Feathers

2011-09-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

2011-09-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to paint yellow. And I had an image of an American Goldfinch that I have been trying to use for a long time. But I knew I needed something else to make the bird image work with the yellow square. I think I came up with the children's blocks as a way of linking the little bird with a human experience. I always seem to be looking for ways to connect the birds I care about to the world that we live in.

This is the first of a series. I have four more colors I would like to paint.

Colors

2011-09-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

Early this spring, while waiting at the doctor's office, I had a bit of an inspiration looking at a Richard Serra drawings in an old New Yorker. The drawing was a black irregular four sided shape on an off-white background. My mind jumped to a bright colored background, and the irregular shape became a rectangle. The idea of actually getting some bright color into my work was really thrilling. I got some old cardboard and set about painting all kinds of squares, using first a watercolor brush, then a paint roller until I got the right effect.

Being me, I saw a bird in the middle of it all, but first had to get the right feeling to the border.

Nuthatches in Pepper Tree

2011-05-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I began painting two Red-breasted Nuthatches that were visiting our yard. I have always been drawn to the master Japanese woodblock artists of the 17-1800's, particularly Hokusai's prints of Nature. The Nuthatches felt like a perfect subject to try this kind of approach. It turned out to be a long, somewhat frustrating experiment. I began three different paintings, and never felt satisfied enough to complete any of them.

Just this past year, I took a fresh look at these paintings. I cut the first one into two smaller works that I then finished in oil. You can see them on a previous blog--Nuthatches #1 and #2. The second is this painting. I pulled out my gouache (as that was the medium I used when I started it) and was able to complete it. Sometimes, I just need the space that time brings to look at a piece in a new way.

Fly away

2011-05-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Finally finished.

In several of my recent paintings, the clouds are as much the focus as the bird. And the clouds seem to carry their emotions as much as the birds. This one has made me happy. The Great Egret ascends, and it feels like she is traveling home.

Work in Progress

2011-02-11T21:44:00.001-08:00

Since I'm working on one of my long term paintings, I wanted to post "in progress". Otherwise, you would see nothing from me until March. I've been working since November on this painting, and for me, it is really moving quickly. It's about 12 1/2" x 19".

Clouds have been my major focus all year. I have volumes of photos now. I took this cloud photo on a trip to Oregon, and finally found the right bird. I had this idea in mind for quite a while. A lone Great Egret flying in a threatening sky. Flying home, trying to make it there before the storm hits. Or maybe the storm has already hit, and the bird had to wait it out somewhere, and is now on her way again.

I think about the birds when it is storming outside. We are warm in our homes--how do they survive through the harsh winter?

Man in the Moon

2010-12-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

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

2010-09-24T21:21:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-09-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-05-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

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.

Duckhorn Vineyards

2009-11-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

Good News! Both of my pieces sold at the Bolinas Museum Holiday Mini show. Maybe an indication that things are looking up in the art world.

I have a new commission, and commissions are unusual for me. I will be painting the 2008 Artist's label for Duckhorn Vineyards Paraduxx winery. Paraduxx winery has commissioned an artist every vintage since 1994 to create an original painting depicting a "pair of ducks", and the paintings become duck stamp labels for their proprietary blend bottling. They do a limited edition print of the image as well. I went up this week to visit the winery--a completely beautiful place, and what a perfect time to visit Napa Valley. All the vines yellow like Autumn leaves.

Bolinas Museum Mini Show

2009-11-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

I took a break from my Peregrine to complete two small pieces--both only 4 inches square--for the Bolinas Museum Holiday Miniature Show. Since most of my paintings take three months, you can imagine how satisfying it has been to finish two pieces in one week.

One painting is a Brown Pelican against clouds. I took my camera when the Blue Angels were flying above San Francisco Bay this fall. The Pelicans were up there too. By chance, I got a good shot that worked with some clouds I had saved last year.

The other is a drawing of a Red-breasted Nuthatch from my own backyard. I took the photo years ago, and believe it or not, I have begun and almost completed three different paintings of this guy and his mate; two in gouache, and one, my only attempt, at oil painting. I was never completely happy with any of them, but I do like this little drawing.

The opening of the exhibition is November 21st, and the show runs through January 3, 2010. Please check the Museum website for hours. The Museum is only open on the weekends.

So now I am back to my Peregrine.

