I painted this group of fledging Great Blue Herons after my week long Green River Raft trip. We watched these young butt chests and otherwise jump around like playful siblings. I have seen birds dance but play?
In my oil painting I wanted to show their motion.
The photo is washed out (film cannot capture all the colors I paint with) but the cobble bar, painted with short repetitive brush strokes, give the motion I was seeking.

Balletto's Winery oil 11"x 14" (Demo canvases are offered at $200)

Balletto's Winery was a beautiful place to outdoor oil paint. I was doing a demo of an oak tree and at this stage the participants all asked me to STOP. They liked the image as is and so do I. But I was the last to know because I had my mind set on one intent. What I thought I was demoing and what got painted were two different things. its a good lesson to remember and trust your friends!

We celebrated Guillemot Day on Hog Island and here is how I saw them from the boat trip to Eastern Egg Rock Island. They were mixed in with Common Eiders. The colors I used were Veridian and Pthalo Blue. Lavenders were mixed with Rose and create the shaded ares in the surf a classic impressionistic technique.I have a Maritime Painting Weekend at Pt Reyes in October. Come join me!

"Eastern Egg Rock Island Atlantic Puffins" oil 24"x 36" $2200

Look hard because the Puffins are hard to see! There are three puffins in /over the water and three pairs of nesting Common Eiders(at the tide line) and three kinds of terns in the background. And are you sea sick yet? The day I observed the island we had 4 foot swells. I was hoping to incorporate all this in the habitat of the reintroduced Atlantic Puffins.It is composed and painted swiftly but thoughtfully. The brushwork exudes the energy we all felt so close to nature's core. On to the Guillemot Painting.

Green Mountain Wildflowers oil $350

I am back in the Green Mountains and the wildflowers are out in force. Some are non-native and they mow them down-hopefully after the bobolinks nest and young fledge!
Painting the green mountains is a study in distance and warm and cool colors. They are only green if I stand under their canopy or look at the forest from close up. Otherwise the blues paint them best.

Tongue Canyon oil 12"x 16"

The wildflowers are out in force in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. This morning I found this scene and embellished the color.
Should I leave the orange in the foreground? Or lighten the sky? Either one of these ideas will tone it down. Should I tone it down? These are all valid questions and each artist answers them differently. Sometimes I don't decide but I take feedback from viewer's who comment.  I'll keep you posted, if I change it.