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Sandhill Cranes: Oil Painting
Read more: Sandhill Cranes: Oil PaintingA few weeks ago, I saw some sandhill cranes feeding in the evening light at Misery Bay. I took a bunch of photos, and decided to take a more impressionistic approach to these beautiful birds. I used a limited palette for this oil painting: tit. white; ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, Burnt Umber, burnt sienna, yellow…
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Nuthatch in Early Spring: acrylic painting
Read more: Nuthatch in Early Spring: acrylic paintingI enjoy watching nuthatches creeping upside down and sideways around trees, and decided to paint this one that I saw in the early Michigan spring a few weeks ago just after it had snowed. I used a very limited palette for this painting: ultramarine blue, titanium white, burnt umber, burnt sienna and yellow ochre.
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The Importance of Field Notes
Read more: The Importance of Field NotesI love to paint birds and other wildlife, and to depict them in their natural habitats. In order to create my paintings, I often take field notes and do “quick sketches” on site. I have not shared my sketches because they are quick, rough and my subjects for drawing often move very, very quickly. But…
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Canadian Geese Family
Read more: Canadian Geese FamilyEach morning, there is a family of wild geese that visits the shoreline near where I am staying. I couldn’t resist painting these beautiful birds. Geese on Lake Huron, oils, 11 X 14″
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Quick Goose sketch
Read more: Quick Goose sketchI was visiting a friend on Lake Huron last week, and saw geese and seagulls everywhere; I did this very quick plein aire sketch of a gander watching over his mate while she fed. The white dots are seagulls in water. I had to do the sketch (in acrylics) in 5 minutes, because he was…
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Blue Jay Painting
Read more: Blue Jay PaintingI love blue jays, so couldn’t resist painting this one. The colors scanned brighter blue than in my original oil painting (I am still learning about color adjusting), but this shows the overall effect. I hope you enjoy him!
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Learn How to Paint a Bird – and Help Someone Deserving
Read more: Learn How to Paint a Bird – and Help Someone DeservingI am trying to help my friend, Kai, raise funds to come to the U.S. and study for her master’s in social work. As mentioned previously, she is a victim of human trafficking, who is dedicating her career to helping others break free of this vicious cycle. To help out, I am willing to offer…
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Got Juried In at Kalamazoo Nature Center!
Read more: Got Juried In at Kalamazoo Nature Center!I’m excited; I just found out today that I got juried in to exhibit at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, which shows some wonderful art by local artists. Their head curator sent a very nice letter, letting me know she will be contacting me soon to make arrangements for an exhibit. So, time to get the…
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Birds of Michigan: Canadian Geese (in process)
Read more: Birds of Michigan: Canadian Geese (in process)I love Canadian geese. Here is my latest in my “Birds of Michigan” series; it’s the painting with the geese and reflections almost finished. There was a ton of glare in the photo of my painting that I took; I don’t have a polarized filter, so I tried to blacken in the necks of the…
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Birds of Michigan: Blue Jay
Read more: Birds of Michigan: Blue JayIt’s snowing a lot today, and the Blue Jays are feeding on corn that gets scattered on the ground, as well as seeds the other birds drop from the three seed feeders on our front porch. I enjoy their color and curiosity, in spite of how aggressive they are. So, this inspired a painting: The…
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Birds of Michigan: Mourning Dove
Read more: Birds of Michigan: Mourning DoveI’m back to painting birds again, this is a mourning dove in golden light, sitting in the grass. I wish I could my photo here to look like the original painting; it’s a lot more washed out looking than the original on my easel (probably because of glare, etc.). I enjoyed painting this one; I love…
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Birds of Michigan: Greeting the Morning
Read more: Birds of Michigan: Greeting the MorningI love finches, because they add color and liveliness to the landscape. This painting catches a finch clinging to a twig as the morning light shines on him. I painted the grays with a mix of ultramarine blue, transparent oxide red, black and titanium white; I used these colors and added cadmium yellow for the…