Wildlife Artist and Knife Maker

More Knives

2011-03-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

A good way to get through the winter besides painting. As you can see I don't make the same thing all the time. What would be the fun it that? Woods used are bolivian rosewood, yellow heart, ironwood and bocote for example. Selecting the wood relative to the type of knife is part of the allure for me.

Bowie Knives

2011-03-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of elk handled bowie knives I made this winter. The one at the top is the largest I've ever made. Of course they both have my custom leather sheaths.

New Buffalo Painting

2011-03-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

Finished this 18x24 recently and it turned out really nice. May have a buyer in Tennessee which would be nice. It is called "Generations".

Here's another knife

2011-02-09T08:08:00.001-08:00

With black mesquite handle.

Knives

2011-02-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

I call myself also a knifemaker but never put any up on the blog even though I've sold 40-50 on ebay in the last few years so here is one.

Wind River Moose

2011-02-09T08:00:00.001-08:00

Not sure of the title but this 18x24 at least impressed my wife (prejudiced). My brother thought I should use a bit more atmospheric perspective so I tried. I guess it's not bad.

Sandstone Cat

2011-02-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

I had this older photo from a trip through John Day, Oregon of a sandstone formation I always wanted to paint because I like patterns. So I gave it a try and added a cougar in this 18x24 painting. Not sure how I feel about it but that's not uncommon for me when I do something different.

2011-01-31T06:45:00.000-08:00

First painting of 2011. It's an 18x24 (of course) titled "Cariboo Hunters" from the idea of the painting by Bob Kuhn called "Return Of The Cariboo". They say if you spend too much time on a painting you lose spontaneity. My problem in spending too much time on this is something I need to have in mind from the beginning, the light source. It seems I have a bad tendency to get into the painting and then start deciding the direction of the light which then makes me adjust values. Of course we could just say it's diffused light. Ha!

2011-01-31T06:40:00.000-08:00

This is an 18x24 done recently called "Headstart". Animals are good although I admit my treatment of the foreground seems somewhat radical. It's nice.

2011-01-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

A larger 30x40 painting with, of course, a moose. Got the idea for this from a painting entitled "Slide Lake" by Tucker Smith (yes, I stole it). Just really admire the guy who lives near the Wind River range in wyoming. Moose not one of my best but works ok. Hate to waste a good mountain on just an ok moose.

2011-01-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

Of course I like painting moose. Think it's the challenge of getting the antlers right. This 18x24 turned out ok. Title is River Crossing (a dilemma at high flow).

2011-01-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

An 18x24 I might title Yukon Brothers (dall sheep). The background mountain is from an actual photo I took along the Campbell Highway out of Whitehorse about 5 1/2 years ago (great trip on a 350 mile gravel road). Alot of white is difficult to paint.

2011-01-10T07:03:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd put in a few paintings I've done recently, mostly for my brother Mike since he's the only one who seems to look at them (and maybe my son Jack if he's so inclined). This is an 18x24 of Lakefork Creek near where I live. Lately, since I am not an entrepeneur, I think about quitting painting but can't help myself. I am in too deep.

The Front Line

2010-03-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

Like the wolverine I painted I also noticed that few wildife painters ever do a musk ox so I thought why not. They're kind of homely but in the right context it might work...especially with a good title. When threatened they form a barrier to protect the young...I thought about that and came up with this idea. It's an 18x24 painting called "The Front Line". Get it?

An Evening Stroll

2010-02-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

Brand new 18x24 that I really like. The atmosphere is perfect and the animals are anatomically correct.

Cougar

2010-01-18T06:48:00.002-08:00

Another recent 18x24 that I've reworked the tones and values on too many times. It's ok but just not right.

Elk Hunters

2010-01-18T06:44:00.000-08:00

Although I am not a big wolf fan because I think their reintroduction has been botched (too many in some areas that are eating all the other wildlife) I do think they are interesting to paint. This is one of those paintings that is good but that I will never be sure of. Why? I do not totally know. It is 16x20.

