"His Home," Daily Painting # 48

"His Home," Available (Click Here)

5" by 7"

Oils on Panel

A Galapagos Tortoise

I decided I had to catch the quiet giants (they are the oldest creatures at the zoo) before my Mom and I left the San Diego Zoo on our latest visit. It was twilight and a bit cool. It seemed all the tortoise's had just bedded down for the night, and in such an odd way. At the back of their exhibit is a cave like area with heat lamps and hay that looked perfectly cozy for tortoises to rest in, but none of them were in there despite the cooler night. They were all pulled into their shells, a few of them had wedged between a plant and the edge of their exhibit huddled together, another was just pressed against another wall, a couple were pushed up against each other, but this guy was in the middle of the exhibit just tucked in his shell all alone. He seemed the least tucked in.

We were chatting about their surprising arrangement and to our embarrassment we woke this guy up. He looked confidently at us, like he knew we were there on his time and in his space. We hushed ourselves, duly reprimanded. My camera was out to take pics of them sleeping so I snapped a couple of quick pics and we left this guy and his friends to sleep.

Next

I think I'll do a portrait of one of the apes I photographed on a recent field trip with my husband's Anthropology class. The apes were absorbing, we got lucky. :)

"Whole Piece 5," Daily Painting # 40

"Whole Piece 5," Available (click here)

5" by 7"

Oils on Panel

A Shadow Cast

Whole Piece 5 Side View
(Without as much glare! I must take some
 time to redo the photographs
 of so many of my paintings that
are tainted with the glare from
bright lights in night photographs.)

The moody gloriously shifting shadows in the reference for this painting drew me to more subtle brushwork than usual. I am intrigued by how subtle an eye can be. In interactions between people we focus so much on other's eyes. It is natural to spend a lot of time understanding the other person through what their eyes tell us, so we think of them as bright and full of contrast and liveliness. Here the shadows cast across the skin and over the eye are much more dramatic in contrast than the eye itself. Because this eye is in shadow I feel it draws my eye to it more, trying to understand it's subtly, trying to read the expression.

Whole Piece Series

I have gotten a few volunteers for my Whole Piece series! ( You can read about the idea and how you can join in here and here.) I believe my next piece in this series will explore a new feature. I'm interested in a few photos I have of noses and forehead wrinkles.


Adventures that Lead to Paintings

I have a trip to the zoo planned for tomorrow! I'm hoping for some splendid new reference. I must spend some time with the monkeys I think, and perhaps some colorful birds. Hopefully something will surprise and inspire me. I will not be able to paint, so I'll be playing catch up for a few days. Wish me luck. :)

"Attentiveness," Daily Painting # 39

"Attentive," Available (click here)

6" by 6"

Oils on Panel

Ornate Hawk-Eagle

When I have some time to myself at the San Diego Zoo I usually find myself late in the afternoon standing at the far back of the zoo in front of one of the raptor outdoor aviaries. (I often pull anyone I'm with there too, but other people don't seem quite as intent on staring at these birds.) Once I found myself with a churro in hand tearing mouthfuls and chewing at about the same pace as the giant Harpy Eagle was consuming what appeared to be a rat. The bird's focus and careful dexterous movement felt familiar, gruesome, and beautiful.

This  Eagle's sharp outline and quite present patterning are eye catching, but its beauty is not what kept me watching it. Whenever I am there it seems to be a bit removed from the viewing area and fascinated by one place or another on the low ground of its soaring aviary. This time I actually saw the low growing plants rustle as a creature moved under them. Because of the eagle's interest I watched everything more closely. I watched the ground for what seemed like minutes (it was probably just a minute) and then watched the eagle for minutes as it made small shifts, seeming always to move so that it could eye the ground more carefully.

Next

I believe another bit of a face will be captured. If you'd like to see your eye, nose, or mouth painted visit this post. And if you'd like to know why I am painting individual paintings of eyes, wrinkles, and mouths visit this post. 

"Lookout" Daily Painting # 22

"Lookout," Available (Click Here)

6" by 6"

Oils on Panel

Brilliant Blue Bird

"Lookout"

Side View

What captured my attention in this bird was that his coloring was bold and gorgeously chromatic and with that seemed to come a boldly stubborn personality. I remember he sat on that branch staring over his shoulder watching people watch him in the large open aviary much longer than he had to before flying away. He was beautiful, but not in a placid gaze in awe sort of way. No, he was beautiful and had personality. He wasn't a bauble. I didn't hear anybody else that was staring at him mention that aspect of his presence so I thought I'd show him respect here.

