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!