I started painting with oils again.

2011-11-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest piece! The Pronghorn is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful of American land animals. They are very fast and they can see for miles.

I want to portray a buck pronghorn in his element, a flat grassy prairie. He rules here, he is the Prince of the prairie.

2011-11-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

Remember this piece? I started it quite a while ago. I got it out the other day and started working on it again.

It has a bit of a different feel to it than what I usually do.

It isn't very often that I paint figurative work but sometimes I just have to.

I want this one to have a mystical feel to it. I'm not sure how it will end up but I am having fun finding out.

2011-11-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

Making some progress on the Mule Deer piece and the Trumpeter Swan piece.

It feels good when a painting starts to take shape and I know what the "plan" is.

The Trumpeter piece is so exciting! I love it. I am still deciding on how to place the Swan, but I like the feeling of the white bird against a dark background.

I also worked on an older painting that I started quite a while ago and I started a new painting! I will post pics of them soon. Thanks for visiting.

2011-11-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here is another painting that I started this week. Ahhh, Mule Deer, you gotta love them. The reference photos for this piece were taken in Wyoming, we have a "secret place" that we go to every year, there are some BIG bucks there! The nice thing about being an artist is I can use my artistic license to increase the antler size of deer if I want to, I did change this buck a little but not too much.

Obviously the deer need a place to live.......that is coming soon.

2011-11-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have been spending my time lately moving into my new studio space! It has been a long process, it feels good to get back to painting.

This is one of my newest pieces.

I don't know what it is about Trumpeter Swans but I am fascinated by them. They are one of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. They are elegant and graceful.

Because they are a white bird they are quite difficult to paint, especially the head and neck. I am not satisfied with the head or neck on this piece, I need it to dry for a while before I work on it some more.

White on white is not easy. The play of shadow and light is essential in making this painting work.

Do I know what I am going to do with the legs and feet yet?.......No. Stay tuned.

2011-08-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Background is coming together on the elk piece. The water is still just an under painting, hopefully it will work the way I want it to.

I like this big boy. Still working on the perfect title for this piece. I may not make a decision until it is finished.

2011-08-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the first shot of a new painting I started. It has been a while since I have painted an elk.....so here ya go.

Usual prep on the canvas, transferred drawing onto canvas with white graphite paper and proceeded to paint.

Usually I start with the eye and the face of the animals I paint, I started on the antlers on this piece. The reference photo is of a bull in Yellowstone who was kind enough to pose for us for a couple of hours. He was indeed a beautiful animal.

2011-07-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on the Coyote piece, not only is it a nighttime scene but it is also a winter scene! It just kind of came together that way. It has a nice balance of warm and cool colors.

I am excited to keep working on it and watch it come together.

2011-07-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

Making progress on the Coyote piece. Besides being an artist I also work part time as a Veterinary Technician. It is interesting how that job assists my work as an artist.

I strive for accuracy in my subjects, both in physical form and in personality and working with animals everyday helps me do that.

I do everything that a human nurse does, only I do it with animals! I am very familiar with the bone structure, muscles and anatomy of dogs, cats, horses, cows etc. etc. and that helps me so much in my art work.

I am pleased with the way this piece is coming together, I have 95% decided that it will be a night scene and I have already decided what the bird reference will be. Stay tuned for that!

2011-07-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

I am getting very close to completing this painting! It is starting to feel like what I had in my mind when I decided to do this piece.

The little bit of foliage at the base of the rock is all it takes to "seat" the rock and make it solid.

I added a few more minor details to the eagle itself and a little more detail to the rocks.

Now I need to study it for a couple of days and I will be able to decide if it is finished.

2011-07-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

I was able to get a little more done on the Coyote today, it is slow going on this one as I want the texture of the fur to be just right. Some artists paint every hair, and that is great.....I am not one of those artists. I want to give the impression of the coat without having to paint every hair.

The lighting on this piece is tricky as well, keeping the shadows where they need to be and balancing light and dark. I have decided that birds are much easier to paint than mammals. But I love the challenge.

