Blank Slates

So many possibilities...

I've been gearing up for the summer painting season by prepping boards to paint on.  Basically cut-to-size compressed high density fiberboard, a.k.a. hardboard  (similar to "masonite"; which the original Masonite Corporation no longer manufactures) coated with several layers of acrylic gesso.  You wipe the boards down and lightly sand them with medium grit sandpaper, paint on a layer, let it dry for at least four hours, sand to smooth out the raised brush marks...then repeat the process, adding at least three layers before letting it dry overall for a few days.  A bit more involved than buying pre-made canvas boards, but I'm really getting into  the unique textures that I get via this method -- as well as the fact that it's a tad less expensive this way.  Also, there's something therapeutic about painting multiple panels of white, pristine emptiness.

Note to Self...

It's not the best idea to paint a snow scene on a warm afternoon.

Snow Days

We've been having quite a bit of snow this past week, and there might be more on the way.  Although I empathize with those who are confounded by the distinct lack of spring weather, it's been good to have the moisture -- as well as an imposed moment of beauty, suspending our overly-scheduled lives and giving us time to reflect on deeper, more important things.

New Zealand

I had this idea that I'd somehow be able to write all about our six week trip to New Zealand when we got back home, but as the days go on and life falls back into a more familiar pattern, I realize that it's a rather daunting task.  We visited so many places, and experienced so many things that it was more of an expedition than an extended vacation. As an artist, I was visually overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the place, and felt that anything I tried to photograph or sketch to be inadequate by comparison... And now, as I sit down, looking at my notebooks stuffed full of scribbles and oddments found in various pockets -- phone numbers, shells, sea-worn stones -- I think, "How in the world can I describe it all, much less even a part of it?"  We climbed volcanoes; we explored caves; we walked across boiling thermal pools and stood on top of a glacier. We hiked a 33 mile wilderness track, drove over 2900 miles, and encountered some of the rarest birds and animals in the Southern Hemisphere.  It was, in short, amazing.















Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be able to share more scans and photos, as time allows.  Who knows? I might even find a way to express what I experienced in paint...

Tree

 

You know you've been around for awhile when you begin to realize you're outliving trees.  I say this because, on a recent whim I checked on my childhood home via satellite and found that the two silver maples I'd grown up with had been cut down; their pale white stumps gleamed all the way into outer space.  

For some reason, I've always been drawn to the notion of a tree, how it silently endures so many things, season after season.  There are some stately specimens that are hundreds, even thousands of years old.  So when I learn of one's demise, whether due to fire, disease, or "progress",  I'm humbly reminded that even a tree's days on the earth are numbered.

Book Signing

 

This past weekend Chad and I drove down to Lafayette, Colorado for the booksigning session.  It was great to finally see my illustrations in print, and to catch up with C.J. and his family.

 

 

Author C.J. Berry and his new book

We spent several hours meeting with various people and chatting about writing, illustrating, and birds, birds, birds.  It was really neat to see people's reactions to Chris's story and the drawings that I'd worked on all those months ago.

 

Customers reading the first chapter

 

 

Signing away.

Since C.J. was signing copies, I signed them as well -- with a little drawing in each one. It ended up being a fun challenge, as I (perhaps not so wisely) offered to depict ANY bird that the readers wanted: sparrows, cardinals, owls, jays, a flicker, a nuthatch...even a penguin made its way onto the first page. 

All in all, it was a good time, and I learned a lot about this very important aspect of the publishing process. C.J. plans to do several more of these signing sessions along the Front Range between now and the end of the year, so stay tuned to the blog and/or my Twitter and Facebook accounts for updates.

AVES: The Age of Engagement

Earlier this year, as some of you may recall, I took on a book illustration project for local author C.J. Berry.  Now I can happily report that it's published!

From the description on Amazon.com:

"Principalis, the very last of the ivory-billed woodpeckers, has carried the Staff of Aves and led the bird council in relative harmony for most of his life. Soon, his successor will be hatched from the cardinal family and the process will begin anew. This is the avian way. But now changes have come, and Principalis must find a way to bring all birds together, to adapt to the growing threats to their way of life. Tyto Alba, the disgraced barn owl in exile, feels differently. Now these differences have ignited a firestorm over why some birds feel they are better, more deserving, and rightful heirs to the Staff of Aves. Tyto’s long banishment from the council will end soon, bringing with it a new Tyto, a kinder, gentler, and much more devious Tyto. When the barn owl puts his wicked plan in motion, no bird is safe, especially Principalis and the newly laid egg of his successor."

It's an adventure story for the middle-school set, touching not only on epic "good" vs. "evil" themes, but also on how birds in real life are affected by weather, habitat loss, pesticides and other issues.

Tyto the devious barn owl

Today I'll be over at the first book signing at the Cannon Mine Coffee Shop in Lafayette, Colorado. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by for a chat, from 11AM to 1PM. I'll be bringing some of the original artwork over, and Mr. Berry with be available to discuss any questions about his story, or about the world of birds in general.

Nocturne Painting

 Painting the Northern Hotel in Old Town Fort Collins

Plein Air painters are an unusual lot. In addition to painting outside of their studios, some challenge themselves to paint in all sorts of conditions: in rain...in snow...and, as I recently experienced, at night. They call this "Nocturne Painting", which is a fancy way of saying "painting at night". In practice, it's very much the same as painting during the day -- with a couple of exceptions. Most obviously, it's much DARKER, and therefore harder to see color (unless of course you're already color impaired like yours truly.) Secondly, since the sun is no longer the main light source, you have a decidedly longer time window to paint the scene before you. No more rushing to get preliminary sketches done! No more chasing shadows! However there is the interesting problem of lights being turned on and off in various shop windows, blinding headlights, and the (naturally) curious onlookers asking what in the world you are up to.

Freeze

From a page in my largest A3 size sketchbook.  Yet another example of a simple daydream sketch that inexplicably turned into a full-fledged drawing...

Bounce

More from the sketchbook. This week the theme is "bounce", so I drew some red kangaroos, which are quite bouncy! We have a whole group of them (collectively known as a mob) at the Denver Zoo, which is quite a ways from their native bush in Australia.