Osprey in Progress

Osprey, Oil on Board, 16"x20"

We can see two pairs of nesting Osprey from our house.  The  males return every year around St Patrick's day from their South American winter home. They begin to build the nest in preparation for the females arrival some two weeks later.  They have made a miraculous recovery from near extinction about 60 years ago due to pesticide poisons.  Led by Gil Fernandez, local naturalists helped save and bring back the Osprey by building platforms for nesting and cultivating the science that helped ban the worst pesticides.  I can stand directly below one of the nests and watch as the bird sores away in the thermals to distract me from the nest.  There was great drama this year when a bald eagle came into the area to fish.  Our four Osprey and 2 from a neighboring nest aggressively attack and drove off the eagle who certainly would have gone for the chicks. 

Hydrangea

Hydrangea, 2019, Oil on Board, 8"x8"

Hydrangea: from Greek hydro - 'water' + angeion 'vessel' (from the cup shape of its seed capsule).  There are 5 main types of hydrangea in North America.  This type is commonly known as Mophead or French and is native to Japan.  The flower in this painting was not fully developed into the 'mop'.  I was more interested in the variation of bloom color at this early stage.  The almost white young petals had a green tint that was fun to mix.  Interestingly, this showy part of the flower is sterile.  

Balancing Baltimore Orioles

Balancing Act Baltimore Orioles, 2019, Oil on Board, 8"x8"

In an earlier post I mentioned that I might not oil in the ground.  In the end I did oil it.  There were areas that had been worked later and showed a difference in the surface that needed rectifying.  The Oriole on the left has a cheeky attitude that adds more interest to the narrative than the bird on the right.  It's important to not only find a position that shows the feathers but that creates a feeling of life and movement.  

Baltimore Orioles Balancing Act

Baltimore Orioles Balancing Act, 2019, Oil on Board, 8"x8"

I have laid a transparent coating of Prussian blue over the ground.  The value is consistently dark across both grounds.  The surface is very flat and I am considering leaving it and only oiling out the birds and oranges.  

We still await the arrival of the Orioles.  The feeder is out and filled in anticipation of the arrival.  I know they are here by the sound of their call rather than the visual display of their plumage.  Follow this link to hear the distinct sound.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/sounds

Baltimore Orioles Balancing Act

Baltimore Orioles, Oil on Board, 8"x8"

The act of indirect painting as indicated by the name, slows my progress.  But, the reveal of one color choice over another is a learning experience.  I've yet to learn how to use the technique throughout the entire painting beyond the ground.  The use of values to compose both the light source and the forms cheats with the indirect method.  Later that method will be ignored as I begin to directly paint into the oranges and Orioles.  

A Prickly Situation

                      

                              Goldfinch with Thistle,  Oil on Board, 10"x8"

As part of the series that places the bird with its food source, I placed this American Goldfinch with a thistle.  Initially, the composition as seen on the left had a single thistle hanging as to be dried.  My in-house critic found this unintelligible.  Questions arose: does the space need to be identifiable?, should the depth of the space be clear?, is this surrealism? realism?  My decision was to add more thistle.  The image on the right shows the beginnings of this approach.  

Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants with sharp prickles all over the plant.  The prickles are an adaptation that protects the plants from herbivores. The varieties are vast, some considered beneficial for pollinators. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland, land of my maternal heritage. According to a legend, an invading Norse Army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scottish army's encampment. During the attempt one barefoot N0rseman stepped upon a thistle, cried out in pain, thus alerting the Scots. The spear thistle, presented here with the Goldfinch, is considered the likely thistle the Norseman stepped on.  

Fertility, Pomegranate

Pomegranate, 2019, Oil on Board, 10"x10"

The uncertainty in this piece lies in the scale of the pomegranate.  They are in fact larger than life size.  This alone would not seem problematic except for the small scale of the overall piece.  As such, the pomegranate seems out of scale or too large for its environment.  Also, the left half wants to float rather than sit.  

"There is no must in art because art is free." Wassily Kandinsky