A Tapestry, a Work in Progress

 

Eastern Screech Owl, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

In the warm evening months, we can hear a screech owl outside our family room.  The first time I heard it, I thought there was a horse whinnying in the yard. I've looked on occasion for its home to no avail.  It truly in part of the tapestry.  

A Tapestry Work in Progress

 

Northern Screech Owl, 10"x10", Oil on Panel

The Copley Society of Art has called for small works with the theme of Tapestry.  It came to mind that the Screech Owl is so camouflaged in its environment as to appear almost a tapestry against it.  I photographed this owl at the Audubon Sanctuary in Canton, MA.  It was a rescued owl that could not be released.  This is a different way of working for me: loose, wet into wet, thick with undefined edges.  I'm not crazy about the flatness of the black.  

Red-bellied Woodpecker Painting, 2020

 

Red-bellied Woodpecker Painting, 2020, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

Placing the birds on a paint brush screams "I'm a painting, not a real bird."  Otherwise, I'm not sure how I can explain this surrealism.  The brush symbolizes me, the artist.  n general, all birds symbolize freedom because they have the ability and the freedom to roam the earth and fly in the skies. But for me the bird is such an interesting creature with the ability to be expressive even with out the lips to smile or the fore head to frown. They offer great color, texture and form variety. 

Red-Breasted Woodpecker, Work in Progress

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Oil on Panel, 12"x12"

As 2020 comes to a close, and I spend all my time in the house, I'm happy to feed the birds and watch them.  These guys are delighted with the suet we put out even though they have to fight off the Blue Jays, notorious gangsters.  

Spring Maple

 

Spring Maple, 2020, Oil on Panel, 16"x24"

I've worked on this for weeks, tweaking here and there over the past week.  I'm still not completely happy with it.  Somehow it is missing that oomph.  I will submit it along with Spring Oak completed last year to the Copley Society Members' Show in January 2021.  They choose one work (or none). In this thematic juried show, the artists' work will reflect various new beginnings - from the annual transition of winter to spring, to new ways in which the global pandemic has altered how we approach and live our lives.

Spring Oak, 2019, Oil on Panel, 16"x24"

 

A Plethora of Paintings

Below are the paintings completed while my computer sat in the shop.  I will allow them to speak for themselves.

Baltimore Oriole with Oranges, 2020, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

Hummingbird in Flight #2, 2020, Oil on Panel, 5"x5"

Flying Hummingbird #1, 2020, Oil on Panel, 5"x5"

South Fork Ouachita River, 2020, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

A River I Could Float Away On, 2020, Oil on Panel, 12"x12"

Something for Our Kitchen,  2020, Oil on Panel, 6"x6"

 

Hydrangeas in Cobalt Vase #3, 2020

 

Hydrangea in Cobalt Vase, 2020, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

I finished this work a few weeks ago.  I've been computerless, though, and unable to post.  I always love painting this vase and will never tire of the variations it offers in color.  

Hydrangea in Cobalt Vase #3, Work in Progress

 

Hydrangea in Cobalt Vase #3, 2020, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

This photo represents 6 working sessions since the first posting.  There are still several sessions remaining.  Currently I'm considering if the sharp details in the vase take too much attention from the hydrangea. Also, I keep thinking Audrey Flack has invaded my abilities.  

Hydrangea in Cobalt Vase #3, Work in Progress

Hydrangea in Cobalt Vase #3, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

This transparent cobalt colored vase was not intended to be a vase.  It was once a glass insulator which I think was used on electric poles.  It is just perfect for capturing light and reflections.  Once every few months as I tire of birds, I will return to flowers.  Often, that choice will narrow to hydrangeas. I love them placed in the cobalt vase.   

 

Sunsets I Have Seen,

Bay of Funny, 2020, Oil on Aluminum, 6"x12"

I have traveled extensively.  And, in that travel, have seen some awesome sunsets.  I was on the Bay of Fundy for several evenings.  Each evening was a memorable experience of saturated sky color.  The Bay has the highest recorded tides in the world at over 40 feet.  

 

Work in Progress, Hydrangea in Cobalt Vase #3

Hydrangea in Cobalt Vase #3, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

Blue, blue and more blue with a little violet.  This cobalt vase is among my favorite to paint.  The global form magnifies the reflections and transparencies.  I'm hoping the green leaf to the left when intensified will balance the asymmetry.  