Thanks For The Memories

2010-01-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

Recent 18x24 painting that turned out pretty well. Tried some backlighting on the bear and am especially pleased with that ethereal blue in the ice which I finally discovered is manganese blue to me. Nice to learn new things.

Island Lake

2009-12-30T06:32:00.000-08:00

Recently completed I do like this small landscape, the first I've done without wildlife for awhile. It is 16x20. The photo makes it look somewhat more reddish than actual. Done from a photograph in a Tucker Smith book who is a great painter living in Pinedale, Wyoming. This is the Wind River Mountain Range.

The Last Apple

2009-12-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

This is a 14x18 which Peg likes, hope you might too. Bob Kuhn painted some interesting black bears once in awhile so thought I would and it turned out well. As you might guess I left the apple out of the painting so you might have something to wonder about. Making you work a little for this one.

60 Below

2009-12-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

This is a 16x20 of a wolverine which worked out very nicely. Kind of an unusual subject that I've rarely if ever seen painted by well known wildlife painters. Don't know why unless they only paint what they've seen and these animals are really rare. Ever seen one on a zoo? I've seen two, one north of McCall, Idaho and one in the Yukon on my trip there in 2005.

Wall Street

2009-11-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

This is an 18x24 I recently finished in which I finally painted a decent cariboo. With recent financial disasters I decided to call it "Wall Street".

Been gone for awhile

2009-10-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

My brother Mike said I hadn't been on the blog for awhile so that I'd add a few paintings I'd done in last couple months.

Aspen

2009-04-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the two paintings I did for a lady I met on jury duty this winter. It's 16x20 and a painting of her pet bobcat "Aspen". I actually got paid for it as well as another painting of her pet lynx "Willow".

Shore Lunch

2009-04-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

This one's called "Shore Lunch" 18x24. Painting seagulls is more difficult than it looks.

Another Jack Favorite

2009-02-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

This is an 18x24 called "Return Of The Brants". I thought it turned out rather nice.

One of Jack's Favorites

2009-02-10T07:49:00.001-08:00

Sent my son Jack a disc of paintings and this was one of his favorites. Hope you like it.

Turn On A Dime

2009-02-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

Not yet sure about the title but always wonder where these old sayings come from. This 18x24 turned out pretty nice. Met a lady on jury duty recently who wants a couple paintings of her pet bobcat and lynx (can you believe somebody has these?) Anyway, thought I'd try a bobcat in action and see how it went. You be the judge.

Desert Songs

2009-01-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

I like this 18x24 recent painting titled "Desert Songs". I put together elements from four different source materials...of course the coyote but also the distant mountains and cactii from last years trip to Arizona. Threw in the snowy effect for the heck of it.

There Goes The Neighborhood

2009-01-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here's an 18x24 painting titled "There goes the neighborhood". I like the fun titles and it turned out fairly nice.

Upper Roman Nose Lake

2009-01-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

Decided to paint a pure landscape without an animal this time. This 24x24 painting is of Upper Roman Nose Lake in Northern Idaho. It's hard to capture the starkness of a high mountain lake and still have some reasonable color that makes it interesting.

Backyard Fox

2009-01-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

Guess I like to paint the fox since I have them living in the backyard and they like the hot dogs I leave out for them. This painting is 16x20.

Evening Shade

2008-10-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

Love this title and 18x24 painting. I'm not a big cougar fan since they can come out of nowhere and hurt you but they are a great animal to paint with their golden contrasts and sinewy presence. This morning I saw one flaw in perspective that needs to be corrected but I'll let you guess what that is. Some of you may remember the title is from a TV series starring Burt Reynolds.

Salmon Hunter

2008-10-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

This is 18x24 and the second time I've used this title. The first painting went in the slash pile (I think) and this one was inspired by a Kuhn drawing I saw and a camping trip in Ranier park along a boulder strewn creek that I could only imagine was prowled by this bear.

