WINTER PLANT STUDIES

 

While it is still late summer here in my part of the woods, I am already thinking ahead to the fall and to winter.  After the bright colors of autumn, there isn't usually much color around during winter so I look for more subtle color combinations, and seek out things I wouldn't usually find at other times of the year. Oak leaves though can be found all year long and the browned leaves are usually the last to fall. In this study I tried to capture the feeling of them in a simple painting.

I found these seed heads along the waters edge but have no idea what plant they are from! I just liked their intricate stubby surfaces. They look a little like English plane tree seeds but these are covered with hard stubs that resist breaking apart. Both these watercolors done in my sketchbook, size about 12 x 9 inches ( 30 x 23 cm).

KILLDEER OVER THE MARSH

 

I have been doing a series of summer paintings. Green is a color that I am finally becoming comfortable with and in this painting, I wanted to capture not just the colors of the day but the feeling of high Summer. I wrote earlier of a visit to the wetlands nearby where a Killdeer that was near the boardwalk flushed and flew to another part of the marsh. That memory is still with me today and was one of the factors which led to the idea of this painting. Size is 8 x 10 in, oil on canvas.

BALD EAGLE STUDIES II

 

Some time ago, I saw this eagle in a transitional plumage where the bird  was losing its brownish head feathers and gaining the pure white ones of an adult. This seemed somehow very important to me so I did a few studies trying to capture it. Over some months, I managed to see the same bird a few more times so was able to add a little to my knowledge of these very impressive birds.

Most of the eagles I saw were in flight and they usually held their wings level when soaring - as in this painting. Interestingly, the younger birds (sub adults) have broader wings than the adults and I tried to capture this in some of my other studies. I still have a few more on the go and will hopefully finish them off soon. Both these watercolors are about 5 x 7 in (13 x 18 cm).

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER

 

I don't see these birds very often especially in the summer when they seem to be more secretive while nesting and bringing up their young. I was fortunate to have a sapsucker visit quite regularly a few years ago when it would feed from a pine next to the house (they drill a series of holes which fill up with sap and occasionally insects get caught in there too). It was quite shy though and I never even got a photo of it. Fortunately I saw one last year and was able to get some better reference. This is the first time I have painted this species so it was a process of discovery as I am still not that familiar with it. Watercolor on Grumbacher paper - size is 12 x 9 in ( 30 x 23cm)

RING-BILLED GULL STUDY

 

Lately I have noticed quite a few gull around so I went over to the adjacent park to do some sketches. This study came from some of the reference I gathered while I was there. Apart from the usual trees and grass in the park itself, a few large posts stand in the river just off from the waterfront and this is where most gulls like to rest. A nice and sunny day brought out wonderful colors within the shadows of the resting birds and I enjoyed trying to capture that plus the shape and form of the various birds there. Size of this one is 12 x 9 in (30 x 23cm). Watercolor on Grumbacher paper.