This small cattail marsh is just across the way from where we are staying and I often spend time walking around observing the many birds, animals and insects using this area. Now that it is winter, most of the birds have migrated and for many days, the water is frozen over. Still the place retains it's special charm so that one evening after the sun had set, I looked across at the pines and marveled at the contrast between them and the sky which had taken on a purplish hue. The cattails were lighter accents in the foreground but I kept them subdued so that they only filled that section of the painting and didn't distract from the tree/sky relationship. Size is 10 x 8 inches, acrylic on board.
When we lived at our old house, we would walk most evenings to a nearby hill and watch the sunset. Sometimes I would do quick sketches and small watercolors trying to capture what I saw. The sky and mood changed so quickly, I often had only a very short time to get anything down. The painting shown here was one such an evening as a few minutes later, almost all of the color had faded from the sky. With what I had seen firmly in my memory, I later did a smaller study of the scene when I got back to the studio then modified it a little for this larger painting. Attention is drawn to the farmhouse by the single light shown in one of the windows but I was careful to keep this subtle. Size is 12 x 9 inches, acrylic on canvas.
I found this bottle on one of my walks and decided it was interesting enough to try painting it. The glass is actually a very deep orange so over a dark purplish background, I started with some cadmium orange modified with burnt umber and a touch of black to lay in most of the bottle's shape. I then added highlights - the label was the most difficult and I had to let the off-white dry before adding any of the final details. I do plan on keeping this bottle as I'm sure that I will do more paintings of it! Size is 10 x 8 inches, oil on panel.
I am still exploring ideas using mountains as a main theme hoping to recreate some of the scenes I saw in Alaska. Like so many of my experimental works, I kept this one small and concentrated on heavy side lighting that meant most of the mountainside was in shadow. I completely repainted the darker bluish parts of this painting twice as I wasn't happy with the contrast between these areas and the lighter rocks that were in sunlight. I think I got there in the end though. Size is 7 x 5 inches, acrylic on panel.
I painted this small acrylic nocturne while looking over the boat marina next to where we were staying in Baltimore. I liked the way the lights of the huge Domino Sugars sign was reflected in the water along with the dimmer factory lights below. Various other lights appear amongst the boats giving a little more life to the work - I spent many happy hours out there observing and painting scenes like this. Never thought I would enjoy living in a city like this! Size is 5 x 7 inches, acrylic on board.
After completing the rest of the basket lids, I completely repainted the background as I wanted it to be slightly darker and a little more uniform. When all the paint had dried for a couple of days, I began selectively darkening some areas and cleaning up a few more details here and there. Some of the shadows were also darkened in an attempt to bring the painting together as a whole. I think that I am mostly finished with this one for now but will as usual, put it aside for a bit then take another look and see if there is anything more I want to do to it. Size is 27 x 27 inches (69 x 69 cm). Oil on board.
Having mixed up a wad of dark brown, I laid it over the whole of the background carefully painting around the baskets. This was extremely helpful as apart from covering the glaring white of the primed canvas, it also helped me to ascertain the values of each basket and to decide if they needed any further work. I think I'll wait until I have finished the basket lids until going back to the baskets. And after making a start on the lids, I am finally a lot closer to bringing this painting to a close.
Finishing each basket took a while as I was trying to accurately guess the depth and tone of the areas in shadow while keeping the sunlit areas understated. I kept in mind how I first saw this stack of baskets in diffuse sunlight without that much contrast between the lighter and darker areas, and I wanted to have this effect in my painting. I added some almost pure black (mixed from burnt umber and ultramarine blue) to the gaps then refined my drawing of the basket lids which were stacked on top. I think that the drawing for this one is finished now. And I have come up with a close mix of brown that I want to use in the background (as this area is in shadow) so will be adding this next then seeing how that ties in to the painting.
