Spring!

This is an illustration by Maxfield Parrish and it really hit a chord with me.  I know exactly how this guy feels.  Hope you all have a great spring!

Coyote Study

This is a study of a coyote for a larger painting I plan to do.  This fellow lived at the Beartooth Nature Center in Red Lodge, MT.  They rescue injured and problem animals that would otherwise have been euthanized.  If you're ever near there please visit them and support their good work.

The reds came out a lot hotter in the photo than they are on the painting.

Coming Through the Blizzard

I actually saw this about a week or so ago.  The Ute Mountain tribe maintains a herd of buffalo between here and Mancos.  It was snowing hard and the herd was moving back toward shelter.  They were like ghosts drifting in and out of sight in the distance.

A Drink at Last Light

This is an update from an earlier post.  I had been thinking of adding a moose to this scene and when I showed it to Veryl she made the same suggestion.  Ironically, I think I am the only person to never see a moose in Yellowstone National Park and I always looked hard in moose meadow!

Kestrel

I am still working on some deadlines coming up at the end of the month so I haven't been posting lately.  One of the shows coming up is a wildlife show so I did this kestrel portrait as a warm up.  I see these little guys all over out here.  I think they are one of the more beautifully colored raptors.

The Morning Crowd

This herd of elk (wapiti) greeted me this morning when I got up.  If you look back in my postings to the painting "Night Passage" this is in that same view.  ( I wasn't making it up about the deer in "Night Passage".)  Usually it is mule deer out there but today was a special treat. 

I am working on some deadlines and larger paintings right now and haven't been able to post as much.  Hope to get back to it soon.

Popeye!

My son loves to play "popeye" as well as "slug bug".   A game where you punch others, in the shoulder, when you see a car with a headlight out.  Slug Bug is similar but it is when you see a VW Bug.  In my son's particular game, the rules can sometimes change, suddenly, and new things can be added.  I have advised him this could go badly for him!

The Zippo Challenge

This is another Daily Paintworks Challenge, this time lead by member Michael Naples.  We were challenged to paint a photo of a zippo lighter in only burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and white.  This is a great way to learn working in a limited palette.  Anders Zorn also worked in a limited palette of black, red, yellow ochre and white.  This keeps the artist from getting too "happy" with those wonderful bright colors we have available today.  I chose to do the image cropped to highlight the industrial design aspect of the working end of these lighters, which I found appealing.

Hanging Rose

This is another entry in the Daily Paintworks Challenge, hosted this week by Qiang Huang.

I have been a little slow at getting this entry in.  This rose has been waiting in my studio since last Sunday and was starting to look rather sad.  Hanging, helped counter that droopy look that it was starting to take on.

Night Passage

Last night a couldn't sleep, I heard the dog whining, I hadn't fed or put her up.  As I walked to her pen I was blown away with the night sky.  These beautiful fluffy clouds rimmed with white from the moon, floating in a dome of stars.  Though the deer weren't right there last night, I had seen them trailing across our field like this many times before.

My life has been in chaos lately, so I haven't been posting as much.  I hope to get back at it soon.

Sunrise in Paradise Valley

I did this from a photo I took when visiting my old home in Paradise Valley, MT.

Strawberry

My son got some strawberries yesterday and I thought they were too pretty not to paint one.   I sat it on an old canvas carrier I found in an antique store.

Sunset Memory

I've had an awful headache today so I only painted a little.  I decided to do a memory painting since I have seen Sonya Johnson and Mark Hanson do one.  Obviously, their memories are better than mine.  I did this very small and quick.

Snow Goose

This beast is called the Galloping Goose, this one resides in downtown Dolores.  These were used to take mail and passengers up to mining towns like Ophir, Rico and Telluride.  They are kind of a combination of old truck and train car, a wonderful glimpse into Colorado's past.

Cherry Swirl

This is the next in the Daily Paintworks Challenge - The 10 minute challenge.  We are to do about 8 small squares of just ONE subject.  Each square should only be 10 minutes.  This has been a great practice and it was HARD not to get bogged down.  Oooh, that Carol is tough, but a great teacher!  The first two I got some of the cherry or shadow color tracked into the background color so they were a little over but the last was probably 7 minutes.

