"The Sizing Up"

"The Sizing Up,"
8" by 8"
Oils on Panel

A Gift of Personality

I knew these ducks personally, though not very well. I occasionally walked out to their home intermixed with a flock of chickens. They stuck together eyeing my weird human form with suspicion and curiosity. I was invariably wearing my eskimo jacket, as it was winter, with my hood up so that fluffy fur surrounded my face which made my head reminiscent of those on bobble dolls. I never took part in feeding them, which might have endeared me to the little ones. Instead, creepily and strangely without any guile I followed them around the exterior of their fenced in foraging area, awkwardly carrying with me a sketchpad and a pencil bag full of supplies, plopping down to sketch when the opportunity struck.  In these encounters I know I only caught a bit of their personalities, but I believe I captured that bit faithfully in this gift painting. 

Perfect Imperfect Reference

The process of getting a feel for them was fun, as it included looking back at sketches, blurry or dark photos, and snippets of video I took. None of these sources was sufficient to create a painting, but all together I believe they were better than one perfect photo reference. Because I had so many sources and no "perfect" reference to "copy" it was easier to focus on what I really care about conveying in many likenesses: personality, over being faithful to one photographic moment.

Next

I have a lot of Whole Piece paintings in the wings to be shared. They are coming! I promise.