The evening drawing to a close over the expanse of the marsh - something that I go back to time and time again as a subject to paint. Here clouds cover most of the sky and the weak winter sun is hidden. Soon I will head home again but linger for just a little while longer as the last fluting wader calls drift across the water. This oil study done on an 8 x 10 canvas board.
I did these juvenile Glossy Ibis studies after seeing a few during my field trip to the New Jersey shore last late year. One bird was close by feeding in the marshland right next to where I had parked so was able to spend some time with it. Although the body feathers had a faint iridescent sheen like the adult, I expect this to become much more apparent when the bird matures. It will also lose most of the white on the head while overall becoming much smarter looking. I expect I'll will get to the adult birds soon and do more studies of this interesting bird. Size is 12 x 9 inches, watercolor on Strathmore paper.
While I have been working in watercolor again, I decided to paint another view looking across the evening marsh. This one is similar to the oil study I did a while ago but I think I like this one more than the other. It did take a little longer with it using quite a few washes of color to capture not just the deeper rich tones, but also the textures in the grasses too. This painting has become one of my favorite watercolors to date and am looking forward to seeing it in a frame. Size is 12 x 9 in (30 x 23 cm).
In this smaller study, I tried a slightly more realistic view wanting to get a better representation of just how the sky and landscape looked that morning. As usual, I was sitting looking out and waiting for the sun to rise, hoping for an atmospheric effect that I could try to capture in paint. Here being so early, the sun is still below the horizon but illuminating the sky behind the encompassing cloud. A slightly lighter glow effused the center while the lower horizon blended into the sky above. Lights showed where there were various buildings in an otherwise dark landscape. This one has become a favored piece of mine and I enjoy looking at it remembering the beautiful sky that morning. Size is 5 x 7 inches (12 x 18 cm), oil on board.
After working in oils for some time recently, it felt good to pick up the watercolors again. Here a back-lit Great Egret makes its appearance. I was lucky with this bird because they are usually quite shy but it was distracted by an outpouring of water from a dam where fish had gathered so allowed a close approach. The winter birds don't have the vivid green around the base of the bill and eye, this area reverts to a more somber yellowish-orange that is slightly paler than the bill. The eye as always fascinates though - and that dagger-like bill! Although a simple composition, I enjoyed painting this one. Size is about 9 x 10 inches.
I'm not sure if I posted these drawings before so here are two larger ones I did. I have always liked the look of Snowy Owls especially the younger more heavily marked females like the one shown here. I have managed a few paintings of them over the years but nothing that large. Most have been watercolors but I really want to do justice to this bird so will have to work up something more serious.
Another one of my favorite birds is the Gyrfalcon and I am happy to say I have seen both these and Snowy Owls in the wild. The two studies shown in this drawing are of the same bird as it sat at rest in front of my when I visited a raptor breeding center many years ago. Such impressive birds and another species I can't get enough of. I have a large painting or two planned for these birds too so will have to get busy! Both are graphite on Arches paper, size 22 x 15 in (56 x 38 cm).
This is the second in what will be a series of sea and wave paintings. I'm still using a vertical format here but as I do more, I'm sure this will change. As with the first one, the subject is a rough and turbulent sea with a foamy middle and foreground. I worked on these two areas quite a lot trying to make them interesting and suggesting moving water without taking away from the breaking wave at the top. I was also thinking of adding a gull flying fast in the offshore wind but couldn't find a place for it - perhaps in the next one. Size is 10 x 8 inches, oil on canvas.
