Road Studies

In a few months, I'll be heading back to the U.S. to resupply galleries and do a few shows, but most of the time, I'll be painting.  In preparation, I'm working on studies, some of which will become larger studio paintings.

These little studies are inspired by my trips to Ace Basin in South Carolina.

Rough & Tumble

This painting is inspired by the R. Tucker Thompson, a tall ship that sails the bays where I live in Bay of Islands, New Zealand, but I've used a North American Ring-billed gull.

Rough & Tumble

13.5 x 6

Oil on panel

Lady in Waiting

Painting a red fox in sumac, makes me appreciate that a red fox really isn't red at all. This 12" x 9" oil is fresh off the easel though I've been working on it, on and off, for a month or more.  It is easier for me to work on dry paint rather than painting alla prima. The first day, I do the underpainting then let it dry. The next time I work on it, I'll block in the basic color and light. Once that is dry, then I start on the detail which may take a couple of sessions.

Lady in Red

12" x 9" oil on panel

SOLD

Late September

It has been a while since I've posted here. I've been having work done on my house but now I'm back in the studio.  It's early autumn here in New Zealand. We had a gorgeous summer and as the beach is just a mile or two away, it is very hard to resist the call of the water when I should be working. But my busy season approaches, so I must get busy!

Late September

10" x 8" oil on gessoed panel

Great Blue Heron

Today's little oil study is a Great Blue Heron.  My goal in doing this  current batch of oil studies is to get better at softening edges. So much for soft edges on this piece! It fought me all the way - so I left the edges harder than I wanted and spent way too much time on it.  I do these quick studies in order to progress as a painter and sometimes it doesn't come as easily as I want it to.  Though I'm happy with the final piece as a painting - it's not the soft-edged study I had envisioned.

On my monitor, the image is bluer than the actual painting.  The image looks more accurate on my website here:  http://adeleearnshaw.com/collections/27802

310 - Great Blue Heron

7" x 5" oil on panel, unframed

US$ 85 plus $8 shipping

SOLD 

Spotted Towhee

A Spotted Towhee is today's little oil study. This bird used to be known as Rufous-sided Towhee but for some reason, the name has been changed.

I'm hoping to do a dozen (or more) pieces in the next week or two for my oil study project so I can mail them before heading back to New Zealand in late November. With this batch, I'm working on edges.  Get a group of artists together and we can spend a lot of time talking about edges...or the lack of edges. The idea is to suggest an edge without painting a hard line. Birds are the perfect subject matter for this exercise.

309 - Spotted Towhee

5" x 7" oil on panel, unframed

SOLD

 

Red-breasted Nuthatch

I love these little guys - their beep-beep-beep calls make me think of aliens (from another planet) for some strange reason.  Just as I put the last brush stroke on this piece, I heard one calling outside.  It's a sign!  When in New Zealand, I miss the N.American birds most of all; hummingbirds, nuthatches, chickadees and ravens.

308 - Red-breasted Nuthatch

5" x 7" oil on gessoed board, unframed

US$ 85 plus $8 shipping

SOLD