Back With A few New Paintings

2008-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

This is an 18x24 titled "Indian Summer ". What's interesting is that I first painted this 30 years ago and gave it away for a wedding present. Hopefully I've learned something since then and this is a much better painting. Also, hopefully, I've learned you can marry the wrong person the first time around.

Back with Cougar Painting

2008-09-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Been awhile but just thought I'd show you something I actually painted this summer (unusual since I paint mainly in the winter because I'm not camping, fishing or whatever). Decided I can't take such a layoff if I want to get better.

New mode of travel

2008-05-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

This is it. Hard to get rid of the van...it had it's Karma. But..needed to stand up and only had one choice that fit in the garage over the winter and had a lower profile for better mileage.

Wolves

2008-03-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

This one I like. It's 18x24 and called "Something Of Interest". I'm beginning to think that in the winter I'm influenced to paint winter scenes (it's almost the beginning of April and we actually got almost 6" of new snow last night). I put a bit more detail into the fur on this one. Am searching for somewhere between Bob Kuhn's lack of fur detail and maybe Terry Isaac who paints more detail than I could have fun with. After all it's about fun isn't it.

Oil Painting

2008-03-27T07:20:00.001-07:00

Not something I usually do because most of my work is acrylic but it's always a bit fun to work with different materials. Guess I got the idea after my brother recently visited. These are actually water soluable oil paints but I just used them right out of the tube. I believe oils are richer in color than acrylics and it's certainly an advantage that they stay workable longer but where do you stack a bunch of wet paintings in the cave? It's a smaller painting of Mt Moran in the Tetons. So now I'm back to acrylics and working on a couple of wolves. I'm not a wolf hugger by any means but they are interesting to paint.

Park Ranger

2008-03-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Got the title from Peg...seemed good to me...especially since this was a situation in which the landscape overwhelmed the animal...guess that happens and one has to make adjustments...really like the background, light coming from the right and above...not sure if finished but nice enough to show you. Think this is 18x20 which shows you can get space with small painting.

Whitetail Deer

2008-03-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

Nice smaller painting...paying more attention to edges with a snow background. I think 16x20 and it turned out well...pleased with it but still working on many things.

2008-02-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

Things are warming up a bit, some of the snow is melting and I can smell spring which is good because I'm tired of running the snow blower. Here's a few knives that have turned out interesting, especially the bottom two. Second from the bottom is a Brusletto blade (Norway) with cariboo ends and some kind of wood in the middle. Extremely light weight and great for camping chores. Bottom one is a Finnish Leuku blade used by the Sami of that country. It's really nice with handcut leather spacers and a stag pommel. Lots of Devcon epoxy (the 2 ton 30 minute kind). One at the top is a nice fighter and one below has a beautiful ironwood handle. See what I mean about knives as works of art?

Moose Painting Finished

2008-02-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

This I like although in the early stages I was fairly convinced it wasn't going to turn out well. I should have learned by now that if I stay with a painting long enough it might have possibilities. For this one I used a photograph from an Alaska wildlife reference book and some ideas I got from a Rungius painting for the foreground and background. The sky is inspired by such treatments given by Kuhn in his paintings. These are two of my "teachers" even though both are gone.

New Moose Painting

2008-02-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

I guess I just like moose and bears so thought I'd show you the initial stage of this painting. It's an 18x24 and although I start different ways I'm beginning to learn that after a good drawing I like to put in the medium lights and darks to get some idea of the animals anatomy reflected in light. The question of background is always there at this point but I think it has to fit where the animal lives so I'm working on that idea. Will try to keep up on the blog with progressions.

Elk Painting

2008-02-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd better get a few things on here before the next storm hits tonight and I'm back to work on the snow blower (Peg says 15 feet so far this winter). This is a 12x16 painting of an elk. It turned out pretty well and I can't tell if the photo or my eyes are a bit bleary. Basically I just made up the background which is not that difficult as long as you keep in mind it should be a color that nicely contrasts with the sienna in the animal.

