Owlets in the Oak Tree

11 x 14 Graphite Drawing on Vellum

These owls were hatched in an ancient oak in the middle of a children's park in the center of Daphne, Alabama. 

They had been featured in the Mobile Press Register for several weeks, and as a birder I was desperate to get down there and photograph them so that I could paint them. 

I talked Walter into going down there after work one day. And although I asked Walter to bring his longest lens he didn't. I don't think he fathomed the distance from ground to branch. Fortunately, his normal lens was sufficient, but in the end I felt a graphite drawing fit the subject and composition better.

We tried to hang around long enough to see the mom up close, but she kept her distance in the height of nearby trees. We could hear her swoop and whoosh but by the time we looked up she had secreted herself in the shadows.

Sam & Anna

11 x14 Watercolor on Arches 300 CP

Frances the Wonderdog

 

11 x 14 Watercolor on Arches 300 CP

Green Apples

 

11 x 14 Watercolor on Arches 300 CP

Sometimes the light comes in my kitchen so beautifully that I just grab what's available and make a few snap shots of it to see if a painting can emerge.

I love the green and blue together.

Can I Come In?

11 x 14 Watercolor on Arches 300 CP

Red Grapes, Blue Cloth

11 x 14 Watercolor on Arches 300 CP

This is another spontaneous still lifes I make when the morning light shines in so lovely.  I guess I need to keep fruit in the house for just those occasions.

Is it "still lifes", "stilllifes", "stillifes" or "stilllives"? I get a red line under every version!

Cardinal

11 x 14 Watercolor on Arches 300 CP

I painted this cardinal from two different photos. The goal was to work on making backgrounds I like. I'm not sure I succeeded in that regard. I like the picture overall. I like the bird especially and the bench very much too, but what my mind envisioned for the background and what it morphed into aren't really the same. Still a handsome picture, I would say.