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“Snowy Lane in Northumberland, England”

 (Some of the images go to my shop where you can hover and see enlarged details)

Snowy Lane in black wax crayon colored with watercolor

Even though I did this sketch back in December, while I was in Northumberland England, I guess it’s appropriate now seeing as there’s been a return of snow there! This was their first snow of the winter and it fell quite heavy for a time, coating everything with that heavy kind of silent snow. I had a cold but peaceful walk up the lane and stopped at this view with the trees I always like looking at.  I did the sketch while standing to the side of the road using a black wax crayola crayon. The snow was falling on my paper as I drew and it made it hard to draw, not to mention drawing while wearing my fingerless mittens. It was later that I added some touches of watercolor.

A lovely gate along the way

I love the way this ivy covered gate looks and would love to do a painting of it. Problem is it’s someone’s front gate and with the house being just inside, they may think I’m being rude standing there staring at it.

The snowy lane so quiet under snow

This is one of my favorite views as the lane curves into the distance.  You can see this is the view I stood and sketched in my drawing.

Another view along the high lane

The trees stand sentinel as they’ve done for hundred’s of years. Many of the trees you see along a lane are just overgrown from old hedges that weren’t kept trimmed down.

The black faced sheep were quiet in the cold.

I love how the trees look in the back of the field and how peaceful the sheep were, just trying to conserve energy I guess. These ewes are probably getting fat with lambs in them now…can’t wait to see the little ones in spring!

The thick snowy hedge along the lane.

There are beautiful colors all around you even in winter!

I like seeing the leaves in winter; these were interesting with the red spots. Sorry the picture isn’t brighter but the day was so grey!

Just waiting to be put in a drawing!

 This is an old farm shed I always look at along the lane, it’s so old it’s actually fallen off it’s foundation and the sides are collapsed. I don’t usually want to paint old barns as some people do, but this with the trees, shrubs and grass with their colors in this shot, really attract me. I can see it as an ink sketch perhaps or chalk.

I hope you enjoyed coming on this little snowy walk with me. More sketches and photos from England coming soon.

Click the picture below to see a glossy note card I created in my shop for Christmas! I even wrote a verse for the inside!

Glossy Note Card with customizable text

Tiny Goldcrest

Today I saw a Goldcrest for the first time ever, but not the way I’d like to have seen it. This beautiful and tiny little bird flew right into the patio window while I was sat just on the other side of it.  I’m pretty certain this is the same bird at home we call the Golden Crowned Kinglet.

Tiny Goldcrest Studies in watercolor

 Poor little thing! I picked it up carefully with a paper towel and decided I’d do studies before putting it to rest in the field. I selected a nicely curled dry leaf to lay him on, it just seemed right for such a natural little creature. I sketched it out then added more detail then the layers of watercolor. I was fascinated by the tiny, hard black beak and little whiskers around it. The yellow crest was so beautiful, surrounded by black borders as if to hold the color in.

Goldcrest studies in ink and watercolor

The top drawing was done with permanent brown ink then I added just a touch of color. It’s amazing how long the claws are on such a small foot!

I hope to see a live one when I return to England, then I can do a painting from life! Much better I’d say!

“Golden Eagle Watercolor” 7-7-08

I just finished this 12″ x 15″ watercolor of a Golden Eagle yesterday. I started it a few months ago and then put it aside. I used watercolors and a few touches of permanent ink pen. I wanted to leave the edges looking washy so you could definitely see that it’s a watercolor, and therefor keep some of the freshness. I stroked the feathers on directly with my round brush to show the pointy shape that the Golden Eagle has to his feathers.

Later…some months I should say!… I sat down to finish it, he’s been waiting around too long for me! So I just looked for what needed to be made darker, stronger shadows under feathers to make them start to pop a little. I worked on the eye, the most important part of any painting I feel, I added more golden color then lifted out some highlight area with a damp brush, then when it was dry I carefully scratched out a tiny highlight with a razor blade.

I will have prints available of this painting, without the shipping:
note cards = $5 each (8.5″x5.5″)
8×10 hand signed print = $20,
matted 8×10 print = $35,
I’m not sure about limited edition prints yet, I’ll wait and see about them.
Please just contact me if your interested, I can take credit cards or personal checks. The original painting will also be available, not priced yet or framed.

A bit more about the Golden Eagle, when I was in college I worked as a zoo keeper in Binghamton, NY at the Ross Park Zoo. My favorite area to work was in the aviary; it was up in the woods on the mountain. Each bird had a cage, of course they weren’t big enough, but the zoo has made huge improvements over the years, as so many zoos have done. I never forgot the Golden Eagle(s), there might have been two? All the birds of prey they had were brought there because of injury, some wings, some eyesight. The eagles were huge, and yes, their feathers on their head and breast were more ‘pointy’ than other birds. It was only at feeding time that I didn’t really enjoy it, their diet was fresh killed rats from the lab over at SUNY Binghamton. Ok, Ok…I won’t go into details here!…but being a zookeeper wasn’t all fun and games!

A little more reminiscing…last night I watched a old movie musical called “The Pied Piper of Hamlin”…ok..so I like old musicals!!…anyways…I noticed the feather the pied piper had in his hat was a very long, black and white striped feather. I never noticed it before, but now it popped out at me, it’s a “Lady Amherst Pheasant” feather! We had several types of exotic pheasants also in the aviary at the zoo, one of my favorites was the Lady Amherst…wow, so beautiful! I should do a painting of that one!

Perhaps when I go home for a visit I can do a sketching and journaling day at the Ross Park Zoo where I used to work. It’s a really nice little zoo, if you’re in the area go visit and tell them I sent you! haha…they won’t remember me but it’d be fun. PS. I should mention that they have an amazing little aviary now where you can walk in amongst the birds! It’s beautiful, has water features, plants, birds everywhere..some hiding, it’s very well done!
Please leave me comments below, I’d love to hear from more of you, as I have readers dropping in from around the world!!