New Painting

2008-01-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

We're about to get slammed by another big winter storm so I'd better get this one up on the blog. I'm always pleased to get a painting that tells a story and this piece is called "Territory". I like to leave it up to the viewer exactly whose territory it is. When I told Peg the title she thought it was the bear's territory. I saw it the other way around. I'm not sure it's totally finished so I'll live with it awhile. Hope you think it's pretty good.

Been Awhile

2008-01-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

We finally got a stretch of a week in which we didn't clear any snow, in fact it's even sunshine today even though it was 8 degrees below 0 this morning. Thus for now we forego our little walks although recently I was out on snowshoes not too long ago clearing about 2-3 feet off the tops of the berms so that the snowblower could blow more up on top for the next onslaught. I've just, of course, been working on a couple paintings and knives which I'll show you soon. In the meantime here's an older one I always liked.

First Knife 2008

2008-01-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

Thought I might as well show this too. It's a nice "cowboy style" bowie knife with an elk handle and a piece of burled walnut for the pommel that came out amazingly looking like marble. Will make a nice sheath for it soon, appropriate to the cowboy style.

First Painting 2008

2008-01-07T07:28:00.000-08:00

I had to show you this before I went out in the blizzard (not kidding) to clear some more snow. This is a 12x24 painting of a gray wolf and snowshoe rabbit. It could have many titles but I settled on "Place Your Bets". I am very pleased with it overall and especially capturing the action of the moment which up until now I haven't done but now it really adds a new option to my wildlife painting. Hope you like it. Time to fight the elements.

Sorry About That

2008-01-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

Haven't been on the blog lately and the only excuse I have is that it's constantly been snowing and there's alot of clearing to do. The price one pays for living in this part of the country...4 months of heavy winter (great for the drought) and 8-9 months of beauty and relative isolation. I think I've got a picture of my first painting of the Grand Canyon...not so great but definitely different and something to think about. It won't be my last.

Crazy Painting

2007-12-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

I believe I mentioned this somewhat earlier. Somehow a painting sometimes just gets away on it's own so I decide to experiment with colors which gives me hopefully some insight into how color interacts to create it's own values, lines and contrasts. I don't really try to make a good painting but the impact is what it is.

Ice Bear Again

2007-12-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

I know, I've shown this before but since my brother Mike didn't think the bear was "fluffy enough" I did a little work on that aspect of his fur. Mike is a good critic and I have a tendancy to use too much line to delineate the anatomy of an animal. So, here you are Bro.

My Winter Duties

2007-12-21T06:36:00.000-08:00

Haven't been on the blog for a few days (not sure anyway if anyone is reading it) because it's snowed about 2 1/2 feet the last three days so I paint in the morning until it gets light and then my snow routine starts. I clear snow off the tarp of the 1963 Starcraft cuddy cabin cruiser I have parked below and then hit the snow blower while Peg gets to her shovel duties. Wednesday night was particularly tough. It just kept snowing and by Thursday morning we had another 15 inches in the driveway. Sooner or later we were going to run out of the essential supplies, milk, beer and wine coolers, so it was time to break out. Believe me, this is excercise. Meanwhile I'm intermittantly working on what I call a "crazy painting" using lots of color and texture. Usually these don't turn out very well but this one has a certain panache. I'll show it to you soon.

Snowing-Framing-Knife Making

2007-12-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Now that's an eclectic title! It's snowing outside so the ski resort should be happy. I'm downstairs framing some paintings for the exhibition up in McCall in February that apparently is a lodge that is also giving a wine and cheese party with the art. I guess that's the way they do these things and it's certainly better than parking my van on the side of the highway and putting up a cardboard sign that I have art to sell. Besides it's kind of cold this time of the year. Now to a knife making tip. At one point I knew I should try to solder my guards to the blade because that's the way you are supposed to do it. No problem except I wasn't a very good solderer. So I discovered that Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy worked just fine. I've never had a guard come loose and if you get a little sloppy you can clean off the excess with mineral spirits before it hardens. Now I've also discovered JB Weld and it also makes a great substitute for solder. If it can repair a cracked engine block it can hold a guard in place. Last but not least I'm showing you a picture of a really nice bowie with elk handle I made a couple years ago in prison (that's what we call the townhouse we used to live in down in Boise). Sometimes it felt like that.

