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A Year of Birds: May
Read more: A Year of Birds: MayI am sharing some of my favorite photos that I took this past year in this series. Spring is in full swing now, and the calls of the redwing blackbirds in the nearby marshes are almost continuous. Some of the males come by the feeder to fill up on seed. When I go on walks…
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A Year of Birds: April
Read more: A Year of Birds: AprilBy mid-April, the migratory birds are back, and it is a delight to both see them soaring in the air and hear their calls in the trees along the beach. The other day as some friends and I were hiking, we came upon an amazing sight: a group of 7 cedar waxwings was perched on…
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A Year of Birds: March
Read more: A Year of Birds: MarchIt is March, and the weather is finally starting to warm up a bit – it even goes into the mid-40’s on a sunny day! The snow is starting to melt, and the landscape is slowly turning from white to brown. Locals are used to the “spring slush” in which back roads turn into muddy,…
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A Year of Birds: February
Read more: A Year of Birds: FebruarySince I am new to living in north Michigan near Lake Huron, I was surprised to discover that the bald eagle not only stays all winter long, but juveniles can often be seen hanging out near Misery Bay and other frozen marshes next to the now frozen lakeshore. They will at times hunt together along…
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A Year of Birds: January
Read more: A Year of Birds: JanuaryWhile I often share my paintings here, I have rarely shared my personal reference photos. I will be posting some of my favorite bird photos over the next few months, organized month-by-month, as well as some thoughts on each month. First is January. When it is January in north Michigan, a blanket of snow several…
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Commission of Beach and flowers
Read more: Commission of Beach and flowersI recently completed a commission in which the client requested bright colors and a scene depicting the beach, the lake and flowers. I chose the scene from near a friend’s house and added Indian Paintbrush, which actually grows not far from the beach up here in Michigan. I added real sand and glitter to the…
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Geese taking off in late afternoon: acrylic painting
Read more: Geese taking off in late afternoon: acrylic paintingI love the birds around Lake Huron, and last week I saw this beautiful sight that I decided to paint: Canadian Geese beginning to fly just before sunset. I used the following colors for this painting: ultramarine blue, cerulean blue; cadmium red medium; titanium white; burnt umber and Lamp Black.
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Winter Sunrise, Lake Huron: oil painting
Read more: Winter Sunrise, Lake Huron: oil paintingOne of the things that I love about Lake Huron is that the light is always changing, and the way the lake looks changes with it. One early morning, I was amazed at the beauty of the sunrise, and this oil painting is the result. I wanted to show the light sparkling off the snow…
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Ducks on Lake Huron: Winter
Read more: Ducks on Lake Huron: WinterIt is fascinating to watch Lake Huron begin freezing in the winter. I happened to see some brave mallards swimming in the cold water between ice a few weeks ago, and decided to paint this scene. This was done in oil over a base of acrylic, with a palette of ultramarine and cerulean blues, titanium…
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Tundra Swans: acrylic painting
Read more: Tundra Swans: acrylic paintingTundra swans can be seen in northern Michigan along the shores of Lake Huron. I love the way they look; like boats gliding along the surface. This is a painting I did of one section along the shore during the early evening. My goal was to capture the peaceful feeling at this time of day;…
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Plein Aire study: Birch Tree
Read more: Plein Aire study: Birch TreeI decided to paint a beautiful birch tree that is only a few feet from the beach at Lake Huron. This study was done in acrylics. The day was hazy and a bit grey, so the colors are quite different from the previous sunny day study. I used my usual palette for this painting.
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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…