STATUE IN MID-DAY SUN

I completed this watercolor some time ago as a study for a larger painting. The statue is situated in downtown Washington DC and is a favorite of mine. I first saw it on one of my many walks around the city and was really taken by the light and shadow along with all the intricacies of the work. After finishing a small on-site study, the painting was completed in the studio. Unfortunately this is not the best pic of the finished painting but it is the only one I have. I am unable to take a better photo of it as I have since lost sight of this work - if anybody knows where this painting is, please let me know, thanks.
Statue In Mid-day Sun is 11" X 7.5".

SPRING EVENING NEAR QUIMBY BRIDGE

A few years ago I spent some time with a friend driving about the South Virginian waterways looking at the sights, exploring backwaters and painting. It was a memorable time and important for me as it made me appreciate the Eastern Shore and brought an understanding to my work that hadn't been there before. This is one of the paintings to come out of that trip and I remember some amazing sunsets that has inspired me to paint more skies. In this work, I have concentrated more on the reflection of the late evening clouds and kept the colors reduced to a limited palette. For me, there is no better experience than being out in nature seeing things first-hand and now that the weather is beginning to warm up, I'll be out painting that much more. This oil is 9" X 12". SOLD.

SUNDOWN NEAR BEAVER LAKE

Well here is my first post for 2012! I have been away for an extended holiday and unfortunately wasn't able to post from where I was staying. So I wanted to take this time to wish my followers and friends a very belated Happy New Year!
I have a lot to catch up on with much news and new paintings so here to start is an oil that I did last year. This one started out as more of a study than a finished painting as it developed from an idea that I had in my head so had to rely on my memory for most of the details. I wasn't sure if it would work out so at the beginning I started in quite roughly laying in the sky and lower clouds. When I could see that something close to my expectations was emerging, I slowed down and using more paint cleaned up the painting and added more detail. The work all stemmed from a short photography trip that I took with my friend Paco late last year. Looking at his beautiful and somewhat unusual photographs over the years, I have been inspired to try harder with my own photos. It was only when returning from the trip that I happened to look back and saw this view. I distinctly remember a deep vibrant red across the horizon with purplish clouds above. My camera's CF card was full so couldn't even take a photo of it and had to rely on my memory. I feel I did come close to what I saw in this work but may still do a little work on the foreground but I'm quite happy with the painting as it is. Size is 18" X 24".

LATE SUMMER CLOUDS

With this small painting, I was initally attracted to the scene by the soft puff-ball clouds in the sky. Where I live on the East coast of the US, I don't see them that often so was eager to include them in this painting. The scene is near the Fraser river in Canada just south of Vancouver where I have had the pleasure of staying for some time these past few years and still have many happy menories working there. I kept the landscape relatively simple so as to keep most of the interest up in the sky area. Being one of my smaller works, I was able to complete it within a few days. Size is 8" X 10", oil on canvas.

GOLDEN EAGLE

Being able to draw this beautiful eagle close-up was a chance that I couldn't miss, fortunately the drawing went well right from the start as my time was limited. But all the same, it took far longer than I had anticipated and frankly was happy that I had finished this piece. I don't often do that many drawings as completed works but this one was a wonderful introduction to the character and structure of this eagle. This is the first time I have worked on this species, mainly due to the fact that I haven't seen that many of them in the wild. This bird (in a wildlife rehab center) had been injured and couldn't be released so it was the perfect opportunity to gather details that couldn't be seen in the wild. I used a few different grades of graphite pencils for this one ranging from HB to 2B. The size is 9" X 11". SOLD.

IMMATURE BALD EAGLE, PART 3

Working on the feather tips with pale brown gouache finally brought out the beauty in this young eagles' plumage. I did have to subtly darken a few areas and if truth be told, I may stil go back and do a bit of work here and there but for now I'm calling it finished. I did alter the curve of the neck slightly and perhaps this area also needs a bit of work. Some of the finer details were added right at the end as until this point, I just trying to get accuracy in tones and chroma. Apart from the eye, nearly all these smaller details come at the very end. Working with gouache is a little easier than working with pure watercolor and for studies like this is probably the preferred way to go. I thought that this would be the last in this series but I may just take another look at the first one I did (especially since this one was a quick study) and see if I can make a little more of it. I also have access to an adult Golden Eagle in a raptor rehab center so may well go there soon and visit. This study is 8.5" X 7.5", watercolor and gouache on 100% ragboard.

IMMATURE BALD EAGLE, PART 2

Quite a lot of work has been completed so far and the painting is nearing the end. It didn't take me very long to get to this point but from here on the work will slow down as I tackle some of the more intricate details of the eagles' plumage. I have done very little opaque overpainting so far, instead concentrating on getting the base tones accurate. There is still some darkening to do but I'm pleased with it so far. The eye is basically complete as is the bill although there are some darker tones to be added here too along with some finer details and some modeling. Next I'll start on adding the pale tips that many of the head feathers have then finish up with the final smaller details etc.