Next to where we are staying is a restaurant serving crab (along with other dishes) and I walk past the rear of the building almost every day. So when I saw this stack of baskets in the weak sunlight, I thought about making them a subject for a painting. To do them justice, I wanted to paint them life size so cutting the largest board I had into a square, I primed the front using 4 or 5 coats of acrylic primer sanding between each coat. A single thick coat of black acrylic took care of the back. Positioning the baskets on the board and drawing them in detail took most of one day - I left some areas at the top blank as I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do there. Then starting in oil (which I hadn't used for some time), I began working on the lower slats of each basket trying to get close to the actual tone and color as I could but also realizing that the painting would need some adjustment later on. Satisfied with what I had done so far, I left this to dry off for a while. Next I'll finish the lower sections and begin thinking about the background.
We don't always see Great Blue Herons down at our local lake but always look out for them as they are often close to the path that runs around the edge of the water. This allows a quite close approach and as they are usually used to seeing people walking by, I can be sure to get some excellent references as they go about their lives. This bird had taken a pause from fishing and was beautifully back-lit by the early morning sun. After a quick sketch, I began this slightly larger watercolor when we got back home. I used gouache for this study since I had the paints out on my desk but kept the washes thin so as to build up the correct tones. Being slightly more opaque than my usual watercolors, I found the color built up rather quickly so it didn't take long to finish. Size is 12 x 9 inches (30 x 23 cm).
I am a bit behind in my posting on this blog but in an effort to catch up, I give you this smallish watercolor of rocks and water seen on a most amazing visit to Bruny Island with good friends. I believe this is near Penguin Island which we walked to after lunching on a wonderful white-sand beach. The incredible beauty surrounding me while I stood on the shore was one of those moments that will forever live in my mind and I could have stood there for hours just absorbing the land, the sea and the sky. For some reason, it has taken me a long time to fully understand some of what I felt during that trip to Tasmania, truly one of the most incredible place I have visited in the world! This small study is 7.5 x 11 inches (19 x 28 cm), watercolor on Arches paper.
I did this small study in my sketchbook as I am planning a series of rock and water paintings. I have always been drawn to this subject and have done many paintings along this theme in the past. I'm thinking that most of these will be in watercolor as I haven't used this medium in the way it was intended for some time and have created a new folder full of small references that I hope I can convert into paintings. Often though, I start a painting only to abandon it after a while as I begin to see that perhaps my idea isn't going to work out the way that I had intended. Sometimes this is because of my technique which can be perhaps a little more detailed than could be so I am trying to keep most of these watercolors a little looser. It does to some extent though, depend on the painting itself and what are my goals for the finished piece. So with this in mind, I kept the water quite loose in this study and it has seemed to have worked. Perhaps some of this will transfer over to the larger painting when I get to it - I will have to wait and see!
Now that we are heading towards Fall over in this part of the world, I have been seeing a lot of gourds in many of the shops we have visited. After collecting a selection of them, I decided to do a series of paintings featuring these interesting items. As an artist, their many different colors and shapes makes for some exciting images (at least as far as I am concerned) so to get things started, I did this one shown above trying not to spend a lot of time or do anything too detailed. I'm still not sure if the series will be in watercolor or oil, and since this one is a watercolor, I'm expecting the next study to be an oil. Size is 8 x 10 inches (20 x 26cm).
This painting seemed to take forever to finish. I completely repainted the sky and also redid the foreground - twice! Finally though, I think I got closer to what I had in mind a few months ago when I first started it. The idea was formed in my mind one sunny but cold day in early winter while out walking around Chincoteague. Sunlight filtered down from the thin layer of clouds above and lit up the distant water while just above the treeline, a thin layer of blue could be seen that soon disappeared as clouds filled in. The weather quickly turned blustery and cold again so we moved on to see what the rest of the area had to offer. This oil on canvas is 9 x 12 inches.