Still deciding on the setting and time of day for this piece. I think about things like that while I am painting the main subject. At the rate this one is going I should have lots of time to decide.

2011-07-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

The bald eagle finally has something to stand on! The composition still needs to remain simple on this piece so I don't want to over do this part, but it needs to match the feel of the piece as well.

I want to convey the feeling that the eagle is very high, so just the sky will be the back ground. But the rock needs to feel supported as well.

I am getting anxious for this piece to be complete but I need to let the under painting dry before I can continue..........patience.

2011-07-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Close up of the front part of the Coyote piece. I love working with shadows and the play of light on fur. This is going to be so much fun!

2011-07-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

This is a painting that I started a few days ago and I worked on it in between other pieces. The Western Tanager is a very shy, very beautiful bird that visits our area briefly each year.

After they grace us with their presence they head up to the mountains to nest.

This is a small piece, 10x8 on hardboard. So much fun to do!

2011-07-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Started a new painting today, transferred the preliminary sketch onto prepared hardboard with white graphite paper this time as the background is quite dark.

Can't decide if the scene will be a stormy scene or a nighttime scene.

Love them or hate them you have to admit that Coyotes are a beautiful animal. I am excited to start this piece!

P.S. I happen to love Coyotes.

2011-06-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Still making progress on the Eagle piece. Did a little bit more on the head today, it is nice to finally have a head on this beautiful bird! The underpainting is very important, especially when the area to be painted is white. If I just lay down a layer of white it looks very flat. the underpainting gives it depth and dimension. Not finished yet, but getting there.

Now I have to decide what to have the Eagle standing on. I want to work a little more on the eye and beak as well.

2011-06-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Remember this one? I started it a while ago. It took a while for it to start "feeling right" but it is finally coming together. I know it looks a little strange with no head but I am working from the bottom up on this one. I have the underpainting on the head complete. This piece is 36X24 on hardboard. It will be a simple yet hopefully powerful painting.

2011-06-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

Making progress on the Red Breasted Nuthatch piece. I love painting! It makes me happy.

2011-06-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have been watching a Red Breasted Nuthatch that comes to eat sunflower seeds from the feeder, it's beak isn't strong enough to break the seed open so it wedges the seed into the bark of the tree that the feeder hangs from and then pecks away at the seed until it breaks open and then the Nuthatch can enjoy the seed inside.

It is fascinating to watch. Apparently it is occasionally unsuccessful at getting the seed open as I have noticed sunflower plants growing from the bark of the tree!

These are wonderful little birds and very acrobatic in their movements as they crawl around on the branches and trunks of trees.

I prepared the canvas as usual, did a quick sketch and began painting. The complimentary colors that naturally occur on this little bird make my job very easy.

2011-06-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished painting!

Untitled

16"x20"

Oil on Hardboard

2011-06-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Back to the Pintail piece today! I darkened the sky a little, added some more grass and put some more detail on the main duck.

Not a lot of changes, but I like the mood

of the piece.

2011-05-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

We had a wedding in the family! So I took a little break from painting for a while, I had started this piece before the events and it is now time to finish it up. It is a smaller piece, 16x8. I have many different birds at my feeders right now and the Black Capped Chickadee is one of them.

They are nesting in one of the trees in our back yard again this year which makes me very happy!

They are very shy about having their pictures taken so it is a bit challenging to get reference material but I did manage to get this great shot of one.

I am excited to return to this piece and also to the Pintail and Bald Eagle pieces that I started recently.

2011-04-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

This is a rather large piece, it will be simple in it's composition. I started with a grayed down background, added some lavender highlights to represent the sky. Then I transferred my sketch to the canvas. I am hoping this piece turns out the way I see it in my head.

2011-04-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

I called in "Lazy" to work today! I felt the need to paint. I worked a little on the Pintail piece, here is the result. I am excited about the way it is coming together. I need to warm it up a bit, it is a stormy day for these Pintails and the elements are on the cool side, but I do need to add some warmer colors. I will do that as soon as what I did today has had time to dry.

