In the Beginning was Scream

Crows, Oil on Board, 16"x32"

I've been luring the crows with peanuts each morning.  They gather in the Tupelo and call to one another.  They are so smart and amusing with there cawing.  As spring approached and the Red Winged black birds arrived and began to nest, they would chase the crows away nose diving at them.  

This piece is larger than I've worked recently.  I wanted to be a bit looser and more expressive with the ground than the small pieces allowed.  I'm not so sure about the green, though.  

Sunset over Dune

Sunset over Dune, 2017  Oil on Board, 10x10"

Light in and on the dunes can be dramatic as it reflects and bounces off water, grasses, sand.  The very warmth of the setting sun behind the dunes and on the clouds was a nice juxtaposition to the cool shadows in the grasses.  

The Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron, 2017, Oil on Board 12"x12"

The Great Blue Heron's habitat is pretty wide spread across most of North America and Central America.  Chances are you've encountered one if you were near wetlands or the shores of open water.  I'm fortunate to live on a marsh where we enjoy their company year round.  They are very slow moving and methodical in the hunt.  If startled they fly off pterodactyl style with a loud squawking sound that belies their elegant beauty. When we were in Florida, the tourists had tamed them to the extent they would walk into the house looking for a hand out.  I've seen them swallow a fish many times larger than the circumference of their throat.  It's fascinating the watch that fish shape make its way down the long thin neck.  For me, a painter, the composition offered by the many contortions of the neck is endless.  The stark contrasts of the white head and chest feathers against the blue, black and somewhat mauve feathers is pleasing.  And, the bill, the bill...such a medley of color.  

Crow is Back

Crow, Oil on Board, 12x12"

I've been on the lookout for Crow again.  Driving the streets of Wareham, I look near fast food outlets, condominiums, and strip malls.  I've discovered that the Murders follow a structure of time and place.  They like to visit Burger King and CVS around 4pm.  In my neighborhood they are more active in the morning, sometimes waking me with an early day call.  Wherever they gather, they group and fly hither and thither cawing loudly, landing as one, seeming to debate constantly and once again taking flight.  To photograph them is a challenge.  The light must fall from the front or they become a silhouette.  Then once in the studio, the transformation begins.

Crow, Oil on board, 12x12"

The Black Capped Chickadee

Chickadees, 2017  Oil on board, 10x0 Inches

The black capped chackadee is a most amusing little bird.  It chatters constantly, seems oblivious to human presence, and quickly flits from feeder to branch where is cracks open the provided sunflower seed.  At 5-6 inches, the bird seems much smaller with its little fat round body and 2-3 in tail.  

The Moors, Provincetown

The Moors, Provincetown, Oil on Canvas, 2017 24"x60"

The residents of Provincetown, MA refer to the area along Long Point Beach as The Moors.  Moors typically are described as a type of habitat found in upland areas.  This area is definitely not an upland.  I don't know the history of how the name came to be.  Perhaps the land was less flooded by tides at some point.  The challenge with this painting was to depict the incoming tide.

Northern Cardinal Fledgling

Fledgling, 2016  8"x8", Oil on board

This guy may look like an adult, but he certainly wasn't.  Day in and day out we could hear his screeching voice demanding, "feed me.  feed me."  I was lucky enough to catch this pose while he was in full throat.  I learned that baby birds fledge within 20 days because it is safer to be out of the nest and away from predators even if the bird is still dependent on the adults for food.