Whenever I start a new journal, I illustrate the front of each one with a pen and ink drawing. This Short-eared Owl was done on an older journal that I filled during the winter of 2002. That one contains mostly notes on birds seen on a day to day basis but I also wrote about the weather, any mammals seen and actually anything else of note. Being by the coast, I witnessed a lot of bird migration - some days noting thousands of birds passing overhead! I soon ran out of space so started a new one.
This barred Owl graces the cover of my second journal completed that winter. This one mostly covers observations during late winter and the beginning of some early spring migration.
Usually I only write up notes and observations in my journals but occasionally do small drawings directly inside - especially if I have a bit of time during birding lulls.
This small drawing was done on the bottom of a page as I sat looking over Guard Shore inlet in the Chesapeake. This was a favorite place to visit and being winter, was usually deserted so it was just us, the amazing landscape and the birds!
As is usual with a lot of my work lately, finishing seems to take quite a bit longer than I had hoped. Eventually I got close to how I expected the completed painting to look but I'm sure that after putting it aside for a while, I'll find something else to do to it. I do think I accomplished what I set out to do though and that was to capture these two jewel-like birds sitting in bright sunlight, and the way the light interacted with their plumage. I really like the reflected blue highlights on the heads of each bird and in the shade, how dark that color becomes. Barn Swallows is done in pure watercolor on Arches paper, size is 15 x 11 inches (38 x 28 cm).
Here is the second bird brought mostly to completion. I wanted to do quite a lot of work to the two birds before going back into the rest of the painting. Following on from here, I'll continue adding details to the weathered planks they were sitting on and trying to get a balance between the sunlit wood and the shadows, trying all the while to judge the correct balance of light on the scene. Hopefully I should wrap this one up relatively quickly as I have so many other paintings to get to.
After collecting quite a lot of references of Barn Swallows (mostly in my sketchbook), I decided to do a larger watercolor of a pair of them resting on the old dock. We don't usually see swallows on the ground so I felt this would make for a slightly more interesting painting. I wanted the birds in full sun which would I hoped, bring out the best in their plumage. The iridescent blue on the head and back looks dark in shadow but amazingly jewel-like in the sunlight. Since my earlier color studies were done in watercolor, I decided to do this one in the same medium but using transparent watercolor without any gouache - any white highlights would be pure paper showing through. My initial effort on the nearest bird was close to how I wanted it so I then worked on the background for a bit. Next I'll make a start on the second bird sitting slightly behind. I'm sure I will come back to this first swallow and do a bit more but for now, I'm happy with how things look and feel that I have at least made a reasonable start.
Mute Swans are not that common over here although I do see the odd individual from time to time. One was resident at a nearby lake for some time so I did manage quite a lot of studies etc. The bird I have painted here is half asleep while standing on one leg. I actually prefer to draw them when they are laying down as this means that the body is slightly more horizontal and seems to aid the composition. I started an oil study of a swan some time ago but have yet to finish it. This is mostly because of the texture of the neck feathers - I am having a hard time capturing that area to my satisfaction. I'll try and get back to it soon as the rest of the painting is going quite well. This small watercolor done in my sketchbook is around 5 x 7 inches (12 x 18 cm).
One of the first things I do when waking each morning is to observe the sky. A window slightly angled to the East allows me a quick look to see if there are any interesting clouds about and how this will affect the sunrise. Often I have been able to do smaller (and necessarily) quick studies of what I see looking out. Usually these paintings are in watercolor but occasionally oil. When working in oils, I have to have everything set up and ready to go as often the sky changes rapidly. The other morning when I did these studies in my sketchbook (the lower one first), I was trying to capture not only the colors but also the feeling of the clouds especially as they changed shape. Fortunately on that morning, they only did slowly as there wasn't much wind. These studies are especially important to me as they not only capture what I saw on any given day, they also give me a better idea if the arrangement of light, color and clouds can be scaled up for a larger painting. Size of each are around 5 x 7 inches.
