Great Blue Heron miniature

3.5"x5.5" Acrylic on board

Just finished this this afternoon. It's actually more "3-D" than it appears on the computer. It loses something here- the greens pop out from a transparent darkness which just looks a bit more flat here and the heron seems to be closer, more "out there" than it shows here. I really had fun painting this one.

Latest Landscape

Here's the latest landscape, just finished Thurs. Acrylic. I finally remembered to photograph with a penny so you can get a sense of size. Can not get the colors quite right on the computer. Did the best I could... Next- back to an animal. :-)

The Need for Reference

I've added just a teeny tiny portion of a few of my references to give you a taste of what I go out and photograph to use in my paintings. The egret, the bird, and the little girl in the green hat are all from a shoot I did last week with an artist friend. I take 1,000's of photos. As an example I filled 2 of my camera cards (don't know what they are called) and a portion of 2 more last Thurs. in just a local visit to a park/zoo here! Ofcourse they are not all wonderful, but they are useful in learning anatomy, having a place to "put that elk" in the future, or a "bird on that old machinery". I take advantage of every opportunity I can for getting reference. I do not plein aire paint generally. I am a studio painter who does highly detailed work and I need the help of the photos to get that detail. It doesn't mean I don't change things- I add things into the reference, I change the lighting, colors, etc. I love dramatic lighting, but don't always have the opportunity to be somewhere exactly at sunset/sunrise, so as a painter I can make that happen. I love all sorts of subjects and am at present trying to expand my reference of children. I have barely scratched the surface for them!

Coyote Landscape WIP

This is a piece I've been working on for quite awhile. Between the fact that spring has come with all the work that entails, the technic I've been using on this is miniature style, highly detailed and this is a bit larger piece- 5"x7", so technically this is not a miniature, but a small work. There is so much to paint that it really took alot of time.
I did a quick sketch of my idea first, then transferred it to the support and began painting. You can see- a painting has to go through the "ugly" stage before it begins to pull together!

Hope you all have a gread Memorial weekend.

I've repainted the stream to a better color than the original and have reposted it as it is now. I believe it is better and more realistic. It was too "blue" previously and didn't blend well.

I'm BACK!!!

I haven't been allowed into my blog since I first set it up!!! Hoping it will finally like me and let me post!

I have entered the world of miniature art and am loving it. Just sent off a number of minis to 2 shows this morning. Ready to start a new piece tomorrow. For now here are a few of the minis I've submitted to shows. The little pomeranian was sold back in the fall, but the others are on their way to The Snow Goose Gallery in Bethlehem, Pa. and Seaside Gallery in Nag's Head, NC. I'll try and post more tomorrow.