Moonlit Wave in oils

I felt like a change so I decided to paint the sea.. I bought a DVD tutorial  a while back on painting the sea / wave in moonlight and have been wanting to paint my own version for a while.  I went through my photos from my holiday to the Bay of Fires in Tasmania a few years back and found one that was suitable.  I just printed it out in black and white.    I used Prussian Blue, Phthalo Blue and Ultramarine Blue for the wave - it worked rather well. 

Moonlit Wave measures 8 x 6 inches and is painted on Raymar's Feather Light Smooth Portrait Cotton 1/16"  panel.

Superb Fairy Wren in oils

I painted this one a week or so ago - was just waiting for it to dry before listing it.  I have been thinking of painting a female and male bird fairy wren together.  I have a few reference photos that I could use - just have to work out what size and if I should paint them on watercolour paper or a canvas board.

Superb Fairy Wren measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

Many thanks to Wayne Butterworth for the reference photo.

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Poppy Fields ACEO in oils

Painted this a week or so ago - just had to wait until the paint dried before I could scan it.  I was trying out the Strathmore Canvas paper trading cards.  I will use them for oil landscapes but I still prefer my watercolour paper for the acrylic paintings.

Poppy Fields measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on Strathmore Canvas Paper.

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Many thanks to Steve Lyddon for the reference photo.

Flame Robin in oils

I loved painting this bird. I decided to paint it in oils.  These robins can be  found in the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia as well as in Tasmania.  They are about 12 - 14 cm  long.   I have a few other Australian birds lined up to paint in the  larger format as opposed to the aceo's - I will paint some in oils and others in acrylics on paper.

Flame Robin measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

Many thanks to Patrick Kavanagh for the reference photo.

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Eastern Bluebird in oils

I decided to paint this lovely bird in a larger format.  I just love its colouring.  Some interesting facts about the Eastern Bluebird is that it can live for 6 - 10 years and the longest recorded livespan of a bluebird was 10 years and 5 months. 

Eastern Bluebird measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Many thanks to Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren for the reference photo.

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Superb Fairy Wren in oils

I decided to paint another wren but in a larger format.  I am really happy how it turned out.  I thinking about doing a series of birds with the same neutral background colour as I think compliments the bird rather well. 

Superb Fairy Wren measures  6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord Panel

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Many thanks to Wayne Butterworth for the reference photo.

Western Tanager in oils

I love the colours of this bird.  An interesting fact is that the red pigment in the face of the bird is rhodoxanthin, which is apparently rare in birds.  It is believed that the bird must acquire the pigment from its diet of insects which have eaten plants containing the pigment.  Amazing how nature works.

Western Tanager measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

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Many thanks to USFWS for the reference photo.

Dawn Sail in oils

I love the colours of this one and had fun painting the sky and sea.  The most difficult part was painting the sails and the little boat but I eventually got there.   

Dawn Sail measures 5 x 7 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

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Many thanks to Ruth Archer for the reference photo.

Red Rose in oils

This one was rather challenging to paint - usually I can just add white to lighten a colour but I couldn't do that this time as white turns the red to pink.  I used yellow and a bit of white to lighten the red.  I found it easier to work from a black and white reference photo which I have never done before for a painting - it was easier to determine the tonal variations using the black and white copy.  Also,  it was easier just to paint one petal at a time - was to confusing otherwise.  I am really pleased how it turned out in the end.   

Red Rose measures 6 x 6 inches and is painting on Ampersand Gessobord Panel.

Many thanks to KJ Sieloff for the reference photo.

Cantaloupe slice in oils

It is interesting how many names this fruit is known by.  In Australian we call it Rockmelon, in South Africa it is called spanspek and in other parts of the world  it is also known as sweet melon, mushmelon and Persian melon.  I decided to name the painting cantaloupe.

We are still having a rather wet and cold winter here which is very unusual for Brisbane.  Today we had sunshine which was nice after the rain we had over the weekend.  Fingers crossed we will continue to have sunny weather.

Cantaloupe Slice measures 7 x 5 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

Many thanks to Lillian Bell for the reference photo.

Pear and Walnuts in oils

I saw a bag of walnuts while shopping the other day and thought they would make a very good still life prop so I ended up buying a bag.  Would  have been good if I could have just  bought a few loose ones but they only seem to come in bags - fortunately they have a  use by date to December.

Pear and Walnuts measures 5 x 7 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

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