Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Brown Trout 12" x 12" acrylic $650







Number two in the trout series. This one features a brown trout and a series of favorite nymphs. The little yellow stone, pheasant tail, prince nymph, zug bug, and gold-ribbed hare's ear. These popular flies catch a lot of fish because they represent the insects in their larval stage.
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Monday, September 27, 2010

Misty Marsh - Egret 7" x 5" acrylic

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A snowy egret rests along a misty marsh. This elegant bird is at ease as it's head is tucked in. I saw this landscape over the weekend at a local wildlife area and added the egret to it as almost an afterthought as I wanted it to be a part of the landscape.
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Friday, September 24, 2010

Rainbow Trout 12" x 12" acrylic

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This is the start of a new series of rustic, contemporary trout paintings on 12" sqaure canvas that also features popular trout flies. In this painting, they are a series of dry flies that includes a stimulator, a yellow humpy, a royal coachman, an adams, and an elk hair caddis. Other paintings will include wet flies, streamers and emergers to go along with a brown trout, brook trout and cutthroat trout.
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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Moonrise at Sunset 5" x 5" acrylic

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As I turned the corner onto my street last night, I was taken by this breathtaking moment. The moon was rising as the last rays of sunlight graced the trees at the end of the street. Moments of inspiration can strike at any time and I had to quickly capture the moment so it was done in a bit of an impressionistic style - more like sketching with paint. The whole painting was done with a 1/2" flat brush.
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Friday, September 17, 2010

Wood Duck Pair 5" x 7" acrylic

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Luckily, wood ducks are common around my neighborhood as we are surrounded by wooded waterways on three sides. This allows the opportunity to see one of my favorite ducks and one of the most decorated birds in North America on a regular basis. Every summer, wood ducks (and all other ducks) go through a molt and lose their spectacular color but, now in September, they begin to regain their colors. Here a male and female swim together. This 'daily painting' took a bit more than a day because of the amount of color and the fact that there were two ducks involved. The female is quite colorful in her own right.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Spring Creek 5" x 5" acrylic

SOLD An icy, spring fed creek winds it's way through a summer mountain meadow. Water in these creeks is usually crystal clear and if high enough in elevation, it is usually drinkable and very good. Streams like this are vital to wildlife such as deer and elk and native trout. This particular stream had a nice 14" trout feeding just behind the fallen wood. My Website

Monday, September 13, 2010

Heavenly Coast 5" x 7" acrylic

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As a winter storm breaks up over the Pacific, the setting sun peaks through the clouds creating a dramatic landscape. Words cannot describe the inspiration I felt when the light created this breathtaking scene, so I did my best to describe it in paint. It was amazing - perhaps a slice of heaven on earth!
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Friday, September 10, 2010

Badia 4" x 10" graphite on paper

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Located in the Tuscany region of Italy near Gaiole in Chianti, Badia a Coltibuono is a former monestary that has been transformed into a farmhouse-villa. There is an amazing abbey garden that is laid out as an ancient enclosed garden (on the backside of this view)where geometric box hedges surround beds of aromatic and medicinal plants in classic Tuscan garden style. The new owners produce fantastic wines that are fairly well-known and this drawing was created to be fittingly used as an image on a wine label.
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Thursday, September 9, 2010

The Watchman 4" x 4" acrylic $225







Keeping this one to the 'daily painting' format of completing it in a day or less was a challenge. This one started at 5 am and was just finished (after 5pm). I just kept adding ducks to create an almost abstract composition. Even when waterfowl seem to be sleeping there is always a sentry on the lookout for danger. The light is getting low as evening darkness overtakes what was a foggy day. The ducks are sleeping along a shoreline but will soon be up and flying to their favorite feeding spot.


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Pintails 5" x 5" acrylic

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A trio of drake pintails loafs in the cool mid-morning sun on a shallow sheet of water. My goal for this painting was to create the feeling of sneaking a peak into the pintails world. Normally, duck paintings show the birds in somewhat of a perfect posture, but with this painting I used different body positioning to guide the viewer's eye back toward the more 'hollywood' posed pintail.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

First Snow 5" x 5" acrylic $245








This bear has fattened up on salmon and berries and is ready to survive the oncoming winter as the first snow begins to fall. He walks the rocky shoreline in search of a final meal as a couple of ravens squawk in front of him all the while knowing their wings can bring them out of harms way. Another summer season comes to end...

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Backwater Mallard 9" x 12" acrylic $1400

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The water in this painting has taken a loooong time! It is finally getting close to being finished so I've decided to post it here the on the blog (but will continue to hone in the final details over the next couple of days). It surely has been a challenge creating a rainy environment for this mallard. To create the feeling of inclement weather, there are raindrops beaded up on the ducks oily feathers, numerous water rings, drops and even a couple of bubbles in the water. The autumn leaves are soaked and submerged just under the surface as well. Of note, this painting was submitted unfinished (even more so than here) back in June to the Oregon Ducks Unlimited art competition and it won by one vote in the unfinished state (whew!). Prints of this painting will be available sometime in late November/early December.