Ice Bear

2007-12-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

Now we get to what I've been doing this week and I'm quite pleased. This painting is 18x24 and only the second one I've done of a polar bear. I guess they've become a symbol of the global warming thing but I painted it because I wanted to try some new techniques and especially show the contrast of the bear with the stark and desolate background. Most think of polar bears as white but I didn't use any in this painting. Read somewhere that they aren't really white but their color picks up their surroundings...something about the hollow hair reflecting the environment or light. It could have been more blue but what fun is that? I borrowed the title from a Bob Kuhn painting and consider this a tribute to Mr. Kuhn who passed away on October 1st at age 87, painting to the end. So Bob, this is the best I could do and you are a significant inspiration for my painting. Sometimes I get better and that's encouraging as a late starter in wildlife painting.

Knife Sheath as Art

2007-12-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

Been busy the last couple of days so I thought I'd put two blogs up this morning. Making the sheath for a knife is as much art as anything because it should fit the character of the knife. This one is certainly the most complicated I've made for one of the elk handled bowies. Don't know where I got the idea but the double snaps are cool.

Clyde Aspevig-Crane Lake

2007-12-10T06:46:00.001-08:00

I think every painter has heroes and their work and eventual style is influenced by those individuals so I decided to reveal one of mine. This is simply a copy of a striking landscape by Clyde Aspevig, a Montana landscape painter who is simply grand. Somehow he captures values and contrast that provides drama in his paintings. I did ok but was more hesitant in my values. It shows but I think we need to at least strive to come as close as we can to those greater artists we admire. Otherwise we just aren't trying hard enough. Also, I thought I should put something other than a wildlife painting on here for you to see. You'll never see this landscape for sale as it would be unethical to pass the idea of someone else off as my own.

Final Fish Painting

2007-12-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not really satisfied with this, probably because it was too difficult to change from an underwater to above water scene. It was difficult to say the least because everything has to change, the fish, color, values, etc. I have learned to at least stay with a good idea even though it's lost it's freshness because I usually learn something. Not sure if that's the case here.

My Wife Got A Hobby

2007-12-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Now you are going to have to double click the ads so check her Alaskan blog. I know...there are tons of them out there but nobody keeps notes like this woman. She's even got mileage figures. I'm just the driver and the fire starter so I really appreciate a good navigator. Meanwhile, I'm still working on that fish painting. I thought it was lost because I was stupid and had two different mind sets going. I had switched the landscape to an above ground scene but somehow kept painting the fish underwater. Figure that one out. When I realized what I was doing I wondered if it was too late. Never say die so this morning I went at it again and hope to post the results tommorow.

Fish Painting

2007-12-07T03:54:00.000-08:00

This is some of my work on what really is my first fish painting. What's interesting is that I began trying to make it an underwater scene until Peg came down to The Cave and said "I really like the way you have those fish jumping out of the water". Well, one thing you learn is that the first reaction of a viewer is usually right and no matter how hard you try to convince them it is different you might as well consider their view. So jumping out of the water it is. I'll show you the finished product soon.

Interior Scene

2007-12-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

While I was at it I thought you might like to see what I mentioned. I hope this is a fairly good picture. Basically you just paint a reasonable distant landscape scene on your painting support (board, canvas, etc.) and then frame it in with tape (not duct tape). I used to use masking tape but it doesn't give the sharp edges that blue painting tape gives. That's the tape you buy in the paint section at Home Depot or wherever. Interior scenes are very different because you have to imagine the light coming in and the feeling looking out. I highlighted the woodwork a couple times and then glazed it a few times with burnt umber until it looked like it does.