 

Downy Woodpeckers, Work in Progress

Two Downy Woodpeckers, 2020, Oil on Panel, 8"x10"

There are two woodpeckers, the Downy and the Hairy, that are so close in appearance as to be difficult to distinguish between them.  Painted here is the Downy, which is a bit smaller than the Hairy.  The main distinguishing feature is the bill which is shorter on the Downy.  

Three Finches, 2020, Oil on Panel

I've made a minor change than will have an impact on the narrative.  Can you find it?  

 

Three Finches

 

Three Finches, 2020, Oil on Panel, 12"x12"

This board once had a Baltimore Oriole with the paint brush and the oriole facing down.  I was dissatisfied with the position and form of the oriole as well as the contrast against the blue.  Abandoning that idea I replaced it with the three American Goldfinches.  I played with having some yellow paint drip off the brush to indicate what the first finch is looking at.   

Bay of Funny, Work in Progress

 

Bay of Funny, Oil on Aluminum, 6"x12"

In continuing with the theme of "sunsets I have witnessed", this experience was in Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy.  To be more precise this is the Cobequid Bay which is an inlet of Fundy.  We were staying at Burntcoat Head where the highest tidal range in the world was measured.  The average tidal range is 41 feet. Wow!  Other than the sunsets of Imperial Beach, CA, these were the most fabulously colorful I've seen.  The oranges and reds were almost surreal. We were staying in a little cottage set high above the Bay with a completely unobstructed view of the sky.  It was an August summer evening.

Sunsets I Have Seen

 

Winter on Buzzards Bay, Oil on Panel, 6"x12"

The cove that runs off Buzzards Bay is named Mink Cove.  The mink are no longer around.  Instead there are fishers, coyote, fox, deer, turkey.  The brackish water rarely freezes as the salt and tide movements keep it fluid.  But here in the first week of December and at low tide, there is ice in which the sunset is reflected.  

Work in Progress, Winter on Buzzards Bay

Winter on Buzzards Bay

I took a photo last winter of this beautiful sunset and the reflections on the frozen marsh.  This represents about 6 hours of work.  The sky should be much pinker. The frozen water needs to lean more orange and the marsh grasses should be browner.  Still to come are trees that book end the image.  

 

Woodpeckers

Northern Flicker, 2020, Oil on Panel, 12"x12"

There are 4 species of woodpeckers that frequent our bird feeders, the Northern Flicker, the Red-bellied, the Downy and the Hairy. My guess is the Northern Flicker pictured above is a Red-shafted form. There are Yellow-shafted and hybrid forms. These guys actually prefer to eat ants on the ground than to peck on dead trees.  

Red-bellied Woodpecker, 2020, Oil on Panel, 12"x12"

Look closely and you will see the red belly from which this guy gets his name.  I think the Red-headed woodpecker had already claimed that nomenclature.  It is often hard to find that belly because they cling to tree trunks with the belly pressed against the trunk.  I captured this guy when he was clinging to the seed feeder.  

Zacchaeus, the Black-Chinned Hummingbird

Oil on Panel, 5"x5"

My brother, John, lives in Southwest Arkansas.  For two years he has had a Black-chinned hummingbird appear at his house.  The bird's range only reaches from California east to the western half of Texas.  So, it is unusual to see this little guy in Arkansas.  My brother named him Zacchaeus for the diminutive descendant of Abraham and in whose home Jesus dined.  

 

South Beach, Evanston, IL

Lake Michigan, Oil on Aluminum, 6"x12"

Beautiful Lake Michigan at sunrise as seen from South Boulevard in Evanston, IL.  This piece took only 2 working session or a total of about 4 hours.  It is small and landscapes are very forgiving with regard to exactness.  

South Boulevard Beach, Chicago, In Progress

 

South Beach, Chicago, Oil on Aluminum, 6:x12

This is my second go at painting on aluminum.  I had bought 6 panels and will use them all.  It's very cumbersome to set something so thin up on the easel.  And, I find no advantage over a cradled panel.  

