Hunt and Peck

First I have to tell you I got a note from the Bold Brush competition held each month on line: Congratulations! Your painting, "Pictures at an Exhibition", was selected as part of the FAV15% (jury's favorite 15% of the entries) in the December 2018 BoldBrush Painting competition. 

It doesn't mean I won anything but it does mean I made it to the top 15% of entries. There are alot of entries! Always nice to get a little recognition...

Ibis, 12x12, oil on linen panel,

And then on to this week's post. I said last time that I was going to start at least one more sea bird painting on top of another plein air painting. This time I picked an Ibis. Since the other two birds are walking and upright I went for one looking for food. There was a nice swell coming in to create a pattern coming off the body of the bird. Repetition of shape is always a bonus. I am having too much fun painting shore birds and Gulf waters. I must be living in the wrong part of the country...mountains are not my natural affinity I am discovering. As I switch to a snow painting I am using what I have been doing in these smaller paintings with water to that of the snow. It has given me a new way to think about that subject. Sometimes I try to make it way harder than it needs to be.

This one is painted over another old building although this was not a barn but a post office. I am drawing a blank on the location but the few buildings in this small mountain town were all dilapidated and long abandoned. You can see a little bit of progression below. I thought I had a previous post on the original painting but I cannot find it. I can't even find a folder with images of the painting...it wasn't that bad!

I have one more shore bird I want to do but I have run out of 12x12 panels with plein air paintings on them. It might be too different to do it on a clean canvas but I will think on that.

not only the roof line is coming through but also the hillside which will mimic the swell in the water. I love it when that happens!

Photo of the old post office

To end this post on another high note I had a surprise deposit in my PayPal account. Someone bought a larger painting off my website! That is always a delight to discover.

Satisfied

Satisfied, 12x12, oil on linen panel

Here we have a satisfied Heron. I took this photo right after I saw him catch and eat a fish. I am painting these shore birds with great delight. Ah to live where they are an every day occurrence. Not that we don't see Blue Herons and lesser Egrets right here in the middle of Denver Colorado. We do. I see them at the park 1/4 mile from my house every summer. But the lake with its not so glamorous broken walls or caged rocks aren't quite as pretty a back drop as the Gulf is. With waters that glimmer and change color along with the shifting colored sand.
Here is a progression for you. I started with painting over a plein air painting from a few winters ago:

From the looks of it, I was painting over another old painting...one I must not have ever considered done as there is not title for it on the back...So the Heron is #3, oh my! I was not unhappy with this painting for having painted it on site on a cold crisp January day in record time, but really, the subject wasn't very interesting.

You can see after my initial block in over the old barn you can still see a ghost of it. In the finished painting it is much fainter and if I didn't show it to you, you would most likely not ever see it. I don't understand why I enjoy doing this so much but I know I am not alone in this. There is one more shore bird I am going to do painting over another plein air painting that isn't that great before I run out of 12x12 paintings to paint over. Stay tuned!

Goin' Fishin'

On the Prowl, 12x12, oil on linen panel

Progress has been made on my egret painting. I painted in more than I had originally intended but there you have it. From day to day what we are going for can change. Everyone seemed to really like the daffodils coming through the egrets body so I left some but not as much as I had thought I would.
I still like it and overall, I think more people will like it this way too because they won't know any better!

Here is a bit of the progression. The image below is where I first stopped. I could not bring myself to 'ruin' what I felt it had going for it and everyone who saw it in this stage said to leave it alone! Eventually it just called out for more trust in my abilities and more paint. This first block in was where I stopped and had a hard time wanting to mess with it. It looked very oriental in style and the shapes coming through the light wash were an interesting element.

Original block in on top of still life painting

Here is the next phase when I finally decided I had to make it more a painting as I had originally intended before I got distracted by the textures and color showing through:

First foray into trusting my gut

I wasn't sure if I wanted to let go of the daffodils in the image above. Ultimately the whites were competing too much. The bird was not coming forward and being center stage. I then was asked by a new acquaintance if I would be willing to film myself painting for a project he is working on. I know he is a musician but I didn't ask what the project was. He has been generous in sending me recordings from the class we are taking together. I did not think to record the lectures until weeks into the class so I felt I owed him a return favor. I picked this painting as it looks good on film and I had only a few touch ups to do. Once I got going I changed my mind and saw the daffodils coming through as a distraction.

New Year

First, I want to start off by sharing with you two recent responses to my work. The first came from the judge for the November to ART MUSE online juried contest. One piece I submitted was Marbled Water. Here is what I received as a finalist: I like the unusual viewpoint and the variety of shapes that come together in an  abstract design. The suggestions of seeing through the water and the reflections from the hard edged buildings are very well described. Nancy Tankersley

Marbled Water, 30x30, oil on linen

The second came in an email this morning from a friend and collector who now lives in Vermont. Her brother-in-law teaches color at the Parsons School of Design in NYC. Here is what she wrote: Dan is a professional artist who teaches color at Parsons School of Design. I always enjoy his comments on our artwork. He loves your work, the light you get, the precision. This trip he particularly enjoyed looking at your painting of the cattle and horses and dog crossing the road in Wyoming. I can't remember exactly what he said but he loved the way you used colors and asked me to tell you how much he likes it!

Cattle Crossing, 12x24, oil on panel

It is always gratifying to discover how much your work impacts others. For someone who teaches color to comment so positively on my use of color is high praise indeed! I attribute it to John Singer Sargent. He is my inspiration.
With the holidays and family from out of town visiting etc I haven't had much time at my easel this past month or two. I have done another little 6x6 to show off today. I took the photo reference at the end of the hollyhock season. I think I needed a little color and hope for Spring.

Hollyhock, 6x6, oil on panel