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.

Pride on Parade

acrylic on panel, 20" x 20"

A blue heron in mating mode.  Just for fun.

Stillness in Motion

oil on panel, 16" x 20

This is a work in progress, but because I'm using the indirect method to paint it, there needs to be time for each paint layer to dry before applying a layer of Liquin, then waiting for that to dry before adding more paint.  It's a process that requires patience, something I'm not too good at when it comes to painting.  This lovely creature is a little blue heron, whose breeding habitat is subtropical swamps.  The fanned back feathers signal its breeding status.

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.  

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!

Blue Heron at the Pond

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 10"

Here is another rough palette knife plein air sketch from the same afternoon at the Cheese Factory.  I just had to capture the beautiful blue heron I spotted standing by the pond.  I'm currently back at the Covelo Ranch, churning out more work.  It isn't easy working outdoors in 104 degree weather, wiping sweat droplets off my palette as they fall from my face.  Wow, it's hot here!