Brown Trout sketch

I have been working on a larger painting the last two days but I am not happy with it and am too embarrassed to post it.  

Instead I will post another old drawing of mine.  This sketch was for the Illinois Lake Michigan Salmon Stamp, I think 2005.  This is the preliminary drawing to be ok'd for the finished work.  I learned that this is more of a "river" type of Brown Trout.  Lake run Browns are less spotted, mostly silver bodies with dark blue/black on top of the dorsal area.  Since I wasn't lucky enough to catch one myself, the conservation guys sent me a photo of a behemoth Brown they brought up.  I am guessing somewhere just over 20 inches.  Those conservation guys have all the fun.

Scattered Snow Showers

The title pretty much sums up the day.  It is bitter cold today and the wind wasn't helping that any.  I was lucky enough to paint this view out my front window.   Mesa Verde was shrouded in the background by a huge snowstorm.

The photograph could be better but my eyes kept tearing up from the cold so that I couldn't see, I settled on this one.

The Diehard

I love to fish, but this fella really loves to fish.  He was ice fishing during a snowstorm at Summit Lake.

'Ol 55

Carol Marine is doing a Daily Paintworks Challenge and I decided it would be good practice to participate. She is a woman of boundless energy and an amazing talent.  Click the links above to see Carol's work and the "Challenge" to see all the entries.

I believe this car is a 1955 Chrysler Imperial, possibly a coupe.  If it is not please let me know.  Lots of cars from this era sported fins and chrome with that "Buck Rogers" look.

Going Topless

There are tons of old cars and trucks hanging out around this county, they just seem to exude character.  I grew up driving old (50's - 70's) trucks to school and really miss their smell and sounds.

Retired or Just Tired?

I found this great old truck sitting back by some abandoned trailers.  I could see that it had worked hard most of its life and was finally parked here, whether retired or just tired out.  I got this saying from some old friends many years ago,  their business card read "Frank - retired, Magritte - just tired".  A couple of really great people.

The Assessment

This is an older drawing of mine.  I am on jury duty right now so I thought I would post this instead.

This young lady was acting in a play for my son's school project.  She was checking her makeup at the time I took the picture of her, it always makes me laugh.

Early Risers

I have been after this scene for at least a week.  I love being out in the moonlight and especially with snow.  It transforms the landscape in such wonderful ways.  I'll probably do a larger version of this one.

Wishing for Spring

I have had this onion hanging around my studio since last fall.  I noticed a few days ago that it was going to sprout, soil or no soil...or water, anticipating spring.  I understand that completely.

The Hay Field

This is from a photo I took when I was passing through the Swan Valley in Idaho.  I really liked the graphic quality of this view.

I hope to get back to Moon over the La Platas soon.

Deer Skull

Since I didn't get an acceptable post in for the last two days I thought I might post one of my old pieces.  This skull came from a man in Pinckneyville, IL who made knives with antler handles.  It was buried in a box of antlers, unloved and uncared for.  He was kind enough to sell it to me and I have loved and cared for it ever since.  This Whitetail would be considered an 11 point in the midwest, a 6 and 5 out west.

Lilyrose

This is Lilyrose.  She is a very sweet dog of the "Heinz 57" breeding.  She has been a real challenge to paint that wild, wiry hair, a first for me.  Fun and scary all at the same time.

Dexter

A couple good friends of mine just had birthdays and I wanted to do portraits of their beloved dogs for a present.  This character is Dexter, an Italian greyhound.  He is usually a perpetual motion machine but I was lucky to catch him in a brief quiet moment.  This is probably one of my favorite paintings. I hope the other comes out as well.

Moonrise over the La Platas (in progress 4)

I just replaced #3 with #4 to save space.  I am having trouble with my wifi so I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday.  I am working much slower now, taking time to sit back more often and assess what to do next.  When I was doing commercial work, I didn't always get that luxury because of deadlines.  

Waiting for the Bus

I took a photo of this scene in Denver a couple of years ago.  I really liked this image and always wanted to work it into a painting.