I have had to teach myself patience. I want to see the end result without all the work that needs to be done in the middle. Fortunately I paint thin, meaning that my paint is not applied very thick at all. That way it dries faster. I am also working on another

Bald Eagle piece, I will show the results of that in the next post. I may start another painting today as well!

2011-03-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

Yay for weekends! Working on the Pintail piece today. The ducks now have some land to stand on, and some water to swim on. The sky is coming together as well.

It still has a way to go, but I love watching a piece come together!

2011-03-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

I was able to work on the Pintail piece quite a bit today, I finished most of the main duck, I need to wait for the paint to dry a bit before I can put the pin striping and the lacing on the feathers.

Painting and creating beautiful pieces of artwork make me very happy, it is my therapy. I love that my family comes in and visits me while I am in my studio and I love that my boxer, Gracie, lays right next to me. I think she enjoys the therapy as well.

I strive for a feeling of peace in my paintings, even the predator pieces that I do have a peaceful quality about them.

Nature is cruel sometimes. I have

been watching a live webcam of a pair

of Bald Eagles as they made repairs to their nest, went through the courting and mating process, laid two eggs and incubated them for 35 days. The first egg hatched and then, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the male was unable to bring food to the nest, and the young eagle died. The other egg failed to hatch. It has been hard to watch but that is why I love nature, it is not always pretty, but it is always beautiful.

Hopefully the Eagle pair will be able to nest again, with better results.

I hope you will check back occasionally to take a look at my work.

Thanks for stopping by.

2011-03-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

The head of the second duck is finished

That's it, that's all there is to say on

this post.

2011-03-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

The first Pintail is almost finished, I don't want a lot of detail in this bird because it will be pushed back a bit. The main focus will be on the bigger bird.

Pintails are beautiful birds, they have stenciling on many of their feathers which will be a challenge to paint. I love the iridescent coloring on their head. I look forward to moving on to the bigger duck!

2011-03-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

Started another painting today, I have spent the last few days deciding what I wanted to paint and finally decided on Northern Pintails. Here is the initial sketch that I transferred onto my canvas. I got quite a bit done today and will post the progress of the painting over the next few days.

2011-02-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

I was organizing my desk top on the computer and came across some amazing images from last fall, the lighting was perfect and the colors exploded on the mountain. I was hoping that the camera would do justice to what my eye was seeing, believe it or not the camera fell a little short.

I wish I was good enough with words to explain what seeing places like this do to me, I don't know words to express the emotions I feel when I am in nature.

I am hoping to use this particular image as a reference for a future painting, I feel a sense of inadequacy at the prospect of doing so.

God IS the master artist!

2011-02-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

Can't seem to quit working on this piece today. The face still isn't what I want it to be but it is getting there. I will have to sleep on it tonight and get it figured out. I do like the hair more and so far I am happy with the dress. I am sure it will be on my mind during the night and in the days to come.

2011-02-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

Here is the first part of the Native American piece I started earlier. This piece will be somewhat of a challenge for me, I welcome the challenge! I know what I want the finished painting to look like but it will take a lot of work to get it that way.

It may take a while to get it done, and I may switch to other pieces during the process.

2011-02-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

In the meantime, I painted this piece today. It is a smaller piece 12x9. It came together fairly quickly and it was exciting to paint it! Another one of my favorite birds and one that frequently visits my feeders this time of year, the Black Capped Chickadee. Scroll down to see different stages of the painting.

2011-02-11T15:17:00.000-08:00

I am back in the studio and it feels good!

I have started a totally new painting, I will revisit

the other ones but I need to start fresh. This one

will be a Native American painting. I am excited

about getting it done.

The usual prep work was done for the hardboard canvas

and the background colors were applied.

It needs to dry and then I can get started

on the subject.

2010-12-05T16:24:00.000-08:00

Back at the easel! The main subject of this painting is a secret for now. I prepared the canvas in the usual way, then laid in the main sky color which is a purple/blue color, I then started with the clouds. This particular photo does not show the true color of the clouds, they are actually a nice pink color.

