What's on the Easel

Easel is a term that I'm using to describe what's in progress but I actually paint on a drafting table. I have a show coming up in Ellensburg, WA this May 21-23 and a show coming up in October (Wild Wings Fall Festival). Needless to say, I am working to finish several new paintings. Below are some (not all) of the ones I am currently working on with a few notes about each one....


This 18" x 24" painting is nearly complete and titled First Light - Pintail. When they are close to being finished, I take time and stare at each painting. Sometimes, after a bit of time, I'll get an idea to add something, or something will stick out that needs changing. But, I am happy with this one and do not foresee any changes. It will be going to the Fall Festival.

I am excited about this one! Those are the Grand Tetons in the background and it is a different angle of them. I'm not sure yet if I am going to incorporate wildlife inot the paintitng. If I do, whatever species it is will be secondary and much smaller in the landscape because the striking light in the aspens is the main subject. This painting is 18" x 32".

Here is 16" x 20" painting that is just started. If you can't tell what it is yet - those are a coastal rock formation that will have tons of lichens, mollusks, algae, etc on them in the near future. I am pretty sure that I am going to put loons in this one.

This painting has been in progress for a couple of years It is large at 24" x 36" but I have been feeling a need to get back to it. The distant shoreline needs to drop a bit lower to make it closer and a few more species may be added as well. It is a good example of a painting in the middle stages. There will be a lot more water detail as well.

See below for the detailed progress of this painting. Like the first painting (First Light - Pintails), I have been sitting on this one seeing if it might need a change or if an idea hits. This one has also been chosen for the Fall Festival.

Another older painting that I thought was finished, but an idea hit recently and it is being changed - a butterfly will grace this summer meadow - not sure what kind yet though. It is 8" x 10".

Another older painting that I haven't really exhibited anywhere. The background is being reworked to include a horizon line and some water detail. It will completely change the dynamic of this painting for the better. Something was missing and I couldn't put my finger on it for the longest time. Also, I love the color variation in the rocks. This one measures 16" x 20"

This painting was finished as a landscape a year ago, but will have a swooping Cooper's Hawk added, or possible a Harris' Hawk. I'll do sketches of both and whichever one it is, the bird will be backlit and small in the background echoing the directional lines of the Catalina Mountains. 9" x 12".

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Greater Scaup Painting

A few posts down, there is a photo of hundreds of scaup on the Columbia River in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. That day on the river was spectacular and I wanted to do a painting that captured a memorable morning. Waves of greater scaup would emerge from the fog and land just outside the decoys. After landing they would audibly mill around on the water before diving for their food. This painting depicts a flock of several species of ducks that are being joined by greater scaup. To start with, a gray background is painted in then the birds are sketched onto the board and each individual duck gets started.

More ducks have been added both in the water and coming in...

Alot has happened here.... Value has been added to the background and water; more ducks have been added and some females have been turned into males.

More species have been added as has fog. The species in the painting are three canvasbacks, one common goldeneye, one bufflehead, and lots of greater scaup (26, I think). If you look at the image above and the one below, you can see that one of the scaup has been changed into a goldeneye. The bird looked to small for the rest, so to add a bit of variety and interest, I made the duck larger and turned it into a goldeneye. Stay tuned to see the painting finished...

Wigeon Study Revised

This 8" x 10" study has been revised from the one that is a few entries below. A lead wigeon has been added closer to the viewer and a bird has also just landed in the water. Some of the reeds have been subtly modified as well to help the ducks stand out a bit more. This gives the painting added life while keeping the hunter's perspective. The study is for a larger commissioned painting for the St. Clair Flats Waterfowlers Incorporated conservation group.
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The Challenger - Update #4

More habitat has been added in the front and more detail in the elk as well as sthe trees. It's still not finished and as I have mentioned on this blog before, some days it feels like a work all day and don't accomplish a thing. This usually happens when painting grasses. It is nice to scroll down and see that actual progress is being made though.
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The Challenger - Update #3

In this painting update more detail has been added to the background trees and the grasses. The elk haven't been touched since they were initially painted in except for blocking out some of the branches in the closest one's body. This is where the process of painting takes some time. I am now working on easing the dramatic pointed shape of the foreground shadow.
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The Challenger - Update #1

The second elk has been added as has some detail in the background grasses. There is going to be a lot of foreground detail and this painting is going to be a lot of work to get what I am foreseeing. I like the way the tension is developing between the two bull elk though. I may submit this image to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for consideration to create a print to benefit wildlife conservation. They see many paintings from many artists, but it is always worth trying.

