New fox and Wolf...

A couple more colorful acrylic paintings to show. I finished another wolf and painted a potrait of my favorite animal, the red fox.

I'd like to paint a few more wolf and fox paintings as well as some bears and coyote. I'm also finishing up the hadrosaur painting and need to sketch out some new paleo pieces to start.

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.

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 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.