Vortex of Evil

If it's worth money, he will chew on it.

Great White Egret

One more bird picture, and its definitely an Egret. They are so pretty and don't seem to mind posing for photos, either.

Onion

My new painting of an onion. I really think that all that work drawing and painting plaster casts in black and white has paid off. This is a rotten photo, my scanner isn't working so its the best I could do, but I am pretty happy with the way this turned out.

Goose and Caspian Tern

More Horicon Marsh pictures, this time of a Canada Goose sitting around and a Caspian Tern diving for dinner. These were taken just on the side of the road that runs through the marsh. There were also Great Blue Herons, and a Green Heron that flew up too fast for me to get a photo. I'd love to do a regular boat tour of the marsh, I've been through it all my life and never been on a boat tour.

Marsh monsters

This is a cormorant on the Horicon Marsh giving a good imitation of the Loch Ness Monster. There were lots of them roosting in trees too, looking very eerie as well, like an ominous cross between a crow and a duck.

Egret

I went through the Horicon Marsh Wildlife Preserve the other day. There were the most beautiful birds just hanging out along the highway. This is an Egret, I think, although it might be a juvenile Great Blue Heron. If anyone knows for sure, feel free to chime right in.

I've been working at a garden center for the last few months, and haven't had much time to do much else, including painting and photographing. I am not giving those up, and hope to make even stronger images. If nothing else, I'm too stubborn.

And being that its summer, the television says we are in atornado watch right now. I think its north of me, so it'll be OK.

Barn

I've been photographing this barn for about 5 years. Every time I go to visit my aunt, who is 103, I stop to record this wonderful old barn. She was a beauty in her day, with scrollwork along her eaves and a yellow stone foundation. Last week I drove up to deliver chocolates to my aunt, and the barn was gone. And not just knocked down, but so flattened that no trace was left. In a few years no one will remember how truly wonderful it must have been in its heyday, and how even its skeleton was magnificent, like some great wooden mammoth still standing on a sand prairie in central Wisconsin. I'm glad I got the chance to see her.

Paul Strisik

My last post was about a painting that I copied from a 8x10 print, but had no idea who had painted it. Stapleton Kearns left a comment saying he thought it was by Paul Strisik. I wasn't sure who Paul was and so I looked him up. Well, the only thing to say is "Wow! What a wonderful painter!" And also "Wow, I need to work a lot harder!" These are two websites featuring his paintings Welcome to Paul Strisik's Web Site and Paul Strisik (1918 - 1998). The sense of light in his paintings is so elegant. He studied with Frank Vincent DuMond, who was a legendary teacher at the Art Student's League.

This is one of Paul Strisik's paintings from Greece.

Waterfall

A copied picture from my new class. I wish I knew who did this originally, but I don't. I used a limited palette to paint this, the colors were Cadmium Yellow light, cad. red light, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, viridian and white. And they were water mixable oils, which was something new for me. The class has about 2 hours painting time, and I raced to finish it just before time was up.

Under the trees

This is a quick sketch of a woman and child sitting under the trees. Its done in an "oh so fashionable Moleskeine" sketch book, that I really, really like despite it being trendy. It has paper with a very nice surface to it. Plus, I look cool when I draw in it.

Copying

I started a class in painting in a more loose, brushy manner. And one of the things the teacher recommends of copying other work to learn technique. In the 19th century, many of the painters like Sargent copied the old masters to figure out how they painted. This is my copy of a painting by John Frost who was a California Impressionist and a wonderful painter. He used warm and cool colors, but also kept (I think) tight rein on his values. He went from light to a mid tone in just about the middle of the picture and then kept it at a mid tone until the very front of the picture, where he darkened again. All the while he also kept his grays under control. Whew!! What a good painter he was. Here is a link to more about John Frost and California Impressionists: Pasadena Society Of Artists: Charter Member: John :Jack" Frost and Spacious Skies: California Impressionist Cloud Studies and Seascapes