In this older work, I tried to capture the feeling of evening light falling over the nearby lake. I would often visit this area and did many studies and paintings there. Some like this one was more successful in that I felt I captured a feeling of open space, atmosphere and color. This oil is a 9 x 12, oil on canvas.
I'm still not properly sorted with regards to my studio set up but I am getting there! Unfortunately not much time to paint at the moment but I did do a little more work to this oil study. Another painting that was started some time ago but I am a little more sure of the direction I want to take this one now. Size is 12 x 16 inches (30 x40 cm). Oil on Board.
We have moved once again and now my studio is full of boxes! Unfortunately this has hampered any serious painting that was planned but I did find some time to complete this study of a hawk's primary feather. I believe it is from a Red-tailed Hawk (I do see a few soaring around here from time to time) and I remember doing a similar painting to this one many years ago. Surprised at how long it was, I decided to paint this beautiful feather life size and the study on the right is of the top, the one on the left is looking from the trailing edge showing not just how it is curved longitudinally but also how it twists along its length. The barring extends from tip to base but the underside is quite a bit lighter than the top. Amazing, all of these exquisite details in a single feather! Size is about 14 x 11 inches.
I recently finished this study of a moth I found out in the open near were we were staying. I picked it up and it sat on my hand while I gathered some reference of it. After I had finished a drawing, I left it in the seclusion of a thick bush to spend the rest of the day hidden from predators. Hopefully it survived, mated and was able to continue its life cycle. This watercolor was done in my sketchbook - size is about 5 x 4 inches (13 x 10 cm).
I have been continuing work on the Killdeer family that was
present at the nearby wetlands. Mostly this has been in the form of sketches
but also some watercolors. I plan on showing their lifecycle from nest through
to adult as shown here. During hot weather, birds appear much slimmer than at
other times due to their feathers being compressed and held close to their
bodies to help with cooling. Some birds will pant when it is unusually hot (and
also when they are stressed). This study is of an alert bird as it has young
nearby. I find it is important for me as an artist to paint the individual.
Similar to portrait painting where one tries to capture the characteristic and
likeness of the sitter, in turn I try to capture the same in any bird that I
paint.
This painting is of an almost fully-grown immature. Killdeers
usually lay a clutch of 4 eggs but I could only find one youngster that had
grown up. The others could have been hidden in the grassy marshland nearby or
perhaps they were predated. Anyway, I noted how much plainer its plumage was compared
to the adults and the bill perhaps not quite full size yet. So far, I have enjoyed
trying to capture the details of this family. And in doing so have been able to
share something of their life through my observations and studies. Sizes of
each are about 5 x 8 in (13 x 20 cm).
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).
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.
