Top Ten List

Normally at about this time of year I post my Top Ten New Birds of the year list. This year I was a lazy birder and I did not go anywhere new. That means that I did not get any new birds this whole year, Boo Hoo.

It dawned on me that I seldom make an account of new paintings. I really do not know how many new paintings that I did in 2014. I went back and tried to gather some photos of the paintings that I finished in 2014. I cannot remember how many paintings I did and I know that I missed some of them but I will start with the worst one although I may have actually painted this turkey, (Solitary Sandpiper) in 2013.

2014 certainly was not my best year ever. Not by a long shot.

I am trying to go from worst to best although it is hard to decide the worst ones since I had so many flops this past year. 

Nyala - alayN. A real turkey although the painting is much better than the photo.

Fuzzy Buddies. Not so good but I am sure that it will sell.

Tundra Blonde. The painting looks much better than the photo.

Meet the Undertaker.

I forget the name of this one.

Some of these are not so very bad. I kind of like this Golden-crowned Sparrow.

This one sold quickly.

Alpha Dogs.

In Quiet Solitude, won the People's Choice award at the Hummingbird Festival and sold easily.

I forget the name of this one as well. Something to do with Sagebrush.

Lonesome Lake.

This is my favorite painting of the year. It also sold quickly. I sold many paintings this year including two more within the last few days. A good year for art sales, not the best year for painting. There are several other 2014 paintings but I cannot find photos of them. The last post has photos of my newest painting.

Boreal Gold Por Fin

I got busy painting this week and put the finishing touches on this 12x16" Boreal Owl painting this afternoon.

I started out intending to makes this a Great Gray Owl painting in the same setting. Somehow it decided that it wanted to be a Boreal Owl instead. I hope that the bright Birch leaves do not detract too much from the owl. Let me know what you think.

I encountered no significant challenges with this painting. I wish they would all progress so smoothly.

Boreal Gold and Entebbe

My latest endeavor is tentatively called, Boreal Gold. It will be a Boreal Owl, known as Tengmalm's Owl in Europe. The painting will be 12x16". The plan is to add branches with Autumn leaves in front of the owl after I finish painting the bird and the stump. It will all be covered with a warm glaze.

I have some good enthusiasm for this one and it has progressed nicely so far.

The rest of this post will feature more photos from Entebbe and Lake Victoria in Uganda. Entebbe was the nicest town we visited in Uganda, loaded with birds like the Hammerkop above.

Yellow-billed Ducks and Black-winged Stilts on the shore of Lake Victoria.

Another BW Stilt.

What is this? In this photo you cannot see its long legs and toes. It is an African Jacana.

Another unusual bird, Eastern Grey Plantain Eater. They were very common around much of the country. They have a voice similar to a Laughing Kookabura.

An even more unusual bird, Black and White Casqued Hornbill. They were also very common, even in the cities.

The largest birds around were Maribou Storks. These young in the nest are just about ready to fledge. This nest was in the middle of Entebbe, in a tree right above the main highway.

From the largest to the smallest, a Collared Sunbird.

Another colorful bird, African Firefinch.

Lonesome Lake and Victoria Lake

This afternoon I finally managed to finish, Lonesome Lake, 12x16". The painting may or may not be any good, but it does look better in life than this photo indicates.

Another photo in different light.

I will flesh out this post with a few photos of Lake Victoria in Uganda. Lake Victoria is the source of the Nile River. These are mostly Whiskered Terns in Entebbe.

I'm pretty sure that this is a Wood Sandpiper.

A Common Greenshank.

Spur-winged Lapwings and Black-winged Stilts.

A somber looking, African Openbill Stork.

Sacred Ibis and an Egyptian Goose in the middle. Sacred Ibis were revered in ancient Egypt where they are now extinct. They are certainly common in Uganda.

Yellow-billed Ducks.

A Scuacco Heron in Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe.

A Purple Heron at the same place.

Best of all, a Shoebill also in the Mabamba Swamp. Uganda is the best place to see this very rare bird.

The Trip South

Unfortunately this is not about my trip south. It has been snowing all day and I wish I was headed south to someplace tropical. This post is a sampling of some photos from my friends, Jean and Scott. They flew past this islet with lighthouse off the coast of B.C. Canada.

Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, (they gave me the location of all their photos but I did not pay attention to that) they saw this nice Bull Elk.

Wherever it was they went, they saw some big ol trees. This is Jean.

Scott prepares to hug a tree.

After the Pacific Northwest, they went to the Southwest and saw some gracefully sculpted rocks.

Checking out a slot canyon. Way cool!

Best of all IMHO, Scott managed to get one quick shot of a Northern Pygmy Owl.

Lonesome Lake and Colder Stuff

This is my latest painting, still in the early stages. The working title is, Lonesome Lake.

It is going to be a Bull Moose. The size is, 12x16".

The rest of these photos are just random frozen things like this river, ( I forget the name of it).

Another angle of the same river.

Some frozen waterfalls above the highway south of Anchorage.

Another one nearby.

Another one even further south.

Late afternoon sunlight on the hillside.

Another sunlit hillside across Turnagain Arm.

One last frozen photo. Burrrrr!!!