It must not be easy to sleep through a blizzard, but this wolf was trying. I had the place to myself on this day as not many wanted to venture out. It was eerily quiet, with only the sound of my footsteps on the squeaky snow.
Getting good reference for paintings often involves standing around observing for long periods of time with a heavy camera at the ready...and luck. Mostly luck. Wolves interact quite a bit with each other, but the action is fast, and you have to be faster. Watching how the wolves move, and studying them also burns an image in your mind that you can draw upon later to make up for what a photo reference lacks.
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I never thought about wolves as animals that swim until I visited Wolf Park in Indiana and witnessed it myself. I was amazed at the distance they could cover, but I shouldn't have been. They are strong animals built for endurance.
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This handsome young chap has three trick dog titles. But in this younger version of his untrained self his favorite trick was unraveling the toilet paper roll.
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From the journal of my Shetland Sheepdog:
i maked a new fren, her name is Robin. i tryz to play chasing, but she cant run coz her wings are gloo shut
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From the journal of my Shetland Sheepdog:
Dis my first day in my furever home. Not too shur wot i gots myself into. My fur mama said...if'n the hooman smelz likk pizza, go wit her. So I did.
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A Blue Jay named "Blink" for his quick movements. He is rarely still,
grabbing a peanut on the fly. It seemed fitting to add in a flurry of
blue paint marks to represent his frenetic activity.
A serious Blue Jay upset that his large oak tree has been cut down.
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We can hate the inconvenience that winter sometimes causes, but you have to admit, sometimes it's a fair trade for the beauty of a crisp, clear day.
It's cold out, but don't feel too bad for me. I have on my puffy down jacket. I don't have boots for the snow, but I keep my feets tucked up in my feathers. The nice people in the house by the park feed me and my family. Call me phat if you must, but I'm warm.
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The season of plenty is over and now this Cardinal must search through the fallen leaves for anything edible.
If you ask most people what color an english sparrow is they will probably say brown. But for a handful of seeds, and a telephoto lens you can discover many colors in their feathers if you have the right light. This painting was based on a photograph I took in the early morning hours.
These little birds are smarter than you think. They quickly learn your schedule for putting out seeds if you feed them on a regular basis. They even learn to remind you by flying to the feeder as soon as they see you come out of the house,or even if they see you through the window.