(Hopefully I'll have a better photo, without glare, for you all to see tomorrow.)

P.S. Does anybody know what kind of bird he is? I've seen him and others of his species before at the large aviary at the San Diego Zoo, but I've never learned their name. 

"Perseverance," Daily Painting #14

"Perseverance," Available in Auction (click here)

8" by 8" Oils on Panel

 An Unusual Giraffe

"Perseverance," side view for texture

  I've been noticing this giraffe at the San Diego Zoo   for years now. At first the nobs on her head were the only distinguishing feature about her, then over time I noticed she was the only giraffe I had ever seen that had wrinkles, and lately I've noticed that her coat seems lighter on her face almost as if white is creeping into it.

  I don't know how old she is, but her face seems to bely a long and storied life. Her face makes me want to get to know her, so I painted her to know her better through the study and challenge.

Process

To really explore the odd textures that are involved in this giraffe's countenance I wanted to not only work texture in with my brushwork and a thicker application of paint, but also push the color range in her face to emphasize the overall variety in surface.

Next

At the San Diego Wild Animal Park I often see native animals that fascinate me as much as the exotic animals. Mule deer cross through at sunset and engender some hushed excitement, but even native lizards and rabbits draw me in. One of my favorite recent images that I caught at the Wild Animal Park was of a timid rabbit. I must paint her soon.

"Yeah, I'm a Capybara," Daily Painting #12

"Yeah, I'm a Capybara," Available in Auction (click here) 

5" by 7" Oil on Panel

Thinking About Capybaras

I've always enjoyed capybaras. I was quite impressed the first time I learned the world's largest rodent with its rounded sloping body, the capybara, was on average between 75 and 150 pounds. And then of course they reminded me of one of my favorite children's book creatures from my childhood the Wumps of The Wump World.

In recent years they put in an exhibit for capybaras at the San Diego Zoo and I could get a full dose every visit. They have such relaxed confidence with their solid bodies taking up space without any qualms. The goal of this painting and the fun of it was to try to capture that attitude. I'm guessing I'll be painting some of these guys again. (BTW, their profiles are wholly amusing in shape, I must paint a profile in the future.)

Process

I didn't manage to paint this guy in just one day as this was the one painting I managed to get done during the move, but instead in two short sessions that equaled the amount of time I usually spend on a daily painting. That bit of drying time allowed me to have two layers of palette knife work, and to layer brushwork and texture throughout. It was gratifying to play with my interest in surface texture further on a daily painting as I have been focusing on texture in my larger long term pieces.

Perhaps I'll share some angled photos of this painting and others soon so that you all can see the physical texture as if you were seeing the paintings in person.

In the Plans

An old giraffe, another bird, and something colorful.

"Cascading Moment," Daily Painting #13 (Number 12 will be shared soon.)

"Cascading Moment," Available (Click Here) 

5" by 7" Oil on Panel

The Peacock

I've always been reticent to paint a peacock. I'm in love with their cool range of brilliant colors. Their proud walk has it's comical self aggrandizing qualities. Their slightly nasal calls both feel exotic and a bit like a weird clearing of a very stuffy nasal passage (Felix Unger comes to mind.). I think it is because they are just beautiful and that seems too straightforward, not thoughtful enough.

At the same time I have no problem trying to get the most glorious colorful photos of a displaying peacock every time I meet up with one. On one of my recent trips to the San Diego Zoo I heard that distinctive cry and saw a crowd gathered and rushed ahead of my patient husband to catch the perfect photo. I had sadly arrived too late for the full display, but I realized in that moment that this inbetween moment before he quietly went back to banal pecking or slowly dragged away his heavy plumage was  something not as straightforward. This was a moment that made sense for me to paint. As he turned away from the crowd his plumage half down became a swirl around him and I caught an image to paint from.