A smaller painting from our Iceland trip a few years ago. We saw many such vistas as this and some of the landscape was really un-worldly! Love to take an extended trip there and spend more time painting the incredible landscape - such beauty wherever you looked. This oil on canvas is 8 x 10 inches.
Quite some time ago, I painted a male peacock trying not to make a hash of the intricate plumage. This time, I started this smaller study of a female which, thankfully has a more simple plumage. For the painting, I concentrated mostly on the head trying to capture the details around the eye and just suggested the rest of its plumage. I have been putting off doing another painting of the male for some time but perhaps finishing this female will inspire me to finally make a start on that one. Size is around 7 x 8 inches (18 x 20 cm), watercolor on Grumbacher paper.
Walking the Eastern Shore beaches as I have done so many times in the past, one often comes across Sanderlings. Usually only a single bird at a time but occasionally (especially on migration) up to 15 or so. I love watching them 'chasing the waves' as someone so adeptly put it with their running after a receding wave, feeding frantically then running up the beach again ahead of the next incoming one. Many are so used to people walking by that they simply wait until you have passed then go back to feeding again. Occasionally they will fly a little ahead of you and this is what I wanted to capture in my painting. Their strongly patterned wings flicker and capture the eye, usually they are angled downwards and the short flight ends with a quick run on jet black legs.
When I first started working on this small painting, I had in my mind a rather simple composition with almost flat-like colors. After laying in basic areas of mostly blue and warm gray, everything looked too simplistic so I began overpainting lighter tones then added more definition to the mountainside. Every time I looked at the painting, I saw something else that needed work. What started out as being something that I wanted to finish in a short time extended to a painting spread over two weeks. Not that I was working on it all that time but it just goes to show, sometimes one has to follow the dictates of the painting and take it to its natural conclusion irrespective of ones initial idea. Size is 7 x 5 inches (18 x 13 cm), acrylic on board.
Before working on this smaller oil, I had hiked and explored this area quite extensively. Ospreys nest here as do Bald Eagles plus there are the usual assortment of other marsh birds making it an exciting experience every time I visit. I prefer to go there in winter although by then, the ospreys and a lot of other breeding birds are gone. Still, there is always plenty to see and I find new things to paint each time. This is one of a few different studies I have done around there and I am hoping all this work will lead to a larger oil sometime soon. Size is 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm), oil on canvas.
I finally finished an adult bald eagle study! Beforehand, it had been only the young eagles that had interested me, mainly because of their more interesting plumage and their darker bills. But I intend to do a color study of and adult sometime so wanted to feel my way forward with a drawing first. I decided the only way to do an effective portrait in this case was to darken the background and set the white of the head against that - so that is what I did here. When I got the darker tones sorted, I started with the bird's eye then moved to the bill then started to modulate the long pale head feathers. Working downwards, I laid in many layers of graphite until I arrived at the result you see here. Size is 12 x 9 inches.
While mixing up some paint the other day, I realized that I had too much so wondered what to do with the left over. There was a small canvas panel nearby so I began spreading on the blue adding some white as I went trying to get a graduated sky. The resultant shape suggested a mountain top so I added almost pure titanium white for the snow and started adding in a little burnt umber for the rocks. The shadow followed and the painting progressed from there. Since I had started the work with my palette knife, I decided to do the whole painting using only that instead of brushes as I normally do. I only used two colors and the darker grey is a mix of mostly burnt umber with a little pure cobalt blue added in. This is the first palette knife painting that I have done and for me, was a enjoyable experience. I did learn a lot from doing this one that I'm sure I will be able to use on my next mountain scene. Size is 7 x 5 inches.
Barn Swallow studies done while they sat on some old and weathered planks down near the dock. Others were flying around giving their 'svittt svittt' calls looking beautiful in the weak sunlight.
I drew these ones in my sketchbook before doing the watercolors as a way of getting a little better understanding of their shape and form. Fortunately they sat for some time although some of them were always coming and going. Surprisingly some of them landed quite close to me so I didn't have to use my scope at all. I think this is the first time I have drawn and painted Barn Swallows - I was surprised just how beautifully colored they are. Size of these studies - 12 x 9 inches.