I promised myself I wasn't going to give boomer advice on this blog but some of it is too valuable to resist. Hey guys...if you think women are still attracted to you and you want to save some money on cologne just use Degree deoderant...it's smells better than something expensive and lasts for awhile if you get lucky. Also, don't think your heels are as soft as a baby. My wife Peg says mine wear holes in the sheets at the bottom of the bed so once in awhile just put some lotion on them after a shower. You don't have to tell anyone and it might make your socks last longer too.

The Gallery

2007-12-06T04:48:00.000-08:00

This is one of the paintings the gallery was unable to sell. I'm thinking wildlife is not one of their big sellers, however they did want to display the two duck paintings I've shown you. Since I was on that roll I decided to do a small interior scene I've thought about for some time. When I get a picture of that I'll put it on here. It's interesting but the gallery said anything with a fish is appealing to people so guess what? Starting one yesterday I found that creating an underwater scene is difficult. It may not turn out very well but I'd rather court failure than just paint safely. What's the fun in that?

Mallard Duck

2007-12-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

My second duck for the gallery, another 9x12. I kind of like this one too and wanted to face it the other way in case they wanted to show them together. Obviously ducks with color are more interesting than those that are sort of bland looking although I think the more drab type of duck would be ok in a larger landscape. I think these are turning out pretty well for a guy who hasn't painted a duck in 20 years. I remember my first attempt was kind of pitiful. Anyway, we're waiting for our first big snow storm which is supposed to come today so we'll see how hard it is to get to the gallery. Before I forget, we received an e-mail from a promoter for the Winter Carnival and they would like me to exhibit at a lodge in McCall during the festival. So far I said yes. It's one of those wine and art events so maybe the guests will be in the mood to buy art.

Wood Duck

2007-11-30T08:01:00.000-08:00

Just as I was about to call the gallery in McCall that carries a couple of my paintings they beat me to the punch. Basically they wanted to know if I had some smaller paintings for the holiday crowd...the kind that were less expensive because the economy is kind of soft and art isn't moving real fast. So of course I told them sure and decided to paint a couple duck paintings before next week. Ducks really aren't my thing but this 9x12 turned out fairly nice.

King Of The Flats

2007-11-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

I just finished this one this morning and it went faster than I expected. Sometimes paintings do that and it's always a pleasure. This is 18x24 and I especially like the atmosphere (it's Katmai National Park in Alaska). The brown bear turned out well without it standing out too much from it's surroundings. This integration is important to achieve a realistic rendering of the entire scene. I like it.

Another Painting

2007-11-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

I'm now working on a nice bear painting in an Alaska setting and it's turning out nice. I guess paint what you're good at and one of mine seems to be bears. Got some snow last night so used the snowblower this morning to make sure it was working. A bit hard to start but eventually ran ok. Thought I'd just give you another painting to enjoy so here it is.

I like moose too...think it's the challenge of painting their antlers. This was a big hit with the kids at the summer art show.

It's Just Today

2007-11-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not I'm sort of multi-tasking...at least the way we do it in the mountains. Of course I've got another painting started down in The Cave and for the last couple of days I've been managing some knives for sale on ebay...did I mention that I've got the archery bug again, first time I've had it since I was a kid so I bought a bow (traditional long bow) on ebay and some arrows. I'll have to wait until spring to set up a target but at least it's another thing to look forward to. Thought I'd put up a small landscape for you to look at if you'd like. It's Mt Oberlin and Mt Cannon in Glacier National Park (Montana). Now back to multi-tasking...am supposed to write the "Christmas Letter". I know...I know......

