Friday, July 8, 2011

Birds on the Brain

Osprey in progress
20 x 16
oil on canvas

Bird photography has slowed right down for me.  The trees are so thick with foliage that although I can hear them by the hundreds they are rarely seen.   So I'm going through my resource pics to find ones that I'd like to paint.  This osprey with it's mate lives just a couple of blocks from me and I was lucky to catch several shots of it moving around on the nest.  I'm trying to find a balance between realism and abstract keeping the essence without labouring over detail, minimizing brushstrokes but staying true to the image, pushing saturation of hues as always...

5 comments:

Susan Roux said...

Very nice! I think you're developing it just as you describe. You surely have this under control! Love your colors.

martinealison said...

Vous avez capturé à la perfection votre oiseau. Très jolie touche dans le travail de son plumage.
gros bisous.

Marie Theron said...

You painted the osprey so well! I first thought that it was your 4th of July image, it could have been!

Kristen Reitz-Green said...

Absolutely beautiful! What more can I say!!

Unknown said...

Thank you all for your kind comments. We are really enjoying the birding and now have kayaks to get out on the water and up close, I just need to find a way to keep my camera dry for some photo references!