Birds
"Royal Terns"
Stretched Giclee canvas print from Original Oil Painting 11” X 14’-$120
Limited Edition of 50 prints-May 2013
These terns caught my eye while fishing on the North Carolina outer banks island of Ocracoke. I found that their snow-white breasts, black caps, orange bills and blue primary feathers made a striking repeated motif which I had to capture. In this manner I was able to play with the variation in the many poses of the birds, while also experimenting with the depth of field and lighting in order to accentuate their striking cotton-ball like reflections in the water before them.
"Beach Eagle"
Stretched Giclee canvas print from Original Oil Painting 8” X 10”-$85
Limited Edition of 100 prints-Jan 2016
This laughing gull was my sole fishing companion one spring day on the Beach of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. I chose this subject for painting as a study in depth-of-field where I deliberately focused in detail only on the subject while still wanting to get some background detail of the beautiful surf. This painting was done through the use of multiple transparent oil glazes, in order to achieve smoothness of detail and add depth to shadow areas. I gave a copy of this picture to a good friend of mine on her 60th birthday. The name of this picture came from her two-year old granddaughter, which I think was perfect for capturing the bluster of this bird.
"Osprey with Rockfish"
Stretched Giclee canvas print from Original Oil Painting 24” X 36’-$285
Limited Edition of 50 prints-May 2013
This painting illustrates the tremendous dimension of the osprey’s wings. For their small body, the Osprey has a significant wingspan, which is arguably needed to lift not only its own wet weight out of the water but also that of its prey. In painting this work I benefited greatly from an image captured by UK photographer Paul Hobson. His wildlife photography is worth investigating (http://www.paulhobson.co.uk/). The original painting was a gift to a very good friend and is not available for sale. After multiple times of her running interference for me with my wife while I was out fishing, I finally conceded that I owed her. I chose to depict the prey as a rockfish (striped bass) as this is representative of what our Opreys look like in fishing out our backdoor here on the lower Potomac River in Maryland.
"Big Blue"
Stretched Giclee canvas print from Original Oil Painting 9” X 12”-$90
Limited Edition of 100 prints-May 2013
The Blue Heron is an iconic symbol of our beloved Chesapeake and one that I never get tired of viewing. This picture is my attempt to capture the detailed majesty of this incredibly large bird. It is partly in tribute to a favorite fixture out on our break-water near my home. Almost nightly we are visited by a large adult heron that I’ve come to name Big Blue. While he does not tolerate a close approach by land, he has allowed me to get up very close to him in my boat when I’m returning from fishing, as if to acknowledge some understanding of our common goal.
This painting has been done in a technique similar to the old Flemish masters where a dead color under-painting is first done to capture the detail composition and shading. Then subsequent color layers are applied with successive transparent oil glazes. This technique is time consuming in that the many layers must dry before a successive layer is applied. The result is my attempt at capturing better depth of field and realism.
"Canadian Calm"
Stretched Giclee canvas print from Original Oil Painting 11” X 14’-$120
Limited Edition of 100 prints-May 2009
The Canadian Goose bird is a symbol of the seasons for me. When I see the V-shaped formations over the Lower Potomac in the fall I’m likely fishing in my favorite spot and taking in the beauty of the Chesapeake area. Nough said.
"Heron Flight"
Stretched Giclee canvas print from Original Oil Painting 11” X 14’-$120
Limited Edition of 100 prints-May 2009
The Canadian Goose bird is a symbol of the seasons for me. When I see the V-shaped formations over the Lower Potomac in the fall I’m likely fishing in my favorite spot and taking in the beauty of the Chesapeake area. Nough said.
"Morning Merganser"
Stretched Giclee canvas print from Original Oil Painting 11” X 14’-$120
Limited Edition of 100 prints-Oct 2008
This fellow showed up in our boat harbor, for several mornings last fall. Not normally a subject of painters, the red breasted merganser is in my opinion a beautifully unique waterfowl. His deep red eyes in that dark green head caught my attention and demanded that I try to capture him on canvas.
"Old Squaw"
Not available for sale
To me this duck represents the coming of winter here on the Lower Potomac. On quiet November mornings I can hear the prattle of the many sea-ducks drift across the water, sounding much like a large group of people in quiet conversation.