Capped Heron in Flight

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

The capped heron is, to me, one of the most beautiful birds in the world.  The colors, I mean, c'mon, that turquoise beak against the warm yellow of the breast is inspired!  

Of Beauty and Bravery

oil on panel, 12" x 9"

This is an alla prima portrait of Waris Dirie, a Somali model and activist who was the subject of the film "Desert Flower."  I saw that film some years ago and had nightmares over it.  The subject matter was, essentially, female genital mutilation (FGM), a horror that was visited on Waris at the age of 5.  As a teenager, she fled her homeland, scraped by in England for a while, and was eventually saved by her beauty, forging a very successful modeling career.  Later, she opened up about her early childhood trauma, helping to bring the issue of FGM out into the open.  Her bravery is simply staggering.   

The Comfort of Strangers

oil on panel, 9" x 12"

Just a fun, quick study.

Down in Dreamland

oil on canvas, 20" x 30"

I've had it in mind to do this painting for a long time, so it shouldn't have surprised me how quickly it came about.  I had done a loose digital version of this figure a long while back that I quite liked, but I'm happy with this version, too.  My aim was to evoke a sense of deep relaxation, and I achieved that, at least to my satisfaction.

Pedernal with Cottonwoods

oil on panel, 8" x 8"

Taking a trip down memory lane with this little painting of Cerro Pedernal from a photo I had taken from Ghost Ranch in New Mexico a few years ago.

Smoke and Mirrors

 

oil on canvas, 20" x 20"

Don't know what got into me, but here it is, a narrative painting of a love triangle.  I used a still from the French film, "La Baie des Anges," for the two figures on the left, then added a third figure to complete the story.  I decided to leave her hair sketchy and barely painted because when I stepped back to look with fresh eyes, it seemed to shimmer and glow, so what you see is mostly bare canvas.  Overall, I'm happy that I pretty much was able to execute my vision for this painting.