Although I haven't seen Magellanic Penguins in the wild, I still wanted to do this study of a bird I saw at the zoo. When living in Cape Town, I watched the similar African Penguin on a few occasions as they were quite near to where I was staying at the time but not sure if any of my old sketches of those birds survived the many moves. Anyway, this was an enjoyable diversion from the mostly oil paintings I have been doing of late, Size is about 10 x 8 inches, watercolor on Crelando paper.
I did this small oil study while visiting a wildlife refuge in NJ some time ago. At this point, I had driven out a long way and had parked up so that i could take a better look around. Here, I am looking back towards the coast which on this morning, looked very hazy and distant. Two Black Duck in flight added a little life to the scene. As I stood painting, a Northern Harrier drifted by followed by an Osprey or two. Sparrows called nearby - I think they were the rarer Seaside Sparrows but I never got a very clear look at them. Further out were a small flock of Brant Geese and across the water to my left, Green-winged Teal slept alongside a young Great-blue Heron and two Snowy Egrets. Greater Yellowlegs called from the shallows just behind me - their calls ever clear in the quiet solitude of the day. This painting is 8 x 10 inches, oil on board.
Up until just recently, it had been very quiet on the gull front around here. There was just the occasional bird seen from time to time and earlier in the year, there were a number of non-breeding gulls around (mostly 2nd summer individuals but also a few adults too). But during July, I began seeing more and more gulls coming through mostly following the river in from the Deleware. These were for the most part adults and when I spotted a few gulls across the river in a nearby park the other morning, I went over to take a look. Surprisingly they were mostly Laughing Gulls with a few Ring-billed Gulls also seen. The study of an adult was one of 3 that I saw and had already started its moult as can be seen by the white feathers coming in on its chin and a subtle darkening of the bill. The eye ring was still quite red but beginning its transition to dark. The plumage was faded and worn. but I noticed a new inner primary on each wing just coming in.
The bird above was a second adult that I did studies of. Very faded and worn plumage with the primaries and secondaries looking ragged. This one is obviously quite a bit further ahead of the other with its moult. The bill too is much darker and will eventually be almost completely black with usually just the tip on the upper mandible red. The eye ring has also faded and is now a dark grey. Within a month or so, the head will be almost completely white with just a smudge of black behind the eye. These studies done on Grumbacher watercolor paper, sizes about 6 x 9 inches.
We found a small herd of Icelandic goats while touring around the island one day so stopped for a while. They were all quite friendly and allowed us a close approach = probably they were used to visitors and hoping for some food. The older males were the most impressive with their horns and very long coats while the smaller females (which had white coats) were shorter-haired. Well, that was a few years ago and although I did some studies while in Iceland, it has taken me until now to get around to doing more detailed studies of these impressive animals. This oil is another 10 x 8 inch painting done on gessoed board.
I forgot just how long ago I started this painting of a snaggle-toothed monster, but it has been with me during each move as I always intended to finish it somewhere along the way. I think the main reason it took so long as I couldn't decide what I wanted the croc to be resting on. In the end, I just added a slightly textured base and finally I could call it done! Looking at the finished painting, I'm really glad I put in the effort to complete it. Size is about 7.5 x 11 inches, watercolor on Arches paper
Along the coast of Hong Kong again. I managed to find a place with quite rough seas after a storm had passed so painted this scene trying to contrast the waves and lighter foam against the dark of the rocks. I kept the foreground open as a way of drawing your eye into the painting over the waves and the motion of the sea on to the rocks in the background. I love doing smaller paintings like this as I feel that I can capture the intimacy of a scene more easily. Size is 8 x 10 inches, oil on board.
While visiting a farm some time ago, I began working on a painting of the south side of a small barn. Attached to the barn was a tool shed and I noticed how the weak afternoon sun created an unusual shadow of the latch on the edge of the half-opened door. Deciding to try and capture this, I did a few small sketches first then painted this one using acrylic which I felt would be suited to the subject. Size is 10 x 8 inches.
