Five Goslings

Transparent watercolor, 11"x14", on watercolor paper  (#2215)

This painting is an experiment with superimposing subject matter on randomly generated textured background. Subjects are goslings on the neighborhood pond in my backyard.

Big Rocks on Haw River

Acrylic, 11"x31", on 1-5/8" deep gallery wrapped canvas (#2211)
I painted this on location during my last kayaking trip to the river. It took about 35 minutes of kayaking to reach this location (upstream from the dam). The weather was near perfect but I had only two and a half hours of painting time and, as such, had to paint as fast as I can. My painting "platform" was another rock formation on the river about 50 feet away. After I parked my kayak, I set up my easel in no time and immediately went into work. Time just flew by when you had a good time. Before long I had to pack up every thing and leave this lovely place. I managed to complete about 95% of the painting on location and the remaining 5% are touch ups done in my studio.You bet I will come back soon to do more on-location paintings on this beautiful stretch of Haw River at this most beautiful time of the year.

Lurking

Acrylic, 11"x31", on 1-5/8" deep gallery wrapped canvas (#2209)
The subject was based on several pictures of egrets I took at Jordan Lake. The dimension of the canvas posed a challenge. I chose this composition from a few sketches I made. While the focus is on the left side of the painting,  the right side, based on less-is-more concept, is a view of Jordan Lake wrapped in thick fog.

Jordan Lake Bald Eagle #2

Acrylic, 19"x19", on 1-5/8" deep gallery wrapped canvas (#2207)
This painting depicts a triumphant moment as this majestic bird made his catch over Jordan Lake.

Bald Eagle at Jordan Lake

Acrylic, 19"x23", on 1-5/8" deep gallery wrapped canvas (#2204)

This is a major rework of my earlier design of the same painting. I removed the eagle in action from the upper-left corner in the original design to make a cleaner and more focus design. I also softened the water and sharpened the head with more details.

#2205 - Heron

Acrylic, 19"x19", on 1-5/8" deep gallery wrapped canvas
Of all the waterfowls and shorebirds I encountered on my many kayaking trips to Jordan Lake, the great blue herons are the most common. They are active in the coves, feeding on small fish that are abundant in the lake.
This painting is about light and shade, with only limited colors used.

Preying

Acrylic, 12"x12", on 1-3/4" deep cradled wood board
Texture and detailed outlines in the foreground in contrast with the simplified distant island set apart by the white space in the background is the main design of this painting. Subdued colors (orange and blue) were used.

Dream

Acrylic, 16"x20", on canvas.
In this painting I went deeper into the color-texture-and-outline experiment. The weired looking figures on the skirt were inspired by ancient Chinese artwork during Shang period (about 4000 to 5000 years ago).

New Hope Creek #18

Watercolor, 11"x14", on 140-lb. archival paper.

New Hope Creek #16

Watercolor, 11"x14", on 140-lb. archival paper.

The subject is New Hope Creek at Duke Forest, North Carolina.

Snow #6

Acrylic, 16"x20" on canvas.
Thick acrylic with gesso and heavy gel were used to create this high texture painting, depicting the snow scene of the community pond in my backyard during the last winter storm.