Grizzlies

I'm adding more color and definition to the mother grizzly. I blocked in some of the cub on the right, but am mostly ignoring them until I get the mother figured out. Still a long ways to go, but so far I like it.

Sabertooth WIP

More work on the coat pattern as well as finishing up sculpting the other side of him.

Sabertooth WIP

Although I still need to sculpt the other side of his head, I couldn't wait any longer to start adding some color. The colored wool is merino wool. It is a softer, higher quality than the core wool I used to sculpt the cat.

I'm trying out a rosette type pattern for his coat, kind of like a leopard. However, since this is a prehistoric cat, I can create my own unique pattern for him.

Lots more work to go and once he is near done I will start on the horse.

Brown Bear Finish

I'm calling this one done or very close to it. Some, but not many problems creeped up during painting it (always a good thing!). A big, old, brown bear strolling through the woods.

Getting there...

My brown bear painting is almost done. I kept him in a forest type habitat...lots of broken color and neutral colors in the foreground left to keep focus on the bear.

Brown Bear WIP

More on the habitat, still trying to figure out what looks best. A little more to go on the bear. I like to paint wet in wet, it is drying so I better hurry it up!

Brown Bear WIP

More on the brown bear painting. I'm slowly putting in colors in the background...trying to find what looks best. Also adding and subtracting highlights in the bears coat to get him to stand out. Still a ways to go!

Brown Bear WIP

I've started a new little oil painting of a brown bear. This is how I start them, just filling in the animal with the basic "local" colors. I'll add my accent colors later, but already he isn't really brown. There are reds, greens and purples in his coat.

More later...

About done...

My little fox in the forest is about done. Fun!!

Forest Fox update

More work and another update. I just love putting all those bits of bright color in the fox and the habitat. To me, it is a lot more interesting and pretty than painting the fox all orange and red. It is art after all:)

Forest critter...

Probably my last fox in my fox a day journey. Its nearing the mid way done point, I can never tell though. So far so decent...

Got a good deal of bear sketches going. I need to go get some more gessobord though (my preffered support). I also have some more paleoart coming up.

I just ordered a good deal of felting supplies. I am going to try and go through some steps of creating a creature here on my blog. The supplies should be here in a few days and then I'll get started:)

Felted Wolf WIP

The wolf is about done, the photo does not show all the details. He even has little paw pads:-) I made a little dead tree branch with mushrooms to make it look like he is howling in the forest. I may do a couple more habitat items before he is ready to be placed on Etsy.

Felted Wolf WIP

More on the wooly wolf. Worked on the back end, legs and tail. He is almost done. His legs are posable because of the wire armature I use inside the sculpt.

I'll touch him up some more and then try and create a base for him.

New cards...

More new paintings and new cards available at Redbubble:) :)

New landscape

original 6"x8" oil on panel

UNFRAMED

$48.00

A new little landscape of a Redwood forest bathed in sunlight.

Fox on the rocks...

I am almost there with this painting. It is big, bold and colorful...just the way I love art to be! I put in all shades of beautiful color, from oranges to greens to purples and pinks. Kind of a different take on a "red" fox. I want to try and make my art stand out and express myself through use of color. Hopefully others will like what I'm trying to say with my art.

Another one

Another fox painting I'm working on! Next I'll be trying some polar and grizzly bear paintings.

Fox Finish

I changed the habitat on this one, I thought a bright blue looked better than a forest habitat. Its large at 18"x24" and is on Cradled Gesoobord, so no need for framing.

I've been sketching foxes everyday and painting them to learn a lot about them, I've started doing the same with Polar, Black and brown bears now.

New Fox

Still doing a lot of foxes, trying to learn a lot about how to paint them. I've got the fox painting system down alright. Its a matter of painting pure oranges, reds and yellows with accents of purples and other colors.

Not as easy as you would think though. I've got a good start on him. I need to fine tune his face and paint his eyes and then move into the legs and tail end. The background is loosely painted for now. It will remain loose in the end as I don't strive for photorealism, but I will try and paint a lot more into it.

This is the biggest painting I've done at 18"x24". It is painted on Gessobord 2" Deep cradle. No need for framing this one, which is good because frames are expensive. So this fox will hold his own on a wall, without need for any framing.

