Man in the Moon

Two things came together at the same time. One: My friend, Lynn Feller, sent me some amazing shots she took of a full Blue Moon with clouds (two full moons in a month make a "Blue" moon). Two: I spent some time photographing a Spotted Owl named Sequoia at WildCare. The light was low, and the owl had a particular, solitary, and mysterious feeling. These two events came together for me, and I knew I wanted to put them in a painting.

The concept was far easier than the completion. I labored months getting the right balance of dark. In my imagination, these things come together effortlessly, but getting the balance right in real life, or at least the life on the board I am painting on, is another, sometimes extremely different matter. I wanted the feeling of night, but I wanted the Owl to be visible as well.

It is finished for now.

My Nuthatches

I'm so bad at blogging. It's been 2 months since my last post.

During this time a new show has come up. I put my swallows on hold to get things together for an exhibit at the Belvedere-Tiburon Library. My home town library, so it feels good to be there. The show opens November 30th.

I have revisited two Red-breasted Nuthatches that I have worked on, off and on, for ages. I started three different paintings with these two birds that I photographed in my backyard a few years back. The first two paintings were in gouache, but for some reason, I was never able to finish them. Never got the composition quite right. Then I tried one more--this time in oil. It was a promising painting, the two birds on a branch in front of a dark tree. I almost completed it, but the fumes from the oil and turpentine made me sick, plus the slow drying time of the oil paint discouraged me. Again, I put this one aside.

But this month I looked at the painting again, and, with a gulp, cut the painting into two smaller ones--each bird its own miniature. I was able to go back to the oils for the time it took to complete the two, and I finally have a feeling of completion about these two little birds that are so special when I see them flit past my studio.

In the Works

I've been staring at photos of two flying swallows for at least a year. Finally have put pencil to paper, (not brush to board), and will see how it evolves.

Every gray day this past year, I have taking pictures of clouds. Must have about a million photos by now.

So my composition is the two Cliff Swallows against the clouds--birds suspended in the air. The Swallows are only roughly drawn in now. I can see that the success of the drawing will be determined by the balance between the tone of the sky and the deeper value of the swallows. "Between conception and creation lies The Shadow" T.S. Elliot.

I just came back from the opening of the Society of Animal Artists 50th Annual Exhibition in San Diego. The show is on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. A wonderful museum to host the show.

An extinct great white shark, three times the size of the big ones we have today, swims through space in the main exhibition hall and prehistoric dinosaurs greet you on the ground floor . It seemed a perfect setting for all the animal art. The exhibit covers the walls on three floors--the top elevation covered in glass--beautiful lighting and a wonderful exhibit.

Worth seeing if you are in the area. My painting, Winter is in the show. More information is at the Society website, www.societyofanimalartists.com.

New Owl

My focus the past few months has been owls. I've been working on two, one a Spotted Owl, still in progress.

But one is finished, a Great Horned Owl. I took the reference many years ago at Wildcare, and chose to focus on this wonderful bird's face, and paint his portrait.

A couple new pieces. I finished the Duckhorn wine label, but my photo images are not the best.

And a new painting, "Go". A Peregrine Falcon I have been working on for a long time.