PORTUGAL, PART 2

Near to where we were staying was the Ria Formosa wildlife sanctuary full of walking trails, beautiful vistas, birds and the sea. We squeezed in as many visits as possible being so easily accessible. I did quite a few paintings from the area, this small study is on the Western edge of the reserve where we saw so many White Storks. Weather was perfect on all the days we went - blue skies and incredible sunsets. Could live there quite happily!
Path through the Reserve, oil on canvas, 5" x 7".

PORTUGAL, PART 1

We loved Portugal so much the first time we visited that we had to go back a second time. Staying in the same resort at Quinta de Lago on the Algarve, we happily re-visited some of the places we had been the year before and also discovered many new ones. This view is at Sagres on the extreme Western tip of Portugal looking down the coast away from the fort - I loved this view across the bay to the headland beyond! The coastline was spectacular all along the Algarve with many cliffs, wonderful rock formations and white sandy beaches. Weather was great, warm with only a few days of light rain. I did a number of paintings and sketches over the two weeks we visited along with collecting heaps of references.
View from Sagres, oil on canvas, 5" x 7".

BLACK SNAKE

I recently found a Black Snake over in the reserve, it was sunning itself on the rocks of a broken down wall that were once outbuildings next to the old white farmhouse. Only the foundations remain now but this is a favored place of mine to visit where I can usually sit quietly for awhile and observe the comings and goings of wildlife. Since this snake was quite tame, I was able to do a few pencil studies in my sketchbook along with some photos. I did the watercolor study shown here when I got back in the studio. Black Snakes can range from tame to aggressive, some I have been able to gently stroke - others react violently to any touching and attempt to bite. We once had a particularly tame individual that lived under our front porch, I named him Ding Dong - for reasons I won't go into here. He lived happily for awhile probably feeding on mice etc - he once tried for one of my goldfish in the pond but I was having none of that! Then one day he strayed and was caught up by the community mowing machine and that was the end of him. RIP Ding Dong.

MID-DAY SUN II

My watercolor painting of an old window found while I lived in Hong Kong has been accepted into the Baltimore Watercolor Society's 2019 Mid-Atlantic Exhibition. The annual show runs through June into July at The Blackrock Center For The Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, Maryland 20874. Reception and awards presentation is on Sunday June 23rd, from 2:00 to 4:00. Hope to see you there!
Mid-day Sun II, watercolor on Arches paper, 30" x 22" (76cm x 56cm).

EASTERN SKUNK CABBAGE

One of the earliest flowers to open in the nearby woods is the skunk cabbage. Appearing even when there is still snow or ice on the ground, the spathe pushes through the frozen soil by generating some of its own heat. The appearance is somewhat alien-like and always fascinated me when I first saw them. Inside is the round spadix holding tiny flowers - these are pollinated by early flying insects. Soon afterwards, the yellowish-green shoot appears to the side which contains the leafy part of the plant.

Here in the second illustration, we can clearly see inside the spathe and also the flower clumps sitting on the spadix. Here the plant is a little further along with the shoot growing slowly until the leaves start to open the the flower fades away. Deep-rooted, the plant reproduces by producing small pea-sized seeds. While not really edible, the plant does have medicinal purposes and the Native Americans utilized the dried leaves for various purposes.

BY THE LAKESIDE, PART 5

Working mostly on the back feather of the bird, I shape and sculpt the form using washes of Sepia. The sides get a bit more work too and I extend the subtle darker feather fringing on the breast upwards slightly. The water gets a bit darker and also a few places here and there amongst the rocks. I plan to keep the foreground detail subdued so that most of the focus is on the middle distance. I'll take some time away from this painting and come back to it later to see if there is anything else I want to do but for now, I'm calling it finished. Watercolor on Bockingford paper, size is 22" x 15" (56cm x 38cm).

BY THE LAKESIDE, PART 4

With most of the rocks complete, I turn my attention to the bird. Starting with the head, I darken the neck and work on the eye and bill - I find that if these areas are working out as expected, the rest of the bird seems to follow. There are some delicate feathers on the breast and flank that need careful painting, taking the time to keep the feather fringes lighter. Looking at Canada's in the field recently, I noticed that they are quite grey on the belly and the lightest area on the breast is just as it meets the darker part of the neck. I'm not sure that I will paint this bird as dark as the ones I saw though - as I mentioned earlier, I want to keep the feeling of bright sunlight dancing around the scene. To finish up the session, I add the brown base colors for the wing and darken the primary feathers.