Yellow-Headed Blackbird - SOLD

Yellow-Headed Blackbird
acrylic on canvas
12" x 6" x 1.5"
sold

I decided to try something different and paint a small bird rather than the usual four-legged creatures that I focus on.

The beautiful yellow-headed blackbird makes a surprisingly piercing squawk.

Silent Witness

Silent Witness
acrylic on canvas
24" x 12"
Available for purchase at Carnation Corners, Carnation, WA

I'm steadily catching up on my painting after a crazy couple of weeks. I'm working on a series of farm animals for an upcoming show at Jubilee Biodynamic Farm.

I'm still painting lots of wild fauna, of course. I just finished this particular painting, which was my first attempt at painting a cougar. It's amazing how much my own housecats resemble this impressive animal. Cougars are the largest cats that can purr (to the best of my knowledge...scientists are still debating, apparently).

He crouched low and long on the road,
Low and long and golden against
The leaves, watching pensively,
A damp sphinx of the woods.
-Keith Holyoak, from "The Cougar"

Where the Tall Grass Bends

Where the Tall Grass Bends

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

16" x 40" x 1.5"

Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT

I decided to try my hand at a small herd of bison - you can click on the thumbnails to see the detail better. Iridescent gold paint is mixed in with the pigments.

Autumn leaves are fallingAbout her new-made graveWhere the tall grass bends to listenTo the murmur of the wave.Laden autumn, here I standWith my sheaves in either hand;Speak the word that sets me free,Naught but rest seems good to me.

-Elizabeth Siddal, Untitled Fragments

Little Bighorns

Little Bighorns
acrylic on canvas
18" x 14"
Available for purchase at Carnation Corners, Carnation, WA

I decided to experiment a bit with this one. I used isopropyl alcohol to dissolve droplets of paint on the canvas; I started by using the alcohol drops just on the rocks, then expanded them to the rest of the canvas.

Allies for a Season

(click to enlarge photos)

Allies for a Season
acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
24" x 36" x 1.5"
Available for purchase at Carnation Corners, Carnation, WA

I came down with a head cold this week and fell behind on my painting. Nonetheless, I managed to produce this wintry painting, which definitely fit my under-the-weather mood. :)

The pigments have been mixed with incandescent pearl paint, and I laid the colors on layer by layer. A soft purple/magenta shows through the blue layers, but this unfortunately doesn't show up so well in the photographs.

The snow whispers about me,And my wooden clogsLeave holes behind me in the snow.But no one will pass this waySeeking my footsteps,And when the temple bell rings againThey will be covered and gone. -Amy Lowell, "Falling Snow"

Grazing - SOLD

Grazing I & Grazing II

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

8" x 8" x 1.5"

sold

I bought some crackle paste awhile ago and finally decided to try it out. I combined it with a light molding paste so that the centers of the canvases wouldn't be as crackly.

These two can be hung individually or as a pair. Grazing I has more of a reddish tint to it, and Grazing II has a lighter tan tint.

I will leave in the hills a bit of myself--
The heat of my eyes which saw them bloom;
And cicadas, nesting on thorny branches,
Will sing out the shrill cry of my desire.
-Anna de Noailles, from "The Imprint"

The Great Gray Ghost

The Great Gray Ghost

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

14" x 11" x 1.5"

Available for purchase at Carnation Corners, Carnation, WA

The weather has thankfully returned to normal after being above 90 for far too long...so it's finally a tolerable temperature in my studio again, and I'm getting caught up on painting. This particular piece is a departure from my usual four-legged subjects...I just had to paint that beautiful eye! That striking yellow-orange color is the actual hue of the owl's eye - I based the whole color scheme of the painting around it, accordingly. Iridescent gold paint is mixed in with the pigments.

The sea, the stars, the winds, the trees,
The stream, the waterfall, the dell,
The bird, the flowers, the meadow-bell--
I felt that all of these

Were but the symbols of a soul
Alive with hope or memory;
The mind's immortal harmony
That through its chambers stole.

And to the spirit's listening ear,
Whilst slept the limbs and senses all,
Made every thing seem musical;
How could I cease to hear?
-Christopher Pearch Cranch, from "The Music of Nature"