"Rainbow Shimmer"

"Rainbow Shimmer" 11x14 oil

"Great-Horned Owl Triptych"

"Great-Horned Owl Triptych" oil

Since my return from the Birds In Art exhibition at the Woodson Museum in Wausau, the paint has been flying! The trip this year was especially inspiring and I'm riding this wave of productivity as long as it lasts. These little 8x8 studies were a lot of fun. I wanted to concentrate mostly on the brushwork and getting some big juicy blobs of paint down. One of the most difficult things for me is putting down a big fat brush stroke and then leaving it alone! I have a compulsion to fiddle with the paint until all the brushy painterly freshness is gone. I might have to start wrapping myself on the knuckles if that continues!!!

"Shiras and Sage"

"Shiras and Sage" 46x30 oil

This piece has been on and off the easel for over 4 months! It's by far the most adventurous (and largest!) oil painting I've attempted.
I wanted to convey the feeling of being in the Rocky Mountain west in the presence of unpredictable and dangerous wildlife. If you've spent much time in places like this, you'll eventually have an encounter when the outcome is in question for a moment or two. It could happen while hiking or maybe following a game trail through a willow thicket from one fishing spot to the next. Stepping into a small clearing and something out of place catches your eye. In an instant you realize you're already too close and this could end badly!
The wild look in the moose's eye helps to define the animals unpredictable nature. What will happen in the next instant is anyone's guess!

"Grizzled Veteran"

"Grizzled Veteran" 30x15 oil

Reserved for the 2016 Southeastern Wildife Exposition in Charleston, SC.