Bunny Study

A year or two ago, I did a rabbit study that I could have sold ten times over.  I've had a lot of requests for 'more bunnies please'!  This little guy is a 7" x 5" oil study on gessoed board.

I'm back in the U.S. for two months.  If you've bought a study from me in the last month or two, I'm mailing the majority of them today.  Thanks for your interest and support!

296 - Rabbit

7" x 5" oil study on board, unframed

US $85 plus $7 shipping

SOLD

Gambel's Quail

This will be the last oil study that I'll be posting for a while as in less than a week, I'm leaving for a two month trip in the U.S.

Gambel's Quail

7" x 5" oil study on board, unframed

US $85 plus $7 shipping

SOLD

Quiet Flight

This little oil has been sitting in the studio for months - finished except for a bird.  I painted a flying egret and wiped it off.  Ditto with a flying cardinal....then resting cardinals.  Today the painting spoke to me and said very loudly, owl!  "Quiet Flight" will be going in the suitcase with a lot of other new oils destined for galleries when I'm back in the U.S. in a week.

I'm excited that lately, my son has some time to paint and plans to launch a new website in a few weeks with some new studies that he's currently working on.  He's done 4 or 5 but wants to wait until he's done 15 or so before putting the word out.  The ones I've seen are little gems!!  I Skype with him in his studio in Arizona, from my studio in New Zealand - and we talk while we're painting.  

Quiet Flight

7" x 7" oil on gessoed board

"Golden Gate"

I've just finished this 20" x 16" oil on gessoed board, for the Walt Horton Gallery in Beaver Creek, Colorado.  I'll be painting on location at the gallery over the Fourth of July.  It's a beautiful time to be in Colorado, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Golden Gate

20" x 16" oil on gessoed board

Great Blue Heron Study

Today's study, fresh off the easel, is a Great Blue Heron.  I leave for the U.S. in a little more than week so I can only paint for a few more days as everything must be dry before I can pack it up. If you've bought one of my little studies, I'll mail it a few days after arriving back in the U.S.

294 - Great Blue Heron

5" x 7" oil study on board, unframed

US $85 plus $7 shipping

Another Study for Today - Bald Eagle

I painted this piece last week but couldn't finish the edges of the eagle until the sky was dry.  The more white paint in the mixture, the longer it takes to dry.  I saw this eagle last November at the Blackwater Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland - while there for the Waterfowl Festival.  It was one of those glorious moments when you see something so beautiful that it just makes your day.

293 - Bald Eagle

7" x 5" oil study on gessoed board

SOLD

New Zealand Stilts - Today's Study

There's a beach about a mile from my house where these little guys hang out.  New Zealand has the pied stilt and the black stilt - but pied/black hybrids are common, which is what these birds are.  Like the rest of my little studies, this is a quick oil done on gessoed masonite.

292 - New Zealand Stilts

5" x 7" oil study on gessoed board

SOLD

A Chickadee Study

Time for another chickadee.  I've not done one for a while and I do love painting them....though they're not always the easiest bird to paint.  This is one of the reasons I've painted so many chickadee studies - hoping it'll get easier.  This one didn't quite 'jump off the brush' but it came a little easier than some. I had to fight to keep the background simple.

291 - Chickadee

7" x 5" oil study on board, unframed

US$85 plus $7 shipping

SOLD

Back Road

I love painting roads - maybe because I like travelling but I think it might be a compositional thing as a road is a handy tool to lead your eye into a painting.  When painting on location, if there's no road in the foreground, I'll often suggest a path if the composition is a little lacking.  A good example is a 24"' x 36" oil I did a few years ago, Soft Rain Falling.  This is one of the few paintings I've kept.  It hangs in my living in New Zealand to remind me of some happy painting trips in the hills of San Diego County.

Soft Rain Falling

24" x 36" oil on gessoed board

The next oil is a small 7" x 7" destined for a California gallery.  It is painted on gessoed board.  I round the edges with sandpaper and float it in a black frame with about half an inch all the way around the painting.  

Back Road

7" x 7" oil on gessoed board

Today's Study is a California Valley Quail

Or perhaps I should call it a New Zealand quail as I have lots of them in my garden.  They were introduced to New Zealand in the 1800's and have thrived...though I must admit that a California Valley Quail perched on a ponga (tree fern) looks a little out of place!

290 - California Valley Quail

5" x 7" oil study on board, unframed

US $85 plus $7 shipping 

If you purchase this and live in the U.S., I'll mail it when I'm in the U.S. in mid-May, about 3 weeks from now.  If you live in New Zealand, I'll mail it as soon as it is dry - in a week or two.