Blue Heron at Ellis Creek

 

oil on panel, 8" x 6"

Ellis Creek in Petaluma has long been a favorite source of landscape painting inspiration for me, with its great variety of terrain, including marshes, ponds, grasses and distant hills, not to mention avian wildlife in the form of herons, egrets, swans, stilts, and many other winged species.  It's an ever changing ecosystem there and I never get tired of it.

Birds of Ellis Creek

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 24"

This is just a small sampling of birds to be found at Ellis Creek on any given day, a local wildlife sanctuary that I frequently visit.  On this particular day in spring and after a good rain, there were a number of egrets, along with the usual swans, Canadian geese, and even a great blue heron adding to the magic of the place.  I love Ellis Creek!

Great White Egret

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

I've been working on several paintings that feature birds as a subject.  I often visit Ellis Creek, a local bird sanctuary, and seem to be getting more obsessed with them by the day.  The colors and sheer variety of bird species in the world are simply astounding, most of which I was almost entirely unaware until recently.  Due to all the egrets I've studied lately at Ellis Creek, I was able to do this digital sketch from memory.

Winter Pond

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"

I was lying in bed the other night thinking of a color combination, of pairing a yellow ochre with a mauve or slate blue.  It got hold of me, for some reason, and when I awoke the next morning, it was the first thing on my mind.  So, I went to my studio and started laying down the colors I envisioned.  It turned into a landscape painting, and although not one based on an actual reference, I can see the influence of my many visits to Ellis Creek here in Petaluma.  The whole thing is an invention, really, and I am most pleased by what I see on the right side, where the blue/gray water of the pond meets the yellow ochre reeds, which are set against the dark red trees.  

Pond Swan at Ellis Creek

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

This painting was done from a photo I had taken at Ellis Creek not too long ago.  I painted it with a palette knife, except for the swan and the slim tree trunks in the mid-ground, for which I used a brush.  The black area surrounding the swan was left unpainted, having been primed with black gesso.

Ellis Creek Reeds and Trees in Winter

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

From a recent foray to one of my favorite spots in Petaluma.  The subtle color variations are so beautiful to me, especially when set against a gray sky.

Ellis Creek in Autumn

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A quick digital impression of Ellis Creek I did the other day while on a walk with the dogs.  It started to rain, so I just had time for the basics.

Egret at Ellis Creek

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 12"

I started on this palette knife painting from a photo I had taken at Ellis Creek, but had to finish it from memory when my computer crashed last Tuesday.  It had just rained after a long dry spell and there was a carpet of mustard flowers in the mid-distance that I just loved, not to mention the beautiful snowy egret standing in the shallow water.

Urban Wetlands

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

This is an abstract digital painting I did while half asleep.  I like it and can't explain why.  I suppose it has to do with what's been on my mind lately:  New York City and a local wetlands nature reserve here in Petaluma.

Ellis Creek in May

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This digital painting was done from a photo I had taken in May at Ellis Creek here in Petaluma.  Such a variety of colors and shapes, it was hard to simplify it all.  

Ellis Creek Trail

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is a sketch I did while on a walk with the pups yesterday at Ellis Creek in Petaluma, just after a light rain.  This area, a nature reserve, is astoundingly beautiful, with all kinds of birdlife on view.  Swans, Canadian geese, stilts, and blue and white herons are all common sightings.  I'm hoping to carve out a few hours some day soon to do a plein air painting.

Ellis Creek, Western View

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Ellis Creek Study

acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 16"

This is a plein air study I did at my new favorite spot, Ellis Creek.  I plan to paint that particular scene again, as I am mesmerized by all the colors in the water.