Ugly Adolescence

Ugly Adolescence 4.75 x 2.5" I know...it's not a pretty painting. But, I have to tell you, after surgery it was good to get a laugh and this perky adolescent Guinea Hen gave me the giggles every time I layed down the brush. She is a resident at the Brookfield Zoo and boy is she EVER noisy! I think she felt compelled to compete with the strutting peacocks. Either that or she felt it necessary to complain about those itchy pin feathers of hers. I don't know...I don't speak Guinea Fowl. Fiesty little thing!

Afternoon Watch

Afternoon Watch 2.5 x 4.5" I've posted my miniature appropriately now...with a penny for relational purposes. I don't know if this is the title I'm sticking with. I have to sit on it for a while and let it "marinate" in my head before declaring it finished. I had more fun with this wolf! I had taken his photo last year in Yellowstone but placed him beside a stream in Yosemite. My challenge for this was to hybridize the Yosemite granite with Yellowstone's yellowish Rhyolite to create a believable landscape. It took forever but my energy is no less depleted! I'm ready to venture on to the next one...an adolescent guinea hen perhaps? We'll see...

Here's the latest. I have one more to go to complete this set. After this perhaps some stained glass birds. This method is too much fun to let go after a few tries!

Faux Stained Glass

These are the first of two in a series of stained glass windows I've created. Well...they aren't actually REAL windows. I transformed my designs into windows using my line drawings and photos from real stained glass windows. This way requires fewer band-aids from glass cuts. Now...back to miniatures!

Who Cooks for YOU?

Who Cooks for YOU? 2.125 x 2.125" I did a quicky miniature this week to honor my old owl buddies in Iowa. We used to love to sit out on the back deck and listen to the Barred Owl conventions in the woods. They would call out "Who Cooks For YOU!" and then laugh. They sound like nerds laughing!

Rook on the Rocks This is my latest miniature, (4.125 x 2.375") finished today. It has been a while since I've posted. The holidays rob me of a lot of creative energy but January is a great way to kindle that fire up again. I've got so many great new compositions in the works for 2012! I just need more time in the day...

Waiting For Dinner
Miniature 4.5 x 2.5"

This miniature is the last of the series to be sent to the MASF show in Florida. I used the same palette as the previous painting and was surprised to see just how different the two compositions turned out. Yesterday on my bike ride beside the DesPlaines River I spotted one of these magestic birds right beside a waterfall. He could have been posing for my painting! He looked at me as though to say, "Well...did you get the painting right?! Because here I am, with all my beautiful feathers on display for your personal observation!"