Fieldwork: Tundra Swan in Mattamuskeet Wildlife Refuge
December through February is an awesome time to be in the Mattamuskeet Wildlife Refuge in Hyde County, North Carolina where more than 200,000 Tundra swan, Snow geese, Canada geese and 22 species of duck winter on the refuge every year. The refuge borders the Pamlico Sound on our coast and just west of the Outer […]
Fieldwork: Black Bear in Minnesota
This August I also made an unforgettable and mega-incredible research trip to photograph black bear in Minnesota with my long-time and great artist friend Jeff Hoff – check out Jeff’s art at http://www.crosswindsart.com/ In addition to exploring Minnesota’s Superior National Forest, we spent 3 days at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary in Orr, MN. This […]
Fieldwork: Black Bear in North Carolina
It was a black bear summer for me this year! One of my early paintings selected for the North Carolina Wildlife Calendar was of a Black Bear on a mountain stream. I chose the Davidson River in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC as my scene, and I have always had hope for a […]
North American Big Game – Elk Painting
Painting North American big game requires careful attention to habitat, habits and behavior, whether portraying elk, moose, mule deer or whitetail. Over the years I have covered some ground in both the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and have over a decade of observation and photos that I’ve taken of elk – bull, cow and […]
Wolf Portrait in Progress
Painting wildlife for me offers great peace and freedom and wildlife portraits are an effective and compelling way to tell something about an animal without the distractions of the entire story of what the animal is experiencing, and doing in the environment that they’re in. A quick story of why we should care about that […]
Fieldwork in Smoky Mountain National Park
Once you’ve hiked the rugged mountains of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, and have photographed the wildlife that brings life to these incredible mountains and valleys, it’s hard to imagine experiencing the incredible scenery and grandeur that Yellowstone and the Tetons have to offer any place else. I took over 450 photos of this bull moose […]
Grizzly Bear Painting in Progress
For this 40″x30″ grizzly bear painting my concept is to have this Grizzly dominate the expansive scene of the river and waterfall and have him move into the scene with plenty of room for the viewer’s imagination to have him move through it. I wanted a very focused but non-threatening look and posture. I begin by positioning […]
Grizzly Bear Painting Fieldwork
My very first blog will be to show the value fieldwork, observing and documenting animal behavior and taking on the challenge of ensuring an understanding of habitat, the influences of weather and environment have on animals. I’ll share some photos of my work in progress and show how the mood of the scene and the […]