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WILDLIFE
I have travelled too little
to see any real wildlife aside from the critters who inhabit
my suburban garden, so I work from pictorial resources such as
magazines and calendars. Nonetheless, after being accustomed
to seeing domesticated animals in the relative comfort of my
home and neighborhood, it is almost a shock to see an animal
which has never known a human and cares nothing for human companionship.
Studying a wild animal in its natural habitat is a reminder that
the world does not revolve around us, that these creatures get
along just fine (and probably better) without us, that we are
really only one more species carrying out our lives on Earth.
And while, for me, the inspiration to put an image on paper is
always primarily a visual inspiration, wild animals carry the
same emotional inspiration as domestic pets--animals are so un-selfconscious.
Add to that the beauty of a natural landscape and you've got
a perfect recipe for visual pleasure.
For art inspired
by winter, visit "WinterWhite",
my virtual show featuring small field sketches of winter views.
CLICK ON ANY IMAGE
TO SEE AN ENLARGED VERSION.
Bison Shadow
MEDIUM: Pastel; SIZE: 22" x 16";
2001, $2,000.00 matted and framed It's easy to personify what animals do, but when
I saw this picture I really wondered what made these wolves stop
at that point and howl while the rest of the group moved on.
I was really excited by the range of dusky earth tones and the
textures, and rendered it in a more rough and sketchy manner
than usual, letting the texture of the paper show through so
that it would feel less static than a realistically-rendered
drawing.
With the Wind
MEDIUM:
Pastel; SIZE: 22" x 16"; 2001, $750.00 matted and framed
It's easy to personify
what animals do, but when I saw this picture I really wondered
what made these wolves stop at that point and howl while the
rest of the group moved on. I was really excited by the range
of dusky earth tones and the textures, and rendered it in a more
rough and sketchy manner than usual, letting the texture of the
paper show through so that it would feel less static than a realistically-rendered
drawing.
Practice
MEDIUM:
Pastel; SIZE: 22" x 16"; 2001, sold, prints available
It's easy to personify
what animals do, but when I saw this picture I really wondered
what made these wolves stop at that point and howl while the
rest of the group moved on. I was really excited by the range
of dusky earth tones and the textures, and rendered it in a more
rough and sketchy manner than usual, letting the texture of the
paper show through so that it would feel less static than a realistically-rendered
drawing.
Blue Tuna
MEDIUM: Pastel; SIZE: 22" x 16";
2001, $500.00 matted and framed It's easy to personify what animals do, but when
I saw this picture I really wondered what made these wolves stop
at that point and howl while the rest of the group moved on.
I was really excited by the range of dusky earth tones and the
textures, and rendered it in a more rough and sketchy manner
than usual, letting the texture of the paper show through so
that it would feel less static than a realistically-rendered
drawing.
A World Overhead
MEDIUM:
Pastel; SIZE: 10" x 10"; 2001, $250.00 matted and framed
It's easy to personify
what animals do, but when I saw this picture I really wondered
what made these wolves stop at that point and howl while the
rest of the group moved on. I was really excited by the range
of dusky earth tones and the textures, and rendered it in a more
rough and sketchy manner than usual, letting the texture of the
paper show through so that it would feel less static than a realistically-rendered
drawing.
Wolf Howl
MEDIUM: Pastel; SIZE: 22" x 16"; 1997,
$1,000.00 matted and framed It's
easy to personify what animals do, but when I saw this picture
I really wondered what made these wolves stop at that point and
howl while the rest of the group moved on. I was really excited
by the range of dusky earth tones and the textures, and rendered
it in a more rough and sketchy manner than usual, letting the
texture of the paper show through so that it would feel less
static than a realistically-rendered drawing.
In His Element
MEDIUM: Pastel; SIZE: 15" x 11";
1995, Sold Again, it's easy to personify what animals do
and I don't like to do that, but this polar bear just looks plain
happy. The warm tones of sunlight at that time of day and the
cool tones of reflected light from the snow add color and dimension
to both the bear and the snow around it, and enhance the textures
in both.
The Gray Wolf
MEDIUM: Pastel; SIZE: 12" x 16";
1993, $300.00 matted and framed
I have seen this image
reproduced on everything from posters to cotton throws since
it appeared on the cover of, I believe, National Wildlife
Magazine. It was another image which I remembered after having
read the magazine, so I pulled it from the pile of magazines
and kept it with my art resources. What I remembered was the
wolf's direct look and seeming lack of distress at being caught
in what looked like a blizzard.
White?
MEDIUM: Watercolor; SIZE: 6" x
6"; 1994, $150.00 matted and framed You know, of course, that both polar
bears and snow are white. I can tell you that there is not one
speck of white left on the paper in this work. A picture from
a calendar, I studied the contrasting warm-toned direct and cool-toned
reflected highlights and the textures of the bear and the snow
for a month, then at the end of the year put it in the art resources
file. Because of the flowing shapes and the seeming lack of texture
it looked almost abstract to me, and was a real challenge for
all of its apparent simplicity.
Birds in Snow
MEDIUM:
Pastel; SIZE: 10" x 16"; 2001, $500.00 matted and framed
It's easy to personify
what animals do, but when I saw this picture I really wondered
what made these wolves stop at that point and howl while the
rest of the group moved on. I was really excited by the range
of dusky earth tones and the textures, and rendered it in a more
rough and sketchy manner than usual, letting the texture of the
paper show through so that it would feel less static than a realistically-rendered
drawing.
Biding Time
MEDIUM: Pencil and watercolor; SIZE:
22" x 16"; 2001, $1,000.00 matted and framed It's easy to personify what animals
do, but when I saw this picture I really wondered what made these
wolves stop at that point and howl while the rest of the group
moved on. I was really excited by the range of dusky earth tones
and the textures, and rendered it in a more rough and sketchy
manner than usual, letting the texture of the paper show through
so that it would feel less static than a realistically-rendered
drawing.
For art inspired by winter,
especially featuring birds, visit "WinterWhite",
my virtual show featuring small field sketches of winter views.
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