I had been sketching this barn from the roadside for a while before I noticed the bull standing there soaking up the morning sunshine. Initially I was attracted by the dilapidated state of the barn and the surrounding buildings contrasting with the freshly fallen snow but I realized that bull might make a fine addition to the scene. Mostly it is hidden by the fencing and being black, almost disappears against the darker shadowed background but I think that makes it all the more interesting. In this study, I was mostly trying to bring together some of the different elements of the scene and hoping for some truth - with all the light and shadow, things are a little confusing. I kept this one smallish for now as I am planning a larger version sometime soon. Size is 12 x 9 inches, watercolor on Grumbacher paper.
I painted this lily slightly larger than the previous study. The petals have continued to open creating a quite different shape from the previous one. I also chose a slightly different view but otherwise kept most of the painting similar although I used a different background color (a very deep brownish-purple - which is not that obvious in this image). I think I'll continue to explore the idea of using different flowers against a darker background as now that spring has arrived, there are quite a few in bloom. This oil is 10 x 8 inches.
Whenever I am working on a new idea, I never know where it will take me. A lot of my paintings are conceived in a relatively short time - others go through a number of smaller drawings (thumbnails) and watercolor studies etc before the final work is completed - this work seems to be of the latter. Anyway, since I was enjoying re-visiting some of my previous observations with young eagles, I couldn't help doing more studies of them.
The lower drawings of these two sketchbook pages are of a sub-adult Bald Eagle I saw in Canada. I think the bird was at a wildlife demonstration so I was able to walk right up to it and gather a lot of information. Apart from the sketches I did, I also took down some color notes and also info about the structure etc. Due to its large size, I guessed this one was a female and it was incredibly impressive close up. I was really taken by its eyes, large bill and very thick talons! Wish I could have spent more time with the bird. Fortunately a nearby visitors center had an adult eagle in a large cage (along with some other birds) that was easily accessible so I often went there to sketch and to paint. These drawings are both 12 x 9 inches.
I have been planning another eagle painting for some time now so I started off by doing this study as a way of working out exactly how I wanted to approach it. I was lucky to find this sub-adult eagle a while ago and did a few studies straight into my sketchbook. I grabbed the nearest marker I could (a blue ballpoint pen) and began drawing as I wasn't sure how much time I would have. I painted this study referring to those sketches and my memory of this magnificent bird. I estimate this is a 2nd or 3rd year bird as the bill is getting some yellow in it along with the slightly lighter iris. There seems to be a quite a lot of lighter crown feathers too which would indicate that it would perhaps get some white head feathers next year. I also remember this bird to be really big so I'm presuming a female. I have more studies of this bird to get to next so I'll see where they take me. Size is 8 x 10 inches, watercolor and acrylic.
I did this small study while observing a lily slowly opening its petals. Since this took place over a few hours, I had enough time to complete a study. I did this smaller one first more as a hopeful experiment as I hadn't done anything like this before. I wasn't sure if I would have enough time to finish it so I kept the idea and composition simple. I am happy with the results though and am already working on a slightly larger painting of the same lily but after it had opened a little more. Size is 7 x 5 inches, oil on board.
From out on our balcony looking down, I could see this scene just to the right of me so I was able to work directly from life. The ambient light from inside the apartment was enough to paint with although there was a slight period for my eyes to adjust slightly each time I looked out - it certainly helped that the board already had a black acrylic coat on it before I started! Slowly building up the paint in layers, I was able to capture a somewhat impressionistic feeling of this small corner of downtown Wilmington and creating this one was a rewarding experience. I think it would have been easier to do this kind of painting in oil instead of acrylic as I struggled to blend some areas as I would have liked. Still, I now have this work that captures in many ways the time, experiences and emotion that I felt when staying there. Size is 8 x 10 inches, acrylic on panel.