This is a fairly large piece, 24x30, just a little bit shorter than the deer picture I just finished. I like the action of the sky, it will suit the main subject quite well. I may tweak a few things but it won't be too noticeable.

2010-11-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

Went on an "inspiration outing" over the weekend. The following images on this post are a result of that trip.

This particular location is one of our favorites, for obvious reasons. It was great to get out and experience nature.

I have finished the deer painting, so now I will move on to something else. I am not sure yet what it will be, but that is the great part about being a wildlife artist.......endless possibilities!

2010-11-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Almost done!! I love it when a painting comes together. I am anxious to get this piece completed. It has taken a lot longer than the average painting but I am pleased with the results.I just need to add a few rocks and plants,and a bird or two of course.

2010-11-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

I love oils......for a lot of reasons, one of which is if I change my mind on something it is easy to change the painting......o.k. not necessarily easy, but it is possible.

I dismissed the first doe and she walked off the canvas, I then invited this doe into the piece and changed the fawn into a little two point!

I am much happier with it now.

I think the buck is happier with this doe as well. The two point though looks like he wants out of the painting! Now I need to get some more plants and rocks in before I can finish the legs of the deer.

2010-11-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hey! I am back! I went through a little artist slump but am back in the studio now. I added a smaller deer to the piece, I am not entirely happy with the original doe and I am debating whether or not to keep her in the painting.

I had the opportunity to get outdoors during my "slump" and I was able to see a lot of deer and observe them up close and personal.

I was reminded of the fact that they are very smart. I love watching them interact with each other.

I saw one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen last week, not as big as the buck in this piece, but a very big four point. Beautiful animal! It was seeing deer and watching them in the wild that got my artistic juices flowing again. That and the fact that I have two shows to get ready for.

2010-09-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just an update photo on this piece. I have decided that I really like painting pronghorn!

2010-09-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from the other painting for a few days, have to work out a couple of problems and I need some time away from it to help decide what to do.

So.......I started a new one! This is the painting I started before the deer painting but I have changed the background a lot! I like it better now. It was either change the background or toss the whole canvas in the garbage, so I reworked it.

Obviously it will be a pronghorn painting. It took a while to work out the composition from about 6 different photos taken at two different locations. I may still tweak a couple of things, we'll see. I love the color of pronghorn and I think their color will work well with the colors in the background.

2010-09-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

There is now a girl in the painting! The other deer in this piece need to be there without obviously being there. I still want the main focus to be on the buck, because he deserves it.

Composition is crucial in this piece so that I can keep that focus where it needs to be.

There are a couple of things going on in this piece that I am not entirely happy with, but life isn't necessarily about being happy all the time, right? So I will keep working on it until I am satisfied. This painting is taking longer than most but the end result will be worth it.

2010-09-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Landscape portion of this piece is coming together, now my boy has a place to live! I may end up making this painting a little larger than is shown here. My canvas is larger but I have only painted this much of it, so I can add to it if I need to. There will be other deer in this painting, some in the far background and some up close.

2010-09-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the main subject of my latest painting. The really nice thing about being an artist is this thing called "artistic license", it means I can make animals look the way I want them to look! Sometimes bigger and better than the reference animal was! This is my dream deer. I can't say that I have seen a buck this big in the wild, but I have seen them like this in my dreams. So here he is. I may end up changing the area that he lives in a bit but I am happy with how he has turned out. Now I will make him happy and add a doe or two.

2010-08-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

I started two new paintings this week, I didn't know if I wanted to post pictures of the progress on this one, but the other one isn't working quite the way I want it to.......so...... this is the one you get. It is a little farther along than I had intended, but that happens. Regular prep of the hardboard canvas, this time I didn't do much in the way of a initial sketch, I decided to "wing" this one. I think the main subject will be a mule deer, we'll see. The inspiration for the landscape on this piece is up Willard Canyon, an absolutely beautiful place that we found last year. There is no way I will ever be able to get the rocks to look the way they actually do in real life but I will do my best. Stay tuned.

