Pearl is the sole rooster at Denman Ranch, with a brood of about 7 hens (I think), and he is a standout in more ways than one. Aside from his striking colors, he has a reputation, shall we say, of assertiveness and has been known to slam into human legs for no apparent reason other than as a crude form of greeting. Some even find it charming. This guy is full of attitude, and he's not bad looking, either!
This was just a quick study using a palette knife, having a bit of fun using a palette of cad yellow, cad orange, light green permanent, pthalo blue, viridian and ivory black. I've had very limited time to paint these last few days, so when I went to my easel, I had to work fast and furious. Let's just say I'm not unhappy with the result.
This is a study of a scene I pass by often while walking my dog along the Lynch Creek Trail in eastern Petaluma. It is a study of the particular light that hits these hills at dusk, creating beautiful grays, with an intense strip of sun glow at the top of the hills. I had a difficult time getting the values that I wanted, mostly because I was using ivory black in my color mixes to dull the colors down a bit, which tends to darken as it dries. If I paint this scene again, I will do it in oil, not acrylic. That'll solve that problem!
I've heard young cows who have yet to give birth referred to as "springers." I've been wanting to paint these springers in this scene since last spring, in fact. So, now I've done it and I kinda like it.
This is a simple landscape study done without a reference. It's been a while since my last oil painting, and whenever I feel the urge to get back to it, I often opt for palette knife compositions where detail work is discouraged.
