Not everyone loves Blue Jay's but I do! They are so clever, and their plumage so bright. The calls they make are unique, my favorite is the squeaky door. I usually hear at least one as I'm out walking the dog in the mornings. This painting has some texture as I used a knife in places. I also gave it some interest by incorporating unexpected color dashes like violet. The orange and blue of the composition give this a bright sparkle to match the personality of the bird.
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This simple color scheme shows off the subject's vibrant red color. I
like adding interest with textural marks so your eye does not become
bored.
I have painted crows many times and it is always a challenge to find different ways to depict what from a distance, look like plain black birds. I assure you they are not! So intelligent and interesting to observe.
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As I painted this it took me back to the day I took the reference picture and how I felt. It was a Friday afternoon, and I was on my work route just before lunch. Snow had just started to fall. This account was a beautiful office overlooking a Midwestern prairie that was carefully created. It was quiet. One of the advantages to my job was I was able to visit many different office spaces. Some of them junky and old, and some of them with spectacular views even in the midst of a busy suburban city. As I visited this place weekly, I hoped one day to see a coyote or even a fox pass through, but I never did. I did watch the seasons pass, and this painting represents a favorite memory.
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This painting happened spontaneously after I had tried and failed three
times at painting a bird. I was sure the bird was going to be a great
image, but I couldn't get it to work. In my frustration I began painting
over it in bright colors in a haphazard way when this Fall scene began
to appear. Sometimes successful paintings are born when you lower your
expectations. That's when the surprises happen. The best laid plans are
not always best.
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Maybe you see a sloppy crow with his feathers a tatter, but the kids in
the neighborhood love him as Junk Food Joe the Crow. He hangs out in the
park waiting for a bit of ice cream cone, or a hot dog. His diet is not
the best, but his heart is open and bold. He says bugs in fact do not
taste like chicken. He delights the children with his low flights over
their head to attract their attention. They happily share their snacks
for a chance to be near him, and watch his silly antics. He likes to
tease the dogs in a good natured way. But mostly he considers himself a
teacher. He shows that his species is not a dark entity associated with
scary witches at Halloween, but a fun loving comrade with a vice for
pizza, more like his human friends than the myth of the bird.
"The gaze of the wolf reaches into our soul," a quote by Barry Lopez noted author. Of wolf books my favorite is, "A Wolf Called Romeo," by Nick Jans. Sometimes the only way we can know the beauty of wolves is by reading about them, or painting them. You can see more of my larger paintings of wolves here.
Several years ago I visited a research park where they study wolf behavior. I was able to enter the enclosure to photograph the wolves. It was not easy to get good reference photos as we were not allowed to kneel, or sit on the ground lest the wolves see us as vulnerable and try to push us around. There was a very large pond in this habitat, and one of the wolves decided to swim across to an island and back. As he emerged dripping wet he pushed his way through the willow growing on the bank. This is the first in a series I am working on. To see more in this series click here.
Coyotes are also known as "song dogs" because of the variety of yips, howls, growls and sounds they make. They have made themselves at home in our urban areas. If you want to learn more about how they live, a woman in San Francisco has an interesting blog at coyoteyipps.com. The more we know the less we fear, and come to appreciate these beautiful animals.
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A raven can fluff out his neck feathers to show status and dominance. They also have "ears" or feathers at the top of their head that they can raise to communicate. "Pants" the feathers at the tops of their legs are more pronounced than in the common crow, and it is one way you can tell these two similar birds apart. I painted this with many layers of transparent glaze to emulate the iridescent coloring of the feathers.
Have you ever woken up in the morning to find a stick on your pillow?
No? Then you don't have a Shetland Sheepdog. On walks, sticks tend to
follow them home hitching a ride on their velcro like under fur. At
night, while you are sleeping these crafty sticks migrate their way into
your bed via your sheltie's self groom. At least they don't hog the
covers. The sticks I mean, the shelties take up most of the bed, AND the
covers.
It seems as I paint animals I tend to make up stories about them in my head. Maybe it helps me bring out their expression, I don’t know, they just pop into my head. So I will let little Blueberry tell you his story in his own words as he told it to me.
My momma told me not to sniff on the ants because one could fly up my nose and get stuck there! But I gots to! I gots to know if they really smell like licorice like my brudder said. If they do I’m gonna eats all of dem. Many as I can find! Signed, Love, Blueberry.
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I sometimes like to paint with more exacting detail like some of my
favorite wildlife artists Robert Bateman and John Seerey-Lester. I was
aiming at capturing the intense stare of this wild wolf, and the fluffy
flakes of snow piling up on his fur.