2010-08-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

I have been working quite a bit on this piece. I took this painting to a show in Wyoming recently and displayed it with a "work in progress" sign on it. I had many people tell me to take the sign off and call it done. The longer I looked at it the more I decided that maybe it is finished!

I was going to add some leaves floating on the water or some grasses in the water, but now I don't know. I like it the way it is! Simple but powerful.

I still need to study it a bit more. There are certainly a couple of touch up things I need to do but perhaps it is done.

2010-08-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Spent a a few hours at the easel today! I was able to work on the Yellow Warbler piece quite a bit. I seriously lose track of time when I am painting.....I have no idea how long I was in my studio, but it felt good.

I wanted the stick that the Warblers are sitting on to have a lot of personality, it is almost as important to this piece as the birds themselves. I wanted it to be a story all by itself.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, the lighting in my studio is great for painting but now for photographing.

2010-08-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Recently returned from a 12 day trip to Alaska, what an amazing place! The scenery was amazing. Glacier bay was my favorite day of the trip, so beautiful.

We saw Humpback whales, Sea otters, Orca, Harbor seals, Terns, Bald Eagles, Brown bear, Puffin, and plenty of Seagulls!

Can't wait to go back again, but I want to get a little closer to the wildlife.

I have been away from the easel for a while and I am anxious to get back to painting. I will be leaving for an art show in Sheridan, Wyoming this weekend and would like to get some more painting time in before then. Hopefully I will have some updated photos for you soon. Thanks for checking in.

2010-07-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

It has certainly been a while since I posted anything, but I have been busy! I have finished the second warbler.

I love these birds! They are so much fun to watch and that makes them fun to paint.

I have been getting some reference photos for the water part of this painting, I have a lot of ideas but I am not sure which one I will go with just yet, so for now I will just concentrate on the main subject. Once again I am afraid the hardest part of the painting will not be the birds but the stick they are perched on!

2010-06-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

First bird almost completed. If you have ever seen Yellow Warblers you know they are beautiful little birds.....bright yellow with rust colored "stripes" on their breasts. They move so quickly that they seem like little yellow streaks when they fly by. I want to capture their energetic personality.

This piece will show two males, the females are beautiful as well, a somewhat greenish yellow with no rust coloration.

2010-06-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Currently on the easel:

On our recent trip to two National Parks we went to a small wooded area where we usually photograph Ospreys on their nest. We were a little early for the Ospreys so we continued walking and found small ponds where Yellow Warblers were staking their territories and looking for mates.

The painting I have started is a composition made from three different photos. It will be a water scene.....hence the double image with the lower half the reflection.

I again prepared the canvas in the usual manner and painted a dark, olive green underpainting. When this was dry I transferred my drawing onto the canvas using white graphite paper. I used a brighter graphite paper because sometimes the darker one is too hard for my aging eyes to see.

2010-06-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Just finished up the Summerfest Art Faire in Logan Utah. It was three beautiful, sunny days of art fun. I met many fascinating artists and got reacquainted with others I already knew.

I bid a fond farewell to my paining titled: "Dance at Emma Matilda".

It was purchased by wonderful people who I know will give it a loving home.

It is always a little hard to sell one of my paintings, I put a lot of myself into each one. But that is why I do what I do...so that others can enjoy them as much as I do.

I was also able to share many reproductions of other paintings with clients as well. It was a successful show, one that I always enjoy participating in.

2010-06-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Another finished painting!

I made a few minor changes to the rocks and plants and called it good!

I have started another painting already so stay tuned.......

2010-06-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Started adding reeds and grasses to introduce some warmer colors into the piece. May keep them there, may not. Don't want too much going on in this painting, but I do want to keep the viewers eye moving around.

2010-06-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

Getting closer to completing this one. I added some more rocks and will start adding some plant life soon. I am happy with the way this one is coming together. So far so good!

FYI, I have completed the Mourning Dove painting, refer to post under this one.

2010-06-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

It is finished!! Needed the extra branch to center the birds. Chose the colors for the branches because of the warmth that they added.

