RED-TAILED HAWK PORTRAIT

 

 Like a lot of my paintings, this one was started some time ago and I only recently finished it. Red-tails are probably one of my favorite raptors to paint - mostly due to their many plumage variations which excites me as an artist. I have done many studies like this over the years and as I find more varied birds, I'm sure I will do more. One of the most interesting red-tails I have seen was a falconer's bird - almost completely pure white with only a few darker feathers. The bird was also incredibly tame and allowed me to handle her without any bother. This allowed me to gather a lot of information on its feather structure and the formation of its muscles etc just by gently feeling her with my fingers. All this was translated into sketchbooks and many watercolor studies - an experience I am highly grateful for. This oil on board is 8 x 10 inches.

WINTER DRAWS IN

 

This is a painting I did some time ago - a favorite of mine, both because of the time of day, and because of the winter snow. Sometimes I think I could just paint scenes like this and be satisfied! And now that we have actually had some snow around here, I'll be working on more paintings like this one. Size is 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas.

RAIN NEAR GUARD SHORE

 

Some time ago, I painted a small study of the area looking east near Guard Shore Beach along the Chesapeake and while I felt that I did capture the feeling of a bright but cold morning, I decided to re-work the painting as it did look a little plain. I started with the sky as I wanted to capture the feeling of some showers that I had seen nearby and after finishing it, did a little more to the distant treeline and also the foreground grasses. After the re-paint, I'm much happier with this little one now and I'll probably paint a larger version sometime soon. With this work, I have once again gone back to painting the Eastern Shore which I have grown to love over the many years I have been exploring the area around the Chesapeake. Size is 5 x 7 inches, oil on canvas panel.