Swanderful

oil on canvas, 20" x 20"

I've been itching to do some figures lately, and portraits in particular, but I'm not yet over my bird fascination.  So, a light bulb went off with the thought, why not combine the two?  This was a fun project.

Happy Hooters

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"

This is a work in progress, and now that I've covered the canvas, it goes in the time-out room until further notice.  You get the idea, though.  Another addition to my theme-within-a-theme bird painting series.

Lay Lady Lay

oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

This is my third bird painting with a Bob Dylan song title, and I have at least another one in mind to do.  This piece features a blue crane who has made a nest and laid her eggs in a hay field.  I love the elegant curves and lines of this exotic bird.  The blue crane is the national bird of South Africa and is in decline and now considered vulnerable to extinction.

Giacomini Wetlands, Summer 2017

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"

This little plein air palette knife study was done the other day in late afternoon at a pullout near the little town of Inverness, my second attempt at this scene, albeit a different time of year.

Bosom Buddies

oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Here's another addition to my theme-within-a-theme bird painting series.  As a child, I wanted a pet penguin really bad.  I ended up with a pet duck, which is not quite a penguin.  I'm afraid this is as close as I'll ever get to realizing my childhood dream.

The Third Bird

oil on canvasboard, 9" x 12"

This piece started as an abstract meant for pure experimentation.  At some point, I started playing around with a brayer, just as a way to add a different textural element to my backgrounds.  Then I felt the urge to place a little bird shape in there, which led to a second bird, and then the finishing touch -- the third bird!  I quite like this little painting.

Ravenous

oil on wood panel, 9" x 12"

This palette knife painting of a raven eating a spider must have come from my subconscious mind.  A psychiatrist could probably have a field day with it, since I was working intuitively and not terribly concerned with accuracy or detail.  Still, I'm pleased with the bird and the overall composition.  For this one, I used a limited palette of ivory black, ultramarine violet, naphthol red, and yellow ochre, plus white.

Estero Americano

oil on wood panel, 6" x 12"

This was a plein air painting I did recently at one of my favorite new spots in west Sonoma County that got reworked a bit in the studio.  It was done on a pre-gessoed wood panel with a primed canvas texture that had quite a bit of tooth to it.  I have a few more of these panels that I will gesso again before using to see if I can smooth out some of that tooth.  This spot is a treasure trove for an outdoor painter, and I will return to it again.

Take 'im Away, Baldy!

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

A digital bird painting, this one a fantasy of mine.  I thought it apropos for America's symbolic protector -- the bald eagle -- to do the job.

Gretchen's Silver

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

For a change of pace, this is a practice piece, painting reflections on a metal bowl in this little digital still life based on a Gretchen Hancock painting.  I'm a big fan of her work.  I don't do a lot of still life painting, not because it doesn't interest me -- it does; but there's only so many hours in the day and something's gotta give . . .

Pied Heron

oil on canvas, 24" x 12"

This beautiful bird gravitates toward wetlands and wet grasslands.  I love to paint unusual and/or exotic birds' feet, such as those of the blue-footed boobies, jacanas, and various egrets and herons.  

A Little Birdie Told Me

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Here's another cartoon I thought I'd share.  The color yellow is fraught with meaning, both positive and negative, depending on the context.  To name a few on the positive side, it connotes joy, optimism, hope, happiness, summer, and sunshine, while on the negative, it can signify cowardice, deceit, dishonesty, danger, betrayal, and warning.  Context is everything.  

Lucky Lola

oil on canvasboard, 9" x 12"

I painted this portrait of my little dog the other day while she was getting her teeth cleaned at the vet. I find her to be extremely challenging as a subject due to all the different colors in her hair, not to mention the elusive but powerful look of love that emanates from her eyes.  She is my constant companion and I was relieved and happy to learn that her teeth are in excellent shape at 10 years of age.  Lucky girl!

Black and Yellow Broadbill

oil on canvas, 8" x 6"

This odd looking but colorful little bird is found in parts of Indonesia and is currently threatened by habitat loss.  I almost let it go, but then gave it a bit of the "Lindsey" treatment (to be elaborated on in a later post) and now I like it much better.  Go figure!

Heart's Desire Beach

oil on gesso board panel, 8" x 10"

This rough plein air painting nearly lost its life at the beach when a gust of wind flipped it over face down onto my palette, but I managed to salvage it in the end.  There were a couple of other distractions for me at this location, what with my pizza box (which doubles as a wet painting carrier) flying away and getting slapped against a picnicking family down the beach, and somebody wanting to photograph me painting.  Oy, the joys of outdoor painting!  Still, I considered it a fun experience, as I had my friend and fellow painter Joyce Creswell with me to laugh about and share it with.

Rise and Shine!

oil on linen-mounted gatorboard, 6" x 8"

This little plein air painting was done mid-morning from a pullout on Shoreline Highway near the town of Marshall, looking west across Tomales Bay.  Seems the people aboard were having a sleep-in.  

The Cheese Factory at Dusk on the 4th of July

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Like many dogs, my dog is terrified of fireworks, so we high-tailed it to the countryside in West Marin on the evening of July 4th to get a bit of respite from the boom booms going on in town.  We stopped at the Cheese Factory, which was nearly deserted, so we had the whole place to ourselves.  The scene was incredibly peaceful and exquisite, complete with a nearly full moon over the pond and all the various colors of foliage shown to best advantage and with a fog bank coming up over the trees.  I am itching to revisit this scene at the same time, from 7:30 - 9:00 pm, to do a plein air sketch.  

Purple Glossy Starling

oil on wood panel, 6" x 8"

This purple starling inhabits tropical Africa.  I am so drawn to colorful birds, and not surprised that most of those are found in tropical regions of the world.  I've always loved the tropical locales for their brightly colored vegetation, so it makes sense that I would be drawn to birds like this one.

Le President des Pirouettes

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

Just doin' my bit.  I had to squish him in a little box.  Feel much better now.