Now I just need to come up with a title, sign it, frame it and it will be good to go! Thanks for joining me on this one, it was fun. I have added this one to my list of favorites!

2010-06-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well........Here it is! Not sure if it is done yet but it is getting there. The doves look a little more comfortable now that they have a place to rest.

I may end up adding another branch or two for compositional purposes but want to keep it simple.

2010-06-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the Canada goose painting lately, I was never really happy with the background geese (refer to previous post), so I decided to just do away with them! Because I paint on hardboard I can just cut off the piece I didn't want! So now these two geese are all that remain of the original painting. Isn't it great being an artist and deciding what to keep and what to delete?

I am much happier with the piece like this.

I finally gave the first goose something to stand on. Water is a tricky business....it will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

I am also working on two other paintings right now, a Bald Eagle painting and the Dove painting that I have been posting. Keep scrolling down to see how the Dove painting is progressing. It is almost done!

2010-06-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Jumped ahead a bit to the completion of the second dove. I did take photos of the process but decided you saw the process with the first dove so I wanted to get the completed doves posted.

I am happy with the results so far! Now I need to decide what to position the doves on. Believe it or not this is the hardest decision so far! Check in to see what I decide.

2010-06-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Been out of town for about a week! Went to Yellowstone and Teton National Parks for some R & R and inspiration. Was able to get both!

Now onto the second dove. Again, I wanted to capture the softness of the feathers as well as the "glow". I started with the eye and face on this dove. Same technique as the first dove.

2010-05-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Finished the first dove! I won't say that getting
the feathers to look the way I wanted them to was easy but I am happy with the results.
The dove has the softness and color I want, now
on to dove number two!

2010-05-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Mourning Dove is a soft bird, with unique coloration. I need to portray that softness and coloration into my painting. I wanted the feathers to have depth and dimension.

When a dove is perched, resting, it fluffs it's feathers out slightly, the challenge here is to give that illusion that the feathers are fluffed.

The contrast between the blue coloration (cool) and the peach or tan coloration (warm) will hopefully work together. Painting is always a series of trial and error. I love the soft blue/gray color against the soft brown/peach color. I will keep going with that and see what happens! Stay tuned!

2010-05-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

I actually started with the tail of the dove instead of
the eye this time......I really don't know why. It just
seemed like the right thing to do.

I wanted this piece to glow, so I used complimentary
colors next to each other.
I love Mourning Doves, they are the epitome of
gentleness and peace. That is what I am striving for
in this painting. The Mourning Doves finally showed
up at my feeder a couple of weeks ago so I was
able to get a few reference pictures. I always breathe
a sigh of relief when they return. I love to hear
them sing their quiet song. Their colors are
amazing.

I am not entirely sure where this piece is going
as far as the background is concerned, but I am
happy with it so far.

2010-05-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

Started a new piece!! I will switch back
and forth between this piece and the
Canada Goose painting that I have
already posted.

Once again I started by graying my

canvas, then using graphite paper I

transferred my drawing onto the canvas.

This painting will be of two Mourning

Doves.

2010-05-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Started working on the main subject, I love the contrast on Canada Geese, the white "chin strap" against the black head. I had a particularly hard time with the eye of this goose. I knew what I wanted it to look like and I had to re-work it several times before I was satisfied.

2010-04-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

I am not quite back to painting yet but wanted to give you a heads up on one of the pieces I started before my surgery.
The canvas was prepared in the usual fashion, the composition was done using a number of different photos that I took of one of my favorite subjects, the Canada Goose.
These four geese will not be the main subject of the piece, I will show you that part in a future post, these are painted quite quickly, using very little detail. They will be an important part of the painting though, giving it depth.
I haven't decided what the final landscape part of this piece will look like yet, there will be water though. I admit that water does cause me a little stress, it is difficult to get it looking right, but I love a good challenge.
Stay tuned with me as we follow this piece through to completion!

