Fighting the Bear

Are'nt you sick of seeing this thing? I decided to tackle it once again, with the hope of getting better control of it.

The first thing I did was cover the background with a light wash. Then I covered the two main trees, the bear, and the ground with a darker glaze. Then the hard work began by making numerous minor adjustments to much of the painting.

I moved the bear's left ear, and I raised the ground level around the bear itself. Then I built up the leaf litter, covered the whole painting with a warm glaze, and punched up the highlights of the birch bark. Does the painting look any better? It's at least as good as the cougar painting, although I still hate it. I'll have to fix the cougar someday as well. I think I'm done with this one called, Goose Creek Bear, 16x20". I already varnished it.

I also got an idea to paint some wolves in the same setting, but with a darker background. That way the birch trees and wolves will show up lighter than the background color. I'm curious to see what that would look like.

Cougar Canyon

Years ago I felt that I had fallen into a hopeless rut with my acrylic painting. One day while I was in the public library I noticed an old issue of The Artists magazine. The cover article was titled, Capturing Realism in Oils.

This article basically laid out the technique and formulas that the Renaissance master Titian used. I was so impressed by this that I went home and threw away my acrylics, then bought all the materials that Titian used.

Of course I got in way over my head when I tried to paint but I persisted in trying to learn to paint like the great masters, but wildlife, not people. The quality of my work really suffered at first, but gradually things came together. Years later I came to realize that any effect I could achieve with oils, I could replicate with acrylics, only much faster and without the nasty smells.

Gradually I developed my own mixed up techniques in acrylics, but I still feel like I am in a rut. With this painting I decided to go back to the Renaissance technique of painting first in black and white, and then applying color with thin glazes. I only painted the background rocks like that, but I should have done the cougar in black and white as well.

What I wanted to do is create a mysterious mood of atmosphere with brooding shadows. Here you can see that I overdid it with the glazes. I know what image I have in my head, I just dont quite know how to get it onto the painting.

In order to get a balanced composition, I decided that the painting needed more rocks in front.

I just keep developing the painting, hoping to make it look good.

A close up look at the cougar

At some point I had to decide that the painting is finished. Cougar Canyon, 11x14". Now maybe I'll torture myself with the Black Bear painting again.

A Day at the Beach

For the last few weeks I have wanted to take a day to go birding along the coastal trail in Anchorage. The weather has been so cold and windy, that I have been postponing it until today. There was partial sunshine, and no wind, so I went for it.

The Anchorage Coastal Trail is a real treasure, at least in the summer months. There is no beach to speak of, just mudflats that are treacherous to walk on. The waves are 6 inches high on a good day. The trail is laid out above the mudflats, and provide a safe overlook. It also connects with some greenbelts, and a lake, Westchester Lagoon.

It was high tide over the mudflats, so I was able to photograph this Bonaparte's Gull from fairly close.

The second bird to pose for a photo was this Surfbird. This is the only Surfbird I have seen along the Coastal Trail.

This is a pair of sleeping Short-billed Dowitchers.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Hudsonian Godwit in prime breeding plummage.

I turned inland at Westchester Lagoon and photographed this friendly, male Gadwall.

2 pairs of Shovelers.

What happened to their mates?

Last of all, a Tree Swallow nesting on the side of a building. I saw many other interesting birds today. Life is good.

Let's See Some Andean Hummingbirds

These photos were shot in Ecuador, and Peru on two seperate trips, from several years ago. The cloud forests of the Andes are the very heart of hummingbird distribution.

If the Andes are the heart of hummingbird distribution, then the area around Mindo, in Ecuador is the heart of the Andes. These are Buff-tailed Coronets at Las Grallarias Eco lodge near Mindo.

This is a Buff-tailed Coronet in better light.

You can see how trusting these guys are.

The Velvet-purple Coronet has a very limited distribution, and is common only around Las Grallarias. It is certainly one of the most beautiful of hummingbirds.

Fawn-breasted Brilliant

Another impressive hummingbird, Violet-tailed Sylph.

Purple-bibbed Whitetip

Andean Emerald

Empress Brilliants really are brilliant in good light. Unfortunately The Andean cloud forests where it lives are almost always cloudy.

Way cool, but tiny, Booted Racket-tail. Notice the bee above it's tail.

Green Thorntail. This is the female.

Green-crowned Brilliant, immature male.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds are widespread throughout much of Latin America.

Sparkling Violetears are by far the most common hummingbird in Quito.

A bad photo of a great bird. This Green-tailed Trainbearer was in the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman above Cusco, Peru.

The common hummingbird along the coast in Southern Ecuador is the Amazilia Hummingbird.

The Amazilia Hummingbird is also the most common coastal hummingbird in Peru. One thing that I really love about hummingbirds are their creative names. Only one species regularly occurs in Alaska, the Rufous Hummingbird. They are seen about 50 miles south of me. I once saw a stray Costa's Hummingbird in Anchorage. They normally are found in the Southwestern deserts.In all I have been fortunate to see about 78 species of them in their natural habitats. I hope to see more when I can find the opportunity to go where they occur.

Grounded Snowies

This is the 16x20" Snow Goose painting that has kept me busy for the last several days. I started it last december, but I got bored with it, and set it aside. After giving up on the black bear painting, I decided to finish it, rather than start a new painting.

Do I like it? Well I think I would like to do a similar painting, replacing Snow Geese with Sandhill Cranes. Maybe the cranes would create a more visually interesting mood with their tall, dark, silhouettes. The truth is that I'm seldom content with my artwork, or anything else. I think that's a good thing. In time I may grow to like it more, or hate it altogether, who knows?

Rites of Spring

Since the Black Bear painting that I was working on has been relegated to the recycle bin, I'll post a blog about something less frustrating. I'll celebrate the arrival of Spring with some photos of the season. Right now I'm working on a Snow Goose painting that I started last December but I got discouraged with the tedium of painting Snow Geese, and set it aside. Melding the subtle tonal values of white birds in the background with white birds in the middle and foreground is difficult, and time consuming. So I picked it up again  yesterday with a belief that it had to be less frustrating than the bear painting.

Right now is the time for the arrival of shorebirds. Pectoral, and Least Sandpipers.

Pectoral Sandpipers and a Short-billed Dowitcher.

Mallards are the first ducks to nest.

While Mallards are nesting, Greater Scaup are still courting. The poor hen in the center, has to endure the relentless pursuit of numerous drakes.

These Red-necked Grebes are building their floating nest.

This Mew Gull incubates her eggs in a Spruce Tree.

It's not wise to get too close to a cow Moose with a calf. I am not wise.

This calf wandered the woods searching for it's mother. I followed from a distance as it wandered onto the campus of the University of Alaska, Anchorage, where it found it's mother waiting beside the Administration Buildling.

Another Frustrating Day

The only part of the day that was frustrating was the relatively short time I spent painting. The day was too nice to be spent indoors. What I did with the painting was refine the details on the bear, and try to tackle the tree next to it.

This is a detail of the bear. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I'll still torture myself with it tomorrow, because I'm a glutton for punishment.