Landscapes

I am trying to paint more landscapes. Trees are my favorite subjects as they have so much character and are so beautiful.

These are two 6"x8" oil paintings. One is of the beautiful Redwood forests we have here in the Bay Area. The other is a portrait of an old Sycamore tree.

I hope to do a lot more of these!

Fox a day...

This is a new oil I started as part of my fox a day challenge. Still have some to do, but I got the bulk of the fox done in one day.

Fox a day...

To better understand our subjects, my friends at Wetcanvas started up a 30 challenge. I've chosen my favorite animal, the fox, to do.

These are mainly sketches done in crayon and ink. I'm sure once I can get through my wolf painting I will do more involved work.

Anyway, drawings number 1 and 2...

Fishing expedition

"Fishing Expedition"

Another brown bear painting. I like the idea of painting these bears in rushing water. This one has caught a sockeye salmon for dinner. It was fun to paint all the colors and since I don't paint ultra realism, I'm allowed to put bits of red, pink and purples into the bear's coat. I think it is a fun and creative way to paint.

New Paleoart Piece

"Edmontosaurus"

I enjoy Paleontology and painting prehistoric animals. This is my newest Paleoart painting. It depicts a hadrosaur called Edmontosaurus walking through colorful flowers, similar to my Chasmosaurus painting I did.

Since dinosaur coloring is not known, I chose tans and yellows with a beautiful blue head and tail for this dinosaur to compliment the oranges and yellows of the flowers.

Hadrosaurs, or "duckbills", are my favorite type of dinosaur so I likely be painting more of them!

New Grizzly Painting

"Did Someone Order the Fish?"

I think I finished this little acrylic painting of a grizzly catching a salmon for lunch. It's title is "Did someone order the fish?" and it actually went pretty smooth. I tried to have the grizzly look like he is fighting the rushing water a bit while hanging on to his prize catch. The bear was fun to paint, the fish was a little tricky (I think because of the small size of the painting), and the water was surprisingly easy to get to look the way I wanted.

Overall, a success. Next up is a paleo piece I've just completed.

Fox Paintings...

"Ready or Not!"

"Fall Colors"

One of my very favorite animals, these creatures are a joy to paint. Their beautiful coloring makes for an eye catching and colorful painting.

These are painted in acrylic on Gessobord. The running fox is titled "Ready or Not!" and I tried to make this fox look like he has just spotted a rabbit or something off canvas and is bounding after it.

The other painting, "Fall Colors", was fun as far as all those beautiful colors, but it really gave me some problems! I repainted the background many times, trying to find the right amount of detail to compliment the fox. The background says "forest" without explaining every pine cone or leaf.

More bears and a prehistoric beast...

Another acrylic painting of a grizzly bear, who is taking a stroll on the tundra. This is a small painting, 8"x10" on pastelbord. I found the surface easy to work with acrylics on and I'm pleased with how this little painting turned out.

I've ordered some colourfix primer to put on some gessobord so I can see how that surface is to paint on. They have some neat colors that I think would be fun to try.

The other painting is of a dinosaur, Chasmosaurus. Flowers had just started evolving during the time this guy was around, so I painted him enjoying running through a wildflower field. If you are wondering where this came from, I've had an interest in Paleontology since I can remember. Animals of unbelievable size and forms that really existed! How cool is that! Plus, I get to take the creative license pretty far in terms of color, ornamentation, behaviors, etc. The term for this kind of art is called Paleoart, or Paleo Wildlife Art. This painting will hopefully soon find it's way into Prehistoric Times magazine...a great mag that caters to all things prehistoric! I highly recommend it if you find this kind of stuff as neat as I do. Here is the link for PT magazine: http://www.prehistorictimes.com/

First post!

"Go Fish"

Hi there everyone!

Welcome to my blog where I hope to share with you my efforts at painting in acrylics and oils.

I enjoy painting wildlife, as difficult as it is to do. I favor looser treatment of the paint, as opposed to tightly detailed rendering of every hair. I've mostly painted with oil paints, but have currently been experimenting with acrylics. I'm finding that the fast drying time can actually work in my favor since I like to build up texture in my work.

This is my newest piece, titled "Go Fish". A brown bear successfully nabs a salmon. It is acrylic and is 12"x12". This painting was almost a failure, I almost dumped it. It managed to survive though and I think I'm happy with it.