One Of My Favorites

2007-11-23T04:22:00.000-08:00

This is the larger version of one I painted a couple years ago when I was still living in Boise. The funny thing about this painting is that I remember I wasn't really in the mood to start one but thought I'd give it a try. Sometimes a painting just seems to paint itself and this was one of those times. When I finished I thought it was good enough to enter in Art For The Parks, a national artist competition, but then discovered the 16x20 format was too big for the minis and too small for the regular competition. So I actually repainted it in 18x24 which you see here but it was not accepted. Oh well. Anyway, it's the first time I discovered that a yellow ochre glaze can work wonders on the right animal.

Final Cougar Painting

2007-11-22T11:09:00.000-08:00

This is it...the final of the cougar painting. Am pretty satisfied and obviously did alot of things to it between the last time and now. Actually it's the first good cougar I've painted...the others just did not look right. Anatomy is sometimes difficult. You will note I deliberately kept the background and the foreground reasonably simple to not detract from the animal. Hope you found it interesting going from the initial sketch to the finished animal. I still like the title "The Stalk". Let me know if you think of something else.

A View Of The Cave

2007-11-22T04:29:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving morning and that's always big meal day for me. Of course I'm going down to the cave to work on the painting which I may show you later. In the meantime I thought you might be interested in this one picture of the cave. It's the room where I moved some of the equipment from the garage to work on knives this winter. What you see is a drill press, scroll saw and a vise. All that needed besides the belt sander which, of course, remains in the garage because of the dust. It's 8 degrees this morning and still no accumulation of snow. From my upstairs window I can see Tamarack Resort has some and I know they are making snow.

Can't Stop Now

2007-11-21T10:40:00.000-08:00

This is the way it goes when the painting beckons you back. Someone once said it's takes two to paint, one to do the painting and another to stand behind them with a baseball bat to let them know when to quit. Anyway I obviously just had to take the animal further with some glazing and brushwork. Still basically using the same colors, yellow ochre, van gogh brown and burnt sienna. Trying to make the animal "pop" a bit without profiling it too much. Also decided some gray rock in foreground would be appropriate to emphasize the silent stalk a cougar would make. What do you think?

Back From Boise and Painting

2007-11-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back from Boise and thought I'd take this painting a bit further so I went down to The Cave and got more serious about the animal by blocking in some darks and lights relative to the neutral ground of the body. Colors I like to use are Van Gogh brown (dark) and Yellow Ochre (light) with tints of Burnt Sienna. I'm mostly an earth color guy. Also sketched in some trees to the right to give the background a little depth. I think some wildlife artists paint the eyes first but that seems to spoil it for me. I'd rather focus on the landscape and the animal for awhile and save the eyes for a treat toward the end. Besides, I don't want them staring at me throughout the painting process. I was hoping this would turn out well because it's the first time I've ever shown a painting in progress and can you imagine painting poorly in front of everyone?

Starting The Painting

2007-11-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Before Peg and I go down to Boise tomorrow morning to take care of mom (92) I decided to get the cougar painting started. First I'm using a 16x20 masonite panel that is gessoed with a medium umber tone (white and dark umber). Then, hopefully, I did a better sketch of the animal. Don't know why I have a hard time with this particular animal but I do. It's made a bit more difficult because there is a small amount of "foreshortening", a fancy artist word for the front of the object is more towards you than the back. Then I mixed up some hooker's green and payne's gray to block in the background. Very important if you are using acrylic to go light around the animal's profile or you will get ridges that are difficult to deal with when you paint the animal. Using oils is not so much a problem. Then with a touch of the green mixed above with more liberal amounts of raw sienna and unbleached titanium I sketched in the ground. You might note that I started leading the foreground toward you to create the illusion of depth and the tension of the animal coming forward. Right now I'm thinking a good title is "The Stalk" but who knows. Got any ideas?

The Sketch Of The Cougar

2007-11-17T07:39:00.000-08:00

Over the course of doing a painting I thought I'd show you some of the steps so I went down to The Cave this morning and did a quick sketch of the cougar I'm thinking of painting. I didn't use to do this enough and ended up with animals that didn't look right. Also, doing a sketch sort of develops a "memory" of the animal and shows me what my bad tendencies are going to be. For example I have a tendency to make my cougar's heads too large in proportion to the body. Drawing also helps initially determine where some of the darks and lights will be. It doesn't have to be a great drawing, just good enough to get started. Took about 20 minutes with just a regular #2 pencil and a piece of paper. You'll never know if you can draw unless you try.

