Paintings today - Monday Sept 19 2011

I've learned a very good way for PC users to view these photos without that "slideshow" @#$% that Google has provided. Right-click then choose "open in new window". WONDERFUL! Thanks to René Beeldendkunstenaar in his blog René PleinAir.  Thank you, thank you!


I've worked on the skateboarder with the red tee shirt for a couple of days. I did  Eagle 3 today after lunch. I might fiddle with the eagle, but for now I'll leave it alone. :-)


I didn't do all of these today or this week. I'm getting caught up to-date with posting to this blog.

Eagle 3
12 x 16 Oils on gessoed panel

Enjoying an expresso
9 x 12 Oils on gessoed panel

Farm Couple
12 x 18 Oils on canvas panel

First coffee in the morning - 1
12 x 18 Oils on canvas panel

First coffee in the morning - 2
12 x 16 Oils on canvas panel

First coffee in the morning - 3
8.5 x 11  Oils on gessoed construction plywood

Flower after the rain
9 x 12 Oils on gessoed panel

Wood Duck

$150.00 plus shipping

Wood Duck  16 x 20  oils on canvas panel


If I know nothing about birds, I know even LESS about ducks. Is a duck considered a bird? :-)  It has feathers and it flies, so I suppose it is a bird.


Again the coloring of this critter suckered me in to make this painting.  I realize that I need to put white spots of feathers on his breast but then I can claim that I was waiting for the paint to dry!?

Western Tanager

$75.00 plus shipping

Western Tanager   9 x 12   oils on canvas panel


I am definitely NOT a bird watcher person and have no clue where a person might see a Western Tanager.  I saw the picture on a U.S. Government website and liked the colors. Simple!

Blue Jay 2

$100.00 plus shipping

Blue Jay 2  14 x 16  oils on canvas panel


I'm MUCH happier with this Blue Jay! It's funny how paintings happen for me.  I struggled with the first one and this one just "happened".  I suppose that if I knew what I was doing I'd be selling paintings more often!  :-)


I made the background by rubbing paints of various colors with a cloth saturated with paint thinner onto the support. I let it dry for a couple of days then I painted the trees and the bird.

Blue Jay 1

$100.00 plus shipping

Blue Jay 1  12 x 18  oils on canvas panell


9/16/2011 - I painted over this "painting". I couldn't stand looking at it any more! :-)


I've been making paintings of birds lately. I don't know why, exactly. 


This Blue Jay is supposed to be in a piney woods but . . .   I need to practice painting pine needles! DUH

Bluebird No 1

Bluebird - TA K E N

Bluebird No 1  9 x 12  oils on canvas panel


This painting of a Bluebird was created as a present for one of Melissa's friends who is retiring this year after a career of teaching in the elementary grades.

Hummingbird No 1

Hummingbird No 1   9 x 12  $$75.00 plus shipping

Hummingbird No 1  9 x 12   Oils on panel

This is from one of a gazillion photos taken from our dining room window of a humming bird at one of our feeders.

The title suggests that there will be a "number two". I don' know about that but it made sense to me at the time!  :-)

I chose not to paint the feeder, instead I make it look like the humming bird was in a flower in a garden.

Two of our humming bird feeders have perches that the birds can sit and drink nectar. Two feeders have no perch.  I doesn't seem to matter to them.

We make our own "nectar" from sugar and water. We also put a drop or two of red food dye in the nectar so that we can seen when the feeders are empty or nearly empty.  The birds don't care.

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Yellow breasted woodpecker  9 x 12  $75.00 plus shipping

Yellow-headed Blackbird  9 x 12  oils on panel

Another painting for the birds!  :-) This bird photo is suggested from a photo on a U.S. Government website.

I like the vibrant colors of this bird.  It is becoming apparent to me that yellow is a color of the feathers of many birds.

We have bird feeders in our backyard and see many birds with yellow or orange.  I'm working on 2 Blue Jay paintings now and plan on a painting (or two or three) of Baltimore Oriole(s) which have a brilliant orange breast.

We also have one humming bird feeder near our dining room window.  Last year there were dozens of bumming birds, this year we've seen very few.  BUT!  The Baltimore Orioles liked the nectar as well as Downy Woodpeckers.  (We think that they are Downy Woodpeckers.)

Western Kingbird

Western Kingbird  9 x 12  $75.00 plus shipping

Western Kingbird  9 x 12   oils on panel

This is my latest subject of interest - birds!  I didn't know if I could represent feathers so, I made a painting.  I was pleased and have made more and there are more on the "drawing board".

So far I have made relatively small (for me) 9 x 12 inch bird paintings.  I'm working on two paintings of Blue Jays that are 16 x 20 inches.

I've been getting ideas for these bird paintings from U.S. Government websites.

Yet another day of being snowed in!

Our backyard - 10 inches of snow

One of our crowded bird feeders

Some places have almost 3 feet. This is Arkansas for cryin' out loud!  Cars are getting stuck on the roads and the snow plows can't do their work. The TV doom-sayers (news) are saying that this is the most snowfall ever recorded in Northwestern Arkansas!

February 2 - C O L D ! Red Wing Blackbirds in the trees

Four and twenty blackbirds . . .

These Red Wing Blackbirds (the black blobs in the trees) are in the trees in back of our property.  They're waiting (I guess) for their reservations at the bird feeders hanging from the pergola in the foreground. The temperature outside is 8F.

After I snapped this photo (from inside our kitchen!) all of those blackbirds took offf as one flock heading to the left of this photo - North.

Sort of reminded me of the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Birds".