Painting Plein Air at 7am

7am Sky, oil on panel, 7x5

I arrive when the sun is just starting to come up above the palm trees.  I decide to paint behind the bunches of sedges and sea oats.  There are no waves today, but I can hear the soft swish of water lapping against the shore.  A few pelicans glide by, looking for a place to land.  I face Northwest, and set up my easel.  The air is still cool, and I keep my sandals on.  I block in the sky and the cool, grey clouds.  The water is slightly darker than the sky, with a greenish tint.  The lower section of the sky is a beautiful, pale green-blue, turning towards a cooler blue above.  This morning the clouds are scattered in clumps of small, round puffs, with dark purple-grey bottoms and rosy tops.

After I finish the sky and water, I lay in the sandy area with a thin wash of warm ochre and a touch of pink.  The sedges look brown and green, and I use a palette knife to mark where a few tall sea oats that rise above the horizon.  The air is warming quickly, and I take my sandals off, scrunching my toes into the cool sand.  Now, the water is turning into a brighter blue and the sedges are lit up as the sun rises higher.  My painting is complete.  It is hard to leave the beach as another incredible change in colors and light has opened before me.  Each painting session is like a deep meditation where I become one with the sand, sea, and sky.

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Bird Nesting Season

Watching Over Baby
watercolor & gouache on watercolor paper
8x10

Spring in Florida is nesting season for many birds.  This Great White Egret at the nest with her tiny chick lives at the Venice Rookery in Venice, Florida.  The Rookery is an island of mangroves in the middle of a lake.  In the spring, it is full of nesting egrets, herons, anhingas, and cormorants.  It is a peaceful place, other than the sounds of the many birds that make it their home.  In the bushes around the lake, redwing blackbirds flash their red patches and cackle.  The Rookery is down the street from the Venice Audubon Center.

For more information about this painting and more bird paintings and fine art prints, visit my website.

More Bird Paintings

Feathery Display, gouache and watercolor on paper.  10x8

I keep coming back to the bird paintings.  During the April shutdown, the Venice Rookery was still open.  It wasn't crowded, and I enjoyed sketching the nesting birds from life and taking some photos.  I also did a little plein air painting during the sunset.  This painting of a great white egret has a lot of vibrant color, and I showed how the light touches her feathers.  Gouache and watercolors allow me to paint quickly and keep it loose.  The paints dry fast, and I can work in a few layers to enhance the effects of shimmering color and light.  If you like this bird painting, visit my website for more of my bird art.

Feathers In The Sunlight

Glossy Ibis, 11x14 oil on panel

This glossy ibis had a lot of color in the areas that were lit up by the sunlight.  I noticed the calm, still stance of the bird.  I like to focus on details, especially around the face and eyes, and to surround the focal point with soft areas of color.  Birds are a good subject to work with here in Florida because there are so many large birds such as herons, ibis, wood storks, and sandhill cranes, and there are many opportunities to sketch and take photographs while they are fishing or just standing still for a few moments.

Sketching and Painting Birds From Life

Laughing Gull With Terns, gouache, 5x7

When I am sketching or painting birds from life, people come over and ask me why I don't just take a photograph and paint from that.  Sometimes I do work from reference photos, but the knowledge I've gained from years of sketching and painting from life comes through.  I don't just make a painting of a photograph.  I want it to look real and lifelike, and not too stiff and tight.  This painting of a Laughing Gull and Terns was done from reference photos, but I picked out three birds from the photo and placed them where I wanted them, to make an interesting composition.  I have spent a lot of time sketching these birds at the beach, so I understand their shapes and proportions.  In this painting I created the feeling of the bright sunlight on the beach.  The black heads make a pleasing contrast with the bright orange beaks.  There is something a little bit whimsical and humorous about terns.

Time To Start Blogging Again

Behold, oil on panel, 11x14

After a long absence, I decided to start up my art blog again.  Writing very short posts on my Instagram page doesn't seem like enough.  Here is a studio painting of clouds above the Gulf waters in Southwest Florida where I live.  The clouds are amazing during the warmer months.  Sunsets are better when there are some clouds, because they reflect the light and change into different colors as the sun gets lower and lower.  My process involves doing sketches of clouds in pencil and taking some reference photos.  Once I'm back in the studio, I use the reference materials and I change the position of the cloud if I want to create a better composition.  The most important aspect of the cloud painting is to create a feeling of being there, and a sense of awe.  The experience of communing with the elements of nature is important and many people have neglected that part of life.  I hope my paintings remind people to get outside and look around more often.

Return To Still Life Painting

Still Life With Lemon 1
oil on panel, 12x12

After a very long absence, I have returned to still life painting.  It gives me a way to paint from life during the long, hot, Florida summer.  I like to have a few objects, and prefer flowers and fruit.  When I set up a still life, I realize who many variations are possible.  It is nice to be in control of the scene after spending some years doing plein air painting.  This floral has soft light and shadows, and muted colors.  The lemon gives it a little pop.