New Series: Washington Miniatures

I am enjoying working on some smaller panels at the moment; these are 9x12 oil paintings. The subject is direct from my birdfeeder; these are two of the feathered beasties who are currently eating me out of house and home. The first is an Oregon Junco, the second is a Black-Capped Chickadee.

This is a fun format; the small scale works with the images. I am planning on working on more 9x12 landscapes as well (see "Crescent Lake" in a previous post,) and hanging them together as a mini-installation, alternating landscapes and birds.

It is almost like a sketchbook in oils; these are images I want to capture quickly as I explore and navigate my new home.

Any of these are available for $200. Happy painting, hiking, and birding!
Dawn

Murder Complete

The murder is complete! This is the piece I started 3 weeks ago; I had to tone down the value shifts a bit to pull it off but, in the end, it has the subtle shimmering light of the Sound I was after.

Please note: the first image here is my underpainting which, as we remember, looked like a poorly formed pterodactyl. The final image here shows you the birds in detail with a little more finesse.

The title is "Murder in Progress." It is an oil on canvas, 30x40", selling unframed for $995.

If you look close you will notice that the birds are not reflected in the water; this is because the birds are spiritual entities. Ravens are very powerful symbols. In this case, to me, they represent ethereal transition.

Dawn

I was travelling this past week so do not have a studio image to share; that being said here are some sketchbook pics for you from my travels. Here's the problem with hanging out with graphic designers: you begin to think that the way you lay out a sketchbook page makes a difference. Here's the really annoying thing: they are right. I am liking the text as an element on these pages. The most challenging pages were the 'cloud studies' page, which I drew from a plane window at 36,000'. You have to work fast on those suckers. The other challenging page is the 'red-breasted nuthatch' page as it has a lot of design elements. I actually hand-painted each letter on the title.

I have missed my studio this week so should have some paintings to share soon. So now go draw something, then obsess over the text layout. Or just go draw something like a normal person...