"Paired for Life" (watercolor; 5" x 7")

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Lately I have been doing a lot of sketches, partly because I've had a low energy level for a while.  I still don't feel well, but I continue making sketches, usually in the evenings, for fun and as compositional studies for future paintings.  I use different paper and material, depending on what the subject calls for.  "Paired for Life" was done in watercolor, started out with a quick line drawing of an aquarelle pencil, which "melts away" in the wash.  The sketch turned out well enough to list on Etsy--loose and fresh!

"Sunrise Quietude" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

A couple of loons glide on a mirror-like lake on a sunrise. Peace and quietude reign.  After the last-minute grocery shopping on Christmas Eve, working on the piece was like meditation!

"Lone Duck" (watercolor on paper; 6.5" x 4.5") sold

"Duck Pond"
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"Lone Duck" sold

 

 

"Duck Pond" (watercolor on paper; 6.5" x 4.5") sold

sold

These days I feel like painting watercolors.  The desire came upon me suddenly and I can't shake it off.  So I turned the kitchen table into my temporary studio to my husband's inconvenience!  I have already taken over the dining room; the living room is on the way to becoming my studio space as well.  I guess that's the price a guy has to pay for living with a creative person.  He he.

How do you like my small watercolor painting above?  Who says that a painting has to be large to have an impact?  A pair of ducks glide on a dark, lush surface of a pond.  I've said what I had to say in small format.  Sometimes less is more!

"Sunrise by the Lake" (oil on linen; 7" x 5") sold



sold



It is summertime.  Time to go to the lakes.  Like Boundary Waters, if you live in Minnesota.  Make sure to get up early to witness a spectacular sunrise or two.  A duck glides on the mirror-like water that reflects what is unfolding in the sky.  

"Cardinal on Maple" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

"Cardinal on Maple"
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"Robin in the Evergreen Bough" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Blue Jay at Bird Bath" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Early Spring Robin" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Cardinal in the Snow" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Winter Bird" (oil, 8" x 12")
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"Duck Pond" (oil, 8" x 10")
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Last fall I decided to do some bird paintings.  To date, I have seven under my belt.  "Cardinal on Maple" is my latest attempt at bird paintings.  As you know, I am an impressionist painter, not a super realistic animal painter.  So if you are an avid bird watcher and I got some avian anatomies wrong, please bear with my errors. 

I am more of an opportunistic bird watcher, if there is such a thing. The other day I spotted a male cardinal perched on green shrubs outside of my laundry room. I grabbed a camera and began to click away. This bird made a terrific model, turning its head to show profile, then facing forward for the front view, and so on. This went on for a while until it decided to retire from a modeling career.  I didn't dare to open the window for better shots (one knows better than that when dealing with a wildlife).  After photoshopping the best shot, I came up with the picture below.  Passable, yes, but the environment in which the bird was sitting left much to be desired.  I did some Internet research and found a picture of a scrawny-looking cardinal on a lush maple tree.

My photo

Reference photo for the maple tree

I got to work and painted "Cardinal on Maple" with joyous rapidity.  My gratitude goes to the anonymous photographer and the cardinal who lives in and is fiercely protective of my property.

"Duck Pond" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

Reference photo

At the outset of every painting, I always feel two emotions: excitement and fear.  I feel excited about the subject AND fearful about whether I will be able to pull it off.  If there is no challenge, boredom will set in and only slapdash work will come out of the painting session.  Yes, I live on the edge.

When  I went to paint at Wide Water along the C & O Canal a week ago, I took a walk to walk off numbness in the toes.  It was a bit chilly, yes; but, oh boy, it was gorgeous.  There were several mallard ducks and lots of Canada geese in the water, fishing and sunbathing.  I took many pictures.  Yesterday, I decided to make something of the above picture, with a bit of both feelings I just mentioned.

I cropped the photo to focus on the ducks and warmed up the palette.  Wobbly reflections of trees and their brilliant leaves fill up the entire painting, but without the two birds, it won't make any sense.  It would have been nicer if one of the ducks had been a female, but I didn't want to invent their colors.  Just to be on the safe side.

"Ducks and Geese" (oil on linen, 8" x 12") sold

sold

Reference photo

When I showed my teacher, Diane Tesler, the above picture I took at Solomons Island, MD, she told me to keep it as a photo.  Apparently, it was too cute for her taste.  But she is in Indiana on vacation, and I am free to paint whatever I feel like.  So I painted "Ducks and Geese" today.

How can you resist the charm of this tableau?  Three geese decked in bright yellow rain gear were so jaunty that I and my friends burst out laughing when we spotted it while driving by.  The house owner obviously had a terrific sense of humor.  What made it even funnier was the two real ducks that happened to be there, as if they were checking them out.  I could almost hear one of them saying "if they are real, I am Donald Duck!"