Federal Duck Stamp Entry

Here is my entry into the 2007 Federal Duck Stamp Contest which happens to be for the 75th anniversary stamp. Because of the anniversary I went for a nostalgic, old fashioned looking image that hints at the earlier, original federal duck stamps. The painting is somewhat of a risk because I have never seen an entry that looks quite like this. That means that the judges will either really like it or vote it out immediately. This year will be tougher competition than normal so hopefully the difference from the other entries will help it to stand out.
http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

Suttle Lake

This past weekend my family and I along with extended family went on a camping trip to Suttle Lake, which is located near Central Oregon near Santiam Pass. On this trip, I was able to gather a bunch of reference material for some future paintings. Two species of note were Common Mergansers (above) and Barn Swallows. With the swallows, I was able to get up close and get some great shots of four fledging birds on their nest (pictured to the right). Their mother was continually feeding them captured insects. Also, I was able to complete some more plein air paintings which will soon be added to my website. The first one that is going on the site is of Link Creek - the inlet to the lake.
http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

New Web Page

A new page has been created on mathiosstudios.net that highlights my plein air paintings. I have completed many of these paintings over the years, but only had a few available to put up on the website. Because I create them somewhat frequently more will be added as they are produced. Basically, I paint 8"x10" studies in an impressionistic style to get a good feel of an area. The colors seems to be more accurate in one of these paintings than they are with my photography. They are also a good, fun exercise as they are usually completed within an hour or two. The detail of a studio painting is lacking but the character of a landscape is usually captured. To visit this webpage you can follow this link... http://www.mathiosstudios.net/originals.html