Process

I wasn't quite sure how to approach painting this bird without the different parts of his body seeming disconnected. My strategy was to focus on the soft edges that were created by the fine ends of the display feathers and the more downy feathers on the underside of the display. I enjoyed capturing how ordinary a peacock's body looks shaded by their bold plumage.

Next

I'm happy I finally painted a grand peacock. I'm back to painting daily again. Weeee...the adventure resumes.

"Self-Possessed," Daily Painting #7

"Self-Possessed," Available (Click Here), 6" by 6" oil on panel

A Self-Possessed Camel

I don't remember ever going to the San Diego Zoo and this camel not being there. He is rather haggard at this point, one hump slumps, and he often drools. Though his age has affected him he always seems self-aware and holds his own at the top of the mesa with the younger bactrian camels around him. I often visit that part of the zoo at sunset when the sun is low, directly behind his enclosure and I would greatly miss him if I came upon that spot and our eyes didn't meet.

Process

For this piece I played with pushing the colors to portray the mood. I wanted to keep the brushwork noticeable and expressive. Both these techniques I hope show the impact his personality has on me. The process for this piece was both challenging because I was pushing technique and fun because of that pushing.

Hooded Sheep

* disclaimer: This post is long, but you might just enjoy it. ;)

The Ritual

Every year I visit the San Diego county fair at the Del Mar race track grounds. Mostly I go to peruse the art, look at some plants, enjoy a caramel apple, a gingersnap, and a fresh lemonade. Oh, and to stare at multitudes of animals, not excluding the human variety.

Past Years: Dreamy Impressions

Boer Goat

I've seen pygmy goats at the fair since I was a little kid. For years I wanted to have just one as a pet, and to be honest I would, even now, love to see one climbing on random things in the backyard and eating weeds down to nubs. Someday... (But that goes into a tangent on my childhood desire to make pets out of all animals in a miniature scale. That included the tiny deer family members called Duikers at the San Diego Zoo.)

One year I discovered that I intuitively know how to greet a llama. I went down a whole line of them, each animal leaned in towards me as I leaned towards them and then they each inhaled delicately.  I then witnessed them doing the same with another llama going down past the line of stalls. 

 So, on the whole it was always an idealized experience with fair animals. I was able to put the fact that some of these animals, the chickens, the cows, and the pigs, were going to be slaughtered out of my mind.  I didn't hang around the meat market animals too long.

This Year: Reality Check

This year, unexpectedly, almost every animal I saw was a meat market animal. We came on the last day of the fair, and it seems to have been scheduled for 4-H animals. Endearing posters were hung from the top bars of many animal's stalls. Polished happy looking teenagers proclaimed from the paper in large type that her (they seemed to be all girls) animal will be great served up baked, grilled, BBQed, or any way you like it.

I saw floppy eared Boer goats, as cute as any pygmy pet goat. They are bred for meat. There were steers for beef. I saw degraded veal calves. The pigs! (Or should I call them pork.) This may sound ridiculous, but I never before observed how human their eyes look. I had always seen them from a distance, or as piglets plundering a tired sow's belly. I knew that pigs are smart, but I just tried not to think about it. They have human eyes. I have the pictures to prove it. One flopped down in front of me to rest, as I talked to it (yes I talk to them), he watched me with soulful eyes. Those ghostly pale brown eyes in mind, I have since pulled myself away from ordering a carnitas burrito.

The Proof of Human Eyes

The Payoff For Reading This Far: My Idea

Finally, we come to the market lambs, of a particular meaty breed. They are shorn close and then wear either tight fitting body suits or hooded robes to keep there coats clean for showing. Above their stalls were their prices by the pound. This is where I, finally, tell you the idea for my current project.

The last couple of years I have noticed the hoods that sheep wear after they have been shorn. I think it is hard for an American not to make the visual connection with the Klu Klux Klan robes. In the past I took a couple of so-so pictures of them and had fleeting thoughts about making the photos into an illustration, but I never felt the need to actually do it.

This year, because the fair creatures have taken me to macabre imaginings I want to express that indirectly in an illustration. So, I'm using hooded sheep to make a comment on the Klu Klux Klan. You can draw some obvious conclusions about the idea from there. This is a bit of a departure for me in subject matter. I'm trying to keep the image fairly simple and bold with chiaroscuro lighting. It should be moody in the final. Here is the sketch I like so far:

Hooded Sheep