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The Challenger - Painting in Progress

This painting has just been started and my goal is to post continued progress as it happens, giving you a glimpse into the process. The first steps were to lay in the basic placement of the meadow and the future shadows that will be in the grasses. I then blocked in the background trees. All of this has been done with a #10 round and a #12 flat. The first bull elk was laid in with a #2 round. There is going to be another bull coming in from the uppr left hand corner, which is what the front bull will be looking at.
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Snow Goose Painting in Progress

About a week and a half ago I stopped by the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on my way back from the Peppertree Art Show (which was an amazing end to one of the best shows in the country). Many species were numerous on the refuge including white-fronted geese and snow geese. This group of geese was one of many to come into the refuge while we were there. At times, tens of thousands would get up and swirl around like a massive tornado then set back down.

This painting is in progress. My goal is to give the geese a smooth, soft, realistic appearance. Other than that, you can get the idea of what it will look like.

Another in Progress

Here's yet another painting that I've been working on. There is going to be a flurry of finished paintings soon - probably next week. There are even a few that haven't been posted here as 'in progress'. I've been painting like a madman - hahahaha!My Website

Painting in Progress - Mule Deer

Below are a couple of photos showing the progression of a new painting that I am working on. (The eagle and rocks are getting a breather) You can see from the bottom picture, which is the older version, that another deer has been added and the large juniper tree has actully been broken into two trees. There are going to be lots of grasses and the streaking, low sunlight should become more apparent as the painting progresses even more.

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Eagle Rock continued....

...more detail has been added and I am going to take it even further with the rock detail.
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Eagle Rock (In Progress)

With this painting I am focusing on the subtleties of the rock. There are so many colors and nooks and crannies. It has been fun to explore and although the eagle appears as the focus, the rocks have been fun to work on. I may get into the back feathers of the eagle in much the same way I am approaching the rocks - but I am a ways from getting to the detail of the bird. It is there more for perspective than anything right now.
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Painting in Progress - Orcas

A mother and calf search near shore for prey. I saw these whales while in BC in late July and it's my first orca painting. The pod I saw had about 10 whales in it and they were in the more open waters of the Queen Charlotte Strait. Here I have them near the shore with some classic Northwest weather. Stay tuned for more updates as I get into the details of the trees and rocks. There may even be a few gulls on the rocks.
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Federal Duck Stamp Time

Every August, hundreds of artists from across the country create paintings for one of the most rigorous, yet rewarding, art competitions in the US - the Federal Duck Stamp Contest. I have been busy working on mine since July and it is getting closer to being to finished. Actually, the only thing left is the painstaking detail that is required to be competitive. Below are a few examples of my past entries. Some have done really well, and others have not. I should note that there are 5 species to choose from each year and each painting is 7"x10". Later this week I will post this year's entry.

Some Past Entries
this one didn't win the federal, but won another stamp competition later that year
1997 - one of my first entries
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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The above 20"x30" painting has been in progress for quite some time and is proving to be a serious challenge. I think it is one of those paintings where a step forward in my abilities could be made. The thing about taking a step forward is that sometimes it takes two steps back and it's those steps where the real learning takes place. This painting has been like that. One day, I'll work on it and feel that great progress has been made and other days, I'll paint for hours and leave thinking that the painting is worse than it was before I started. The hard part, for me, has been blending the numerous branches and the mist to create depth and realism. The image above is the painting in it's current state - now it's back to work.
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Hooded Merganser (In Progress)

A painting I have been working on... it's seems to be more about the reflections in the water and the movement in the water that swirls in towards the striking merganser.
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Greenwings Update

It has been a crazy month or so trying to balance commission work, print remarques, painting for two shows and traveling to Milwaukee. The above painting is for one of the shows. Some progress was made on the detail and the painting is getting closer to being finished. The ducks themselves need some work and keeping them looking like they are in the fog while subtly showing enough detail to define the species will be tricky. This painting is another in what is becoming a series of waterfowl paintings. Evening Sprig, South Platte Sunrise, and First Flight feel like the forefathers to this painting. I enjoy the landscape aspect with the ducks not being as prominent, but still showing that commitment to landing.
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Greenwings (In Progress)

This is a painting in progress of some greenwing teal coming in on a foggy morning...
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Canada Goose Painting in Progress

This is a larger painting that measures 20"x30" and is currently in progress. There is still a lot of work to do on the trees and water and in the foreground there will more trees with some snow on them. The inspiration for this painting came from a photograph that a friend of mine took. When I saw it, I had to create a painting from it.
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Back from Milwaukee

I'm back from Milwaukee, WI where I was signing the Ducks Unlimited prints at Classic Art Prints. Marie and her husband Guiseppi were fantastic hosts and treated artist George Lockwood and I to an authentic home cooked Sicilian meal that was absolutely amazing! I have started painting again after the trip and have progressed on the eagle some more. It is nearly finished. If you look back and forth between the last post and this one you can spot the subtle changes that have occured. And, I should say, that although subtle, they take a while as I am using small brushes and focusing on the detail.www.mathiosstudios.net