Bantam Brown

My pals and I went to Point Reyes last weekend to hear Joel Salatin talk about the environmentally friendly farming practiced at Polyface Farm. It seems Joel got some national attention when Michael Pollan interviewed him for his book "The Omnivore's Dilemma". He showed pictures of his happy cows, pigs, turkeys and chickens and now I would like to visit local farms and delight in the small changes committed individuals are making to bring healthy, chemical and antibiotic-free food to our tables. Oh, and I would like to take pictures so I can paint their chickens.

Leghorn

Not to be confused with Foghorn Leghorn, though you might have guessed, ol' Foghorn was a Leghorn, a breed originating from Livorno, Italy. If you had eggs for breakfast, there's a pretty good chance they were layed by a Leghorn.

48" x 36" Encaustic Carpet

This is the largest encaustic painting I've done yet. It was actually too large to photograph it with my eight mega pixel powershot without it bowing and distorting. The piece is inspired by the designer Angela Adams.

12" x 12" Minorca

Hilary Williams and her adorable boy friend Taylor asked me to make them a large chicken portrait. I did this guy to see if a chicken portrait works this large. Now it might have been obvious but I was surprised how much easier it is to work large. Next, I'll practice on a
20" x 20".

From my sketch book

The camera and I are having some communication issues. Or possibly the problem exists between my eyes and my brain, or my brain and my hands. I took photos of a painting today and after uploading them I couldn't believe how bad the photos were. This has been happening a lot lately. Is there an astrological explanation or will I have to settle for operator error?

Two Pears

These pears look much pinker in the photo than they do in real life. It's funny how the lense of the camera will pull apart color mixtures and re-interpret them. Sometimes it's spot on and well, this time, not so great. I kept re-shooting these until finally I came to accept this is a good as it gets.

5 Minute Gesture

Original Pear

I did my very first encaustic pear in this palette and felt an urge to return to those bold colors today. I gave Trish that first pear, and now it's in my kitchen.

My back yard

Trish put a bird feeder in the back yard and now we are a local watering hole for a lot of cool birds. The other day, all the birds were missing and sitting on our fence was a young falcon. We knew it was a bird of prey by its crazy beak and the absence of all the little finches but needed the bird book to guide us. What an amazing place Capp Street is.

T.V.

This had some lettering in it, okay, it had an enormous t and v. I'm experimenting with lettering and thought a city scape would be a good place to begin. It wasn't right, but I'll keep trying.

The Duck

The duck inspired a lot of debate in my drawing class. Hardly a neutral feeling was held by any of the students. I liked the silliness of the duck but I learned that I am not up for evening classes. I prefer getting ready for bed after dinner to getting ready to draw.

Happy New Year!

This is the 182nd post since my blog began last February. Not exactly a painting (or drawing) a day but pretty darn exciting. I am doing some drawing today and decided to photograph some of the stuff I did last fall. I'll be turning this one into a completed picture, so stay tuned. I'm very excited about 2008, how about you?