A Peregrine Falcon

2009-10-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

A while back I was lucky enough to run into Mary Pounder at WildCare, and take some photos of the Peregrine Falcon, Peli, that now lives there. I am finally getting around to painting this beautiful bird. I'm creating the bird from a mix of many photos, but mainly the two above, one for the bottom wing, one for the top. No photo I take ever seems quite perfect, and I get used to piecing together what I need.

And now I can incorporate my love of sky and clouds with the bird. A long vertical compostion with the bird at the bottom and clouds filling up the rest.

I'll keep you posted.

Finished

2009-09-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

It always takes longer than I think to really finish a painting. I feel like it is done, then see there is a little more that I can do to make it just a little better--make the painting feel stronger. Often changes only I can see, and even then I really have to look to see the differences. So the painting is called "Lift", thought I think this Great Egret could be taking off, settling down, or just stretching it's wings.

I've already started a new one. A Peregrine Falcon, but the big element in the painting is the cloud behind it. I am looking forward to winter skies. And clouds, I can't wait to see the clouds in the sky. Right now, I am as focused on the sky as I am the bird.

Almost done

2009-08-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

After weeks of building up subtle shading on all the feathers to render the form of this Great Egret, I'm starting to see the end of the tunnel. This is a big painting for me--24" x 18". I think I started this painting back in May.

The thing that seems to be pulling the whole thing together is the blue background. At first the color was too light, and the whole image was diluted. As the background starts to get darker, the Egret begins to shine.

For the first time, I am posting the painting unfinished. For me to save and you to see.

This is the new image

2009-07-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a lot of cropping--eliminating all the background and focusing on the bird. The background is just a color, a deep blue. The painting is moving along well.

New Great Egret

2009-07-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

I finished the White Pelican, Winter, at least a few months ago. The show at Pelican Studio made me very happy. Wonderful to see all my work up. And I was so happy to see old friends and supporters at the opening.

In September, my work will be on the walls in an upcoming show at the Marin Jewelers Guild in San Rafael, CA.

I have been working on a new Great Egret. The inspiration was a photo from my friend, Richard Pavek. Bird forward, wings outstretched. I'll try to add a photo as I keep working. The bird is so white and clear against a very blue background.

Opening tomorrow

2009-05-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted a new blog in quite a while. I finished "Sonny Boy", a nine month project, and last month completed "Winter".

Winter is actually the name of the White Pelican I painted who lives at WildCare, but the color and feel of the painting reflects the name as well. A beautiful bird with a gentle spirit. The painting will be on view at Pelican Studio in Point Reyes Station.

I've been preparing for my show at Pelican Studio for the past month. Pelican Studio is now occupying the space where William Lester Gallery had been for over 10 years. I sat in my studio today and wondered if the rain would keep everyone away from the event tomorrow.

I have two new works to think about. Again WildCare gave me the inspiration for a new work of a Peregrine Falcon, set against a billowing, clouded sky. And the next is another Great Egret.

Moving On

2009-02-05T21:20:00.001-08:00

I've been told that if you can't update your blog at least every two weeks, it gets too stale. Well, how stale can it be after eight months? Very stale.

But finally I have finished my painting of "Sonny Boy". Maybe it was the complexity of the feather patterns. Or perhaps the color was just too strong for me to deal with all at once. All I know, is that this painting took an extremely long time to complete. But I am happy with my "Sonny Boy", and hope it does justice to the original Rooster.

So now I am moving on to other birds. A beautiful White Pelican and later a Peregrine Falcon. Both are residents at WildCare.

2008-07-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

So what have I been working on for the past few months?

And why does it take so long to get these paintings done?

Well, early this year I got the desire to paint a Rooster. I think I needed to play with the color and find a mate for my "Tuscan Chicken" (see my limited editions).

I found a bold beautiful red one in Point Reyes Station . His name is Sonny Boy, owned by Bonnie Perry. With great luck, he was willing to pose for me, while Bonnie kept the other Rooster, an Araucana from sneaking up from behind.

I thought I had it made, but that was three months ago, and here I am still working with my little brushes, building up my color and trying to get the bird off the ground.

I don't know why it takes me so long. The composition came along pretty quickly, but the details, oh the details. Rendering the chest feathers has been a real challenge. And he needed a foreground. I found some great grasses whose green seems to go well against the reds and rusts of the bird.

So every day I work. sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. Defining feathers, delineating grass. Trying to make the balance between the two work.

Welcome

2008-07-14T14:55:00.001-07:00

Thanks for visiting my blog. Please visit my website to see my paintings and limited edition prints of wildlife http://banthien.com/