I did this small painting almost as an experiment. After stretching a piece of watercolor paper, I gave it a few coats of gesso then when that had dried, laid in a diffuse grey background in oils. I let that layer dry for a few days then painted in the bird using fine soft brushes. I needed a few passes leaving the painting to dry in between them so the work took a little longer than usual, but I'm quite happy with the result. I'm sure that I will do more paintings like this. Size is 11" x 7".
Over the past winter, we were able to observe Bald Eagles daily from where we were staying on the Eastern Shore. Apart from the resident pair, there were quite a few other eagles around too mostly feeding along the coastline but I sometimes saw them in the large bean field nearby. Occasionally mist would blow in from the sea and I would often try to capture the effects this had on the landscape. In this painting, an adult eagles is flying towards the distant tree-line which is diffuse and somewhat flat. I used mostly tones of grey for this with only slightly warmer shades in the foreground. Size is 9" x 12", oil on canvas.
Wanting to paint a snow scene, I re-visited a favorite place near where we lived for more reference and a little pre-study. Fortunately these barns are still standing and I liked the way the morning sun lit up their ends and the siloes. The snow was of a much deeper bluish shade and this I really wanted to capture in my painting so I took care to mix the correct tones before finishing with the darker trees in the background. I started the painting in mid-winter but only recently finished it! Size is 9" x 12", oil on canvas.
During our long walks along the beach in winter, apart from gulls, Willets were the most common bird seen and we spent hours observing them. They were almost always present, usually in small groups but sometimes solitary. In winter plumage, they are a little on the drab side but then most waders are. Still, they made very interesting subjects for me and I'm still working on studies of them although I have yet to put together a work that will show them off to their best. This watercolor study was done in my Canson sketchbook - size is 12" x 9".
While walking through a small town in Spain, I followed an alleyway and came to this orange door. Everything seemed to draw me in, the off white walls, the narrow walkway and the sunlit area surrounding the door at the end. I did this study in in oil and has become something of a milestone for me as it has opened the possibility for doing other and more complex paintings of scenes like this. For simplicity, I kept this one small, size is 7" x 5".
I did this small study on a cold and cloudy winter's day. The wind was biting but I managed to get enough information to finish this painting off at home. We often walked along the shore there and I found many painting opportunities, some of which I have noted for future works. This one is an oil on canvas, size 7" x 5".
