The tiger

The eyes are the first part of the animal I usually paint. They help give the rest of the painting life.

Even though most of the stripes will be repainted to blend into the golden orange coat, I like to paint them next.

 For passages like these, I like to use a small flat angle brush. Each stroke lays in a block of color in the direction of the cat's fur. The "white" of the coat will be last.

Tiger reflection

When I started the reflection of the top of the tiger's head I realized that my color was not dark nor rich enough. So, I increased the intensity with burnt sienna and burnt umber to give the section that pop. Some of the deeper colors are also repeated throughout the reflection.

The sections of lightest white reflection have been added.
Note: I have kept the white in the reflection dull by painting it a light gray. This will help the reflection read like it is in the water.

Reflections continued

Setting the stage for an abstract reflection of the cat is the sky reflection. I used Rembrandt ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, titanium white, and a touch of Van Dyke brown, plus Michael Harding's Phthalocyanine Blue Lake.
Premixing four blues worked well. Once they were blocked in, I realized that I needed a deeper richer blue swath from the lower left.
(Note: My new selection of Michael Harding oil paints have been a wonderful addition to my palette. It seems I can create more exciting and a greater variety of colors.)

Continuation of the ripple line.

Start of the cat's reflection. This is going to be tricky, but fun.

Reflections

One of my favorite things to include in my wildlife paintings is water. There are so many color variations to explore. While painting a mirror image can be effective, I find abstract reflections more interesting.

This stage, when I block in the colors, I find the most distracting. It is time to grab some blending brushes.

The first stage of the blending is complete. Next up is the lower section of water and then the cat's reflection. As I work through the piece, all the sections of the water will be continually modified until they feel right.

Nova Scotia/ Bird Islands

Just back from Nova Scotia and what a trip. Lots of painting ideas! Quaint fishing villages, expansive scenery along the Cabot Trail, informative maritime and sailing museums, dramatic lighthouses in fog (and brilliant sunshine), and pastoral landscapes were part of the exceptional trip.

Cabot Trail

Cabot Trail

 The highlight was spending time at Bird Islands off the coast of Cape Breton Island. These islands are nesting areas for Atlantic puffins, razorbills, black guillemots, Great cormorants, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, and black-legged kittiwakes.

Bird Islands

Razorbills

Atlantic puffins

And now for something completely different

Right now I am working on paintings for the Louisa Gould gallery on Martha's Vineyard. Not only do I paint different subject matter than my usual wildlife genre, often I am exploring more vibrant colors.

I've been wanting to paint beach umbrellas. So many fun colors. While I didn't want the beach to be devoid of people, I also didn't want it to look so crowded that the viewer didn't have a place to sit! Working out the composition (including removing a few umbrellas) took some careful planning.

Now we are talking colors! 

I thought the sand would be more difficult. I mixed three sand colors (a light, medium, and dark) and painted more light against dark the closer to the bottom left. I found the less careful I was in placing the color, the more natural the sand looked. A fourth darker cooler color was used for the shadow underneath underneath the umbrellas.

Summer Bouquet

10" X 15"

Original Oil

 

Finished

Sandhill Spring Migration

16" X 24"

Original oil