Latest Painting

2007-11-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

I thought you might like to see what I've done recently before I got distracted by my knife sideline. As you can see I like to keep it simple without too much detail like the late Bob Kuhn. This is a grizzly in the Yukon called "Scent Of Winter". The great thing about painting is that you can take different elements from different places and put them together like I did here. The landscape is from a photo I took on my Yukon trip and the grizzly is something I saw in a book. Anyway I hope you like it. I'll try to take a picture of a couple knives I've been working on and post those too.

The 30 Year Painting

2007-11-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

Previously I mentioned that I decided to take a kind of lousy painting from 1977 and just repaint it so that it at least looked respectable. It was so bad that my ex-wife didn't even want it in the divorce so this was a challenge. Basically I just repainted the whole thing over the heavy texture of the original and it didn't turn out too bad. It's a tidal pool on the coast of Maine...kind of a heavy atmosphere but the composition and patterns intrigued me. Anyway it's better than the original so here it is for what that's worth.

It's Cold In The Garage

2007-11-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

Actually did go out in the garage yesterday (about 20 degrees) and it wasn't so bad bundled up. Roughed out a couple of really nice bowie knives on the belt sander. Am becoming a better knife maker and I do sell some of these on ebay from time to time. I think soon I should discuss how to become a painter and my wife tells me it is possible to post photos with a new post so maybe I can show you a painting in progress. She says she is going to update my internet art site with some better pictures and a couple new paintings so it should be soon. Check it out by clicking on it in this blog page.

It's Cold Outside

2007-11-14T06:17:00.000-08:00

Only 15 degrees so I'm down in The Cave finishing one of my more unique paintings. It started as a painting of a cove in Maine in 1977 and then I thought it was good. I was busy with other things then...moving to Colorado and thinking about being a dad in spring of 78. So basically I hurried my paintings. Somehow I never threw this one away and when it surfaced the other day I thought I could make it better. I did and now I like it. Interesting..now I've got a painting that spans the last 30 years, 77-07. Am thinking about spending a little time in the unheated garage today because that's where the belt sander lives. Obviously can't use it inside The Cave but at these temperatures I'm thinking about it??

Need To Get Back To Painting

2007-11-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

Well...I'm still working on that knife sheath and last night it rained very hard with heavy winds but it melted the 4 inches of snow we received earlier. I need to get this particular knife thing finished so I can begin my next wildlife painting of a cougar. My wife tells me there are alot of boomer hobby sites out there so you need to find this one.

Morning In The Cave

2007-11-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

I thought I might add that while my wife was creating this blog for me I spent the entire morning in The Cave making a good landscape better and fabricating a sheath for my latest knife creation. I certainly appreciate her work and am gratified that I can share it with you.

Where Is Everbody?

2007-11-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

I just created my blog this morning and boomers aren't pouring in (or anyone else for that matter). I would say everyone is at work but it's a holiday so a good time to find my blog among the millions out there. So let's get with it. You will find me quite different than some.

Let's Call It A "Hobby"

2007-11-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

You need something to do when work no longer consumes your time. It's best if that something is relatively inexpensive and you can do it on your own. So, let's call it a "hobby". Obviously it can be a multitude of things and nothing is out of consideration. You are only limited by your inability to take the risk that you might try something at which you might fail.
I chose painting, specifically acrylic landscapes and wildlife, and the pursuit of this particular art form has never failed me and I will talk about that in this blog. Along the way I also became interested in making knives rather than just buying them. It is amazingly gratifying and there are excellent sources for materials just as there are for creating art.
These are just my current "hobbies" and I'm sure I'll pick up more along the way.Tell me about your hobby or ask me how to get started on mine.