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Another in my city nocturne series. As in the one posted before, this is an evening view looking across the harbor. I was primarily concentrating on creating a certain mood keeping my tones in the background a deep bluish color with the smaller lights used as a kind of musical scale spread across the work with differing intensities. A faint highlight reflecting below the building indicates water and was an important inclusion. Size is 7 x 5 inches, acrylic on board.
At a nearby lake, we were very happy to find a resting Osprey overlooking the water. Probably shouldn't have been that much of a surprise as these birds turn up allover during migration. It sat in a tall dead tree so I was able to get some great views and did this watercolor in my sketchbook.
The bird was still there a few days later although perched a bit further away from the lake and as we were walked by, it flew a little further into the nearby woodland. I did manage another drawing from when I saw it the first time then also did a few in-flight watercolors. All of these studies are about 12 x 9 inches.
Most of winter I have been watching and hearing White-throated Sparrows, usually found with other birds in and around the nearby woodland. Now that spring has arrived, many are passing through heading north and the earliest ones have been splendid males in their sharp breeding plumage. I love hearing their cheery and up-lifting song which sounds like 'Oh Sweet Canada Canada Canada'. I found this male scratching through some fallen leaves. Sometimes they are quite tame and allow you to get close - I managed quite a few quick pencil sketches but this study was done in watercolor. Size is about 6 x 7 inches.
During most of winter, I had been following roving flocks of small birds whenever I have found them. Mostly these flocks consist of tits, nuthatches, woodpeckers and occasionally Brown Creepers. Chickadees seem to feature most of the time and being more easily approachable (especially when feeding or searching for food - which in winter, seems to be almost always!), I can occasionally make a few sketches of them before they move on. Later, I can add to some of the better ones with a few more details from some of my photos. This way, I can hopefully build up a more accurate representation of the species. And this is what I have been trying to do with this study - I think I am almost there although the legs and feet are always a little tricky for me. Size is 12 x 9 inches - watercolor on Grumbacher paper.
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While living in Baltimore and looking across the harbor, I saw many scenes like this one and have managed quite a few small paintings so far. As I work my way through this series, I am re-discovering the delight of painting a subject that I once tackled many years ago while living in St Albans, UK, and also for a short while, in Amsterdam. I would go out with a sketchbook, a small folder of tinted paper, a pack of watercolors and a range of black fine-line pens to draw or paint buildings as the fancy took me. This kind of work was a fine introduction into the art of plein air painting and drawing, which I think has helped me a lot over the years - especially when drawing and painting birds. This small work is 7 x 5 inches, acrylic on gessoed panel.
In this small painting, I wanted to capture the spirit of a cool clear early morning sky before the sunrise. I sat out on the nearby boat dock looking across the almost perfectly calm water to get studies for this one and marveled at the birth of another perfect day. I used acrylic paint here which I am a bit out of practice with - I found it a little difficult to judge the correct tones especially as the paint dries to a lighter tone than when you mix it. Still, I was happy with the finished study. Size is 7 x 5 inches, acrylic on canvas panel.
These quick watercolor sketches of a Great Blue Heron fishing were done from a bird we often see when walking down at a nearby lake. The bird held this pose for a long time but we never saw it catch anything (this time). The water has been a little brown and muddy recently due to runoff from a nearby construction site - this has meant that the heron hasn't always been present. I guess that if it can't see fish in the murky water, it would make catching them very difficult so probably goes elsewhere.
In these series of pencil sketches, I tried to capture the play of light and shadow on this preening bird. This is probably the same bird as the one I painted above since it is usually seen in the exact same places. I'll try to do more sketches in watercolor but using a better quality paper. The top watercolors were done as an experiment on Crelando paper. I found this quite good for quick light sketches but not so good when using heaver washes since it is quite thin and has a delicate surface. Sizes of both of these are about 12 x 9 inches.