2010-04-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoyed the process of the painting of "Junco with Leaves". I certainly enjoyed painting it.
I have been unable to paint for the last few days, and won't be painting for at least a few more....I had surgery on my shoulder two days ago. My right shoulder has been bothering me for the last 8-9 months, it was starting to interfere with a lot of things that I love to do so I went to the doctor and after x-rays, and an MRI it was determined that I had Acromio clavicular arthropathy!! My shoulder joint and the end of my clavical (collar bone) have a lot of arthritis going on. The doctor said it is not unusual to see arthritis like this starting in people in their late 60's and early 70's.....I am not one of those people yet.
After much discussion I decided to go the surgery route. The surgery went well, the anesthesiologist gave me a nerve block through my neck which totally numbed me from the tip of my ear, down my neck, my entire shoulder, through the right side of my back and chest and my entire arm down to my fingertips. It was crazy weird but I had absolutely no pain for 18 hours. I also had no idea where my arm was for 18 hours.
Now that the nerve block has worn off I am thankful for Lortab and ibuprofen. I will be back to painting before too long, and that is good because I am currently working on three new pieces! See you soon.

2010-04-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

THE FINISHED PAINTING
I decided I was happy with the bird itself but most definately not happy with the leaves. I worked and reworked the three main leaves until I was happy with the results. I added a few more twigs to the main branch and walked away! Hope you enjoyed the process, I will do it again soon. "Junco with Leaves" 24x12 oil on hardboard.

2010-04-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

Whoa! apparently I got a little carried away painting the bird! That's how it goes though. I also reworked the leaves in the last session as well, still not happy with them though. I will keep at it until they look right. I am almost happy with the way the Junco looks, I may still tweak a few minor things. Almost done! Keep checking in.

2010-04-16T21:14:00.001-07:00

After painting the branch close to where I want it to be I started focusing on the bird. There are three color variations in the Dark Eyed Juncos, but they are all called Dark Eyed Juncos. The one that I decided to paint has a very dark head and a very light breast. I love the contrast of the two.
I usually start with the head and eye of my main subject but I wanted to get the darkest value of this painting down so that I could compare the rest of the painting to it. Then I laid down the lightest value of the painting next. The bird is starting to take shape....it is exciting!

2010-04-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

One more post for today. I feel that this is all backwards so be sure to scroll down to to the bottom to see the beginning of this painting. It is like reading in reverse!

I sometimes get so wrapped up in the process of painting that I forget to take pictures. I was almost done with the branch and leaves in this piece before I remembered that I was supposed to record the process, sorry about that.

So I painted the branch and leaves.....I was not happy with the way the leaves looked but decided to come back and rework them later. I wanted to spend the majority of this session working out the shading and tones of the branch. It had to be there but not really be there if that makes sense. A lot of this piece is going to be left as negative space. The canvas size is 24x12 so it is fairly tall, my goal is to have the viewers eye go directly to the bird but there has to be "supporting characters" as well, that is where the branch and leaves come into play.

Be sure to stay tuned to see how this painting turns out...........see you soon!

2010-04-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Here I am again! I am doing a few posts today so that I can catch up. To continue with this particular piece.......after allowing the gray layer to dry I sketch a simple drawing onto the canvas. This sketch varies in detail depending on what I am painting. I took reference photos for this piece from right out my front room window! The Dark Eyed Juncos visit all winter long, they love the feeder that I placed there. They make excellent subjects but don't stand still for very long so a camera comes in handy. I probably took around 200 reference photos for this one piece.

2010-04-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

OK, We are going to give this a try. Be patient with me as I am new at this, I have decided that I just need to dig in and figure this blogging thing out. So here we go.

I will be posting recent paintings that I have either started, am currently working on, or have completed. I will give input and information through each step of the process.

We will start with a piece I call "Junco with leaves" I started by priming hardboard with at least 3 coats of gesso, lightly sanded between each coat. This gives me a good sturdy foundation for the painting. It is very archival and will stand the test of time. I like this method because it is definately less expensive for me to make my own canvases rather than buying them and I can cut them to any size I need.

After the gesso has hardened I am ready to paint! There is nothing more intimidating than a white canvas so I start by "graying" it. Applying a layer of paint to tone it down. A grayed background also helps the colors to glow.