ALONG THE COAST, PART 1

I realised that I hadn't shown an in-progress painting for some time although I did plan on doing so with the Tool Shed watercolor painting a few blogs ago - somehow I forgot so here is the latest. At first I had planned on doing a small study but couldn't find the right sized canvas in my studio. So instead of going through all the rigmarole of cutting one to size, I grabbed a larger 16" X 20" canvas and just used the top section (I'll make a stretcher for it later and mount it when the painting is finished and has dried off properly). Using a wash of thinned raw umber, I drew in the rocks and horizon line aiming for accuracy but not worrying too much about it all. That is the beauty of working in oils, one can so easily rearrange and true up things as one goes along! Satisfied that all was where I wanted it, I left the canvas to dry off for awhile. Next, getting some serious painting going!

SEA EAGLE NEAR SAI KUNG

Since moving to the US quite a few years ago I have fortunately had the opportunity to travel back to Hong Kong quite often. I still think of the place as my old stomping ground and miss almost everything about it! And sometimes being in the right place at the right time is just the ticket. I happened to be in Hong Kong when with great excitement in the birding community there, an immature White-billed Diver (Loon) was mentioned as being seen just off the coast of Sai Kung in Eastern Hong Kong. The next morning 30 or so birders and photographers assembled at a pier to board a rented boat especially for the purpose of sailing out and seeing if the bird was still in the area - luckily for us it was! An amazing bird and was watched for almost an hour mostly between dives. Many photos were taken, descriptions of the bird were noted and I managed a few sketches - not easy in a pitching boat looking through binoculars! I still have to paint the bird seen that day and plan on getting to it soon. I believe this was just the third record for White-billed Diver in China at the time so it was a major tick! While returning back to the pier, I saw a White-breasted Sea Eagle nearby and did a small painting of it later on. Approximately 10 pairs breed in and around Hong Kong and they are always a welcome sight when I return. In the painting, I kept the bird small as I wanted to record the area and the atmosphere of that particular day more than anything. The watercolor is 5.5" X 7.5".

EAGLE NEAR HAZELHURST

One of the joys that we as artists experience is getting a chance to exhibit with others and for me, the most exciting one is at Birds in Art held annually at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin, USA. Over the weekend various events are arranged and taking the bus up to Hazelhurst is always special. There at the country house, one is free to relax, swim, walk the grounds or take a boat ride on the lake. Loons are common here (excuse the pun) along with other birds and occasionally one is lucky with the sight of an eagle. The bird in this watercolor is heading across the lake under a somewhat moody sky. I tried to be a little looser in my washes with this work and it seemed to work especially in the water which I'm quite pleased with. Eagle Near Hazelhurst is 5.5" X 10".

THE TOOL SHED

This is another painting in the Grit and Glory exhibition starting this weekend at McBride Gallery. I initially became interested by the light and shadows cast inside this shed by the gap at the top of the door. Also the way that strong abstract shapes were created amongst the tools stacked on the right. The weathered boards inside were quite deep in tone at the top but faded considerably near the floor. I noted an ancient push-mower inside along with a few scythes and other oddments - all fascinating to me with their patinaed finishes suggesting old age and much hard work. The exterior had a well-faded and damaged look that spoke of many hot storm-drenched summers and equally freezing winters - I had a lot of fun painting this one! The Tool Shed is 22" X 15", watercolor on Arches paper.

THE TRACTOR BARN

I did this painting for the up-coming Grit & Glory exhibition that starts this Sunday at McBride Gallery in Annapolis, MD. In this scene I was at first taken by the strong sunlight and how it made interesting shadows on the floor of the barn. The two forward support posts were in part sun - part shade and I saw a recurring theme in the angled forms running from left to right. Later I became interested in the old tarps hanging between two of the support posts on the right so these were carefully painted in taking care not to make them too prominent. The back wall of the barn has all sorts of things including stacked wood and an old ladder etc but I left out some of the junk that was lying about. I tried to get a weather-beaten feel to the scene using drybrush and slowly building up tones with many washes of color. I love scenes like this as they often remind me of my childhood experiences living on a farm in the South of England.
Grit and Glory runs from April 17th to May 8th, so if you are in the area I hope you'll stop by and take a look. The Tractor Barn is 11" X 22".

LAKESIDE STUDY

A few weeks ago, I was mentioning to Pat in the comments section of this blog about how the painting of the hunting Barn Owl came about. There had been a study completed which was quite a bit different from the finished painting so have decided to post it here. Initially completed in my sketchbook, it was supposed to be the basis for a larger watercolor painting but things didn't go the way that I had hoped. The scene is nearby in the nature reserve where I often go and paint so I know it well and should have been a simple case of creating the painting using this study as I so often do. I'm not quite sure why the final work was so different but it seemed to take on a life of its own. As an artist, I often struggle with this so I am in some ways used to it. I think the lesson here is that creating art is never a formula and one takes from it what one can. I try to do things in a new way as I see them even though I am can be influenced by others. Really all it comes down to is that I want to create my own message and tell things in a way that is important to me - probably why I spend so much time painting plein air. Lakeside study is 7" X 4".

GYRFALCON

This, the largest of the falcons has long been my favorite raptor. I am fortunate to have seen this bird in the wild but most of my paintings have been done from birds either as used in falconry or in captivity. One of these days I'll go North to see them proper but until then I will enjoy drawing and painting this amazing bird as the need arises. Here in this painting I concentrated on just the head but in actuality, the rest of the bird is equally impressive with wonderful pale feather fringes and an intricate wing and back pattern. The feet (and other bare parts) were a pale bluish-white and the iris, a dark brown. I still have to paint the white Gyrfalcon - probably the most impressive of the different races but that will have to wait until I come across one! As is with most of my paintings, I started with the eye and the faint reflection before working out from there. I feel that if I can get the eye right, then the rest of the painting usually follows along nicely. This watercolor is 11" X 7.5". SOLD