#oil painting
Not-birds? What?!
“New Light”, White-tailed Deer Fawn (5"x7"), and
“Velvet Leaf Bandit”, White-tailed Deer young buck (8"x10")
Both are painted in oils. Apparently I have a lot more to say about deer than I realized…
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“Hope”, Bald Eagle (above) and “Evening Breeze”, Female Red-Winged Blackbird (below). Both are done in oil on 5"x7" panels. A very big thank you to Chuck Rondeau for his kind permission to use his photos for inspiration/reference!
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Top to bottom:
“Utunu”, African Wild Dog commission. Utunu kindly provided reference photos, many thanks!! 5″x7″ Oil on panel.
“Eurasian Tree Sparrow”, commission. I think I subconsciously painted a very fluffy warm bird orb (borb) of a sparrow because it was pretty cold out when I was working on this! Many thanks to my client for letting me get excited with some moss. 5″x7″ Oil on panel.
“Chipping Sparrow”… my first time painting with a palette knife (in the background only). It was fun, like painting with creamy frosting. Really expensive frosting. 5″x7″ Oil on panel.
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Two little paintings I gave as gifts to my family this year. Jenna the husky (RIP) for my brother, and Sadie the German Shepherd for my parents. Oil on 5"x7" panels.
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“Two For Mirth”, American Crows. 6"x14" oil on stretched linen. For a group exhibition at West End Gallery in Corning NY, which opens Friday (11/16/2018)! I’m lucky enough to have a family unit of crows that live here, and we enjoy seeing them in this old ash that we call “the crow tree” behind my home.
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“Spotted Towhee (Chuck’s Towhee)”, 6"x8" Oil on panel. Painted as a gift for my friend Chuck, who has graciously let me use his photos for reference and inspiration in the past!
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“Blackwater Geese”, Canada Geese, 9"x12" Oil on panel. Inspired by an autumn scene at Blackwater NWR on a very memorable day for me personally.
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“Early Bird” American Robin. 6"x8" oil on panel.
Exploring how I’ve wanted to paint but have always been afraid to. Learning the whole way.
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“Sassy Stroll” Common Grackle. 6"x8" Oil on panel. Painting the way the morning sun created so much iridescence on this bird was challenging but enjoyable.
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“Sumatran Ground Cuckoo” 8"x8" oil on panel.
As its name suggests, this large ground-dwelling cuckoo is endemic to the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Current estimates suggest that there are between 70-400 left, and this species continues to decline due to the extensive deforestation on Sumatra. While these birds are often described as drab, I happened across an article from 2017 that contained two photos from a camera trap. The cuckoo was sunning itself with wings open, and the beautiful greens were striking and anything but drab. My painting was inspired in that moment.Part of Artists for Conservation’s Silent Skies Mural: http://festival.artistsforconservation.org/project/silent-skies
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“Perfect Preen”, Ross’s Goose. 6" x 6" oil on linen.
This was a fun piece I painted a bit earlier this year, exploring the colors and glowing white plumage of this content goose.
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“Banggai Crow”, 8"x8" oil on panel.
For Artists for Conservation’s Silent Skies mural.
This beautiful small crow dwells in the forests of Central Sulawesi in Indonesia. Once thought extinct and known only from two specimens collected before 1900, it was confirmed as rediscovered in 2007. Still, they are critically endangered, with fewer than 500 thought to remain. Habitat loss via deforestation is the largest threat to this species, but local advocates are attempting awareness programs to help the Banggai crow. I was particularly struck by this bird’s large and haunting pale eyes, and painted it in portrait to emphasize its intelligent gaze.
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“Wings of Spring”, female downy woodpecker in silver maple; 11x14" oil on panel.
This scene was inspired by a lady woodpecker I observed working over the same silver maple for nearly an hour near the Allegany river. She was collecting large beak-fulls of small insects, mostly small caterpillars, and returning to her nest to feed her babies time and time again. I thought her careful searching among the leaves and winged maple seeds was fascinating in the spring light.
This piece is available through West End Gallery in Corning, NY.
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“The Short Story of a Fish”, Great Blue Heron. 8"x10" oil on panel. This was such a delight to paint, and I owe special thanks to Chuck Rondeau for letting me use his photo as an inspirational launch point for this one! This painting is all framed up and available through West End Gallery in Corning, NY.
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“Black-Fronted Piping-Guan”
Also known as the Black-Fronted Curassow (Pipile jacutinga), this amazing turkey-like South American bird is endangered with around 1,500-7,000 left in the world. It is native to Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, but has declined steeply (to the point of regional extinctions) in much of its original range. I discovered that this guan species greatly relishes in the fruit of Euterpe precatoria, locally known as Huasaí or Palmito, and included said fruit in the background of my painting.
Painted in oil on a 8"x8" panel, this piece is part of the Silent Skies Mural: http://festival.artistsforconservation.org/project/silent-skies
Make sure to check out the link to see art of the 678 endangered bird species on the list.
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