My friend Tamra while isolating during the pandemic, has been walking daily by Lake Michigan in Chicago.  She posts photos of South Boulevard Beach, which are beautiful.  This is the first session using a photo she took and suggested I would like to paint.  With a few alterations, I have. Thanks, Tamra.  

Sunsets I Have Seen

 

Imperial Beach Sunset, 2020, Oil on Aluminum, 6"x12"

I've been curious about working on aluminum for a while and did so on this piece. My thought was some of the reflective qualities of the aluminum would inform the light, ie, sun, water.  That didn't happen.  I also read after finishing that others gesso the surface. It seems to be popular  just for the light weight of it.  Now I must figure how to hang and/or frame it.  

Conclave

 The Northern Cardinal is very territorial and, as such, would rarely form a conclave.  However, there are documented incidences of them flocking together.  But I assume that is not during mating season.  Cardinals don’t migrate, and they don’t molt into a dull plumage.  So they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards. While I didn't depict a female in this painting, they deserve some recognition.  They also have a bright red crest and some red accents.  Only a few female North American songbirds sing and the female Cardinal is among them.  She will do this while sitting on her nest.  

The video illustrates the sessions of work and shows some changes agreed upon by me and the client.  

Conclave, 16"x12", Oil on Panel

The Midas touch

Despite late summer, the Orioles still come to the feeder.  Their song is a delight.  I continue to search for the amazing nests without success.  My summer's work on this piece is complete.  I chose the title from a stanza in Emily Dickenson's poem, Oriole. 

One of the ones that Midas touched,

Who failed to touch us all,

Was that confiding prodigal,

The blissful oriole.

Anchored

 

Anchored, 2020

Oil on Panel, 18" x 36"

Many Works in the Fire

 

I've had a second thought about posting these daily and incremental displays of progress.  I will not be publishing for a while. Then when a work is finished I will post it in a slide format.  See ya later.  

Many Works in the Fire

I am working on several pieces of different sizes.  I continue to work on the two commissioned pieces of Cardinals and Orioles.  But the drying times are long probably due to the very hot and humid weather we are having.  I have a call from one gallery to bring in new works.  There is also a call from the Copley Society to enter a juried show.  So below are all those works.

Minkcove, Diptych 36"x48", Oil on Panel

Pictured above is the large piece begun for The Drawing Room in New Bedford.  Anthi Frangiadis, the owner, has approved.  It is a view of the marsh seen out my studio.

Unity,  18"x36", Oil on panel

The Copley Society of Art's Fall juried member show is entitled Unity. Their call states, "During these challenging and often divisive times we face, in this thematic juried show our artists will reflect through their work the important and positive ways in which unity is celebrated. We invite your entries and interpretations."  Since I don't usually paint the required size or thematically other than birds, I was uncertain about an image.  Then, I remember the dories in Kennebunkport and decided that they were the perfect image of unity.  

And, finally with the cardinals I have inserted the last bird.  

Many Works in the Fire

 For the near future, unless something of important significance occurs, I'm simply going to post images of the works in progress.  I welcome comments or questions during this time.  

Cardinals and Orioles, Works in Progress

Now that we have pretty much settled on the imagery and composition, I've started to apply 'real' paint.  I'm working on both paintings simultaneously to keep them as a working pair.  Then, a most unexpected problem occurred.  Perhaps you can see here the table line that is visible through the fruit.  Because I had taped off the ground and applied the paint so thickly with a palette knife I now have a raised area.  I will need to go in and scrape out that raised area.  

 

Cardinals and Orioles, Works in Progress

 

The patron did not care for the center singing birds. He felt they were too long and thin.  I agreed and looks for birds that could sit tall for the pyramidal composition but not sing or be too out of proportion.  I removed the singing birds and then had to attempt to fill the ground with a matching color.  

Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon, Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

This slide show is of the ten working sessions, each approximately 3 hours, for The Rose of Sharon.  

Cardinals and Orioles, Works in Progress

 

The two backgrounds were worked in order to created a mottled, textured surface and a complement to the birds and fruit.  This was applied over days with a palette knife.  It then took days and day for them to dry enough to work on.  I'm still short a few birds.  As I said earlier the format has created some difficulty with the number of birds and fruit agreed upon.  I will be sending images to the patron for input and approval.