Nothing ever stays the same.

We went to the Carlise Metro park Visitor Center today for a opportunity to photograph some of the raptors that are cared for there.
Evan loved seeing the birds, what six year old with a fascination for animals wouldn't. Michelle and I where a bit disappointed. We had volunteered there when the raptor program had just started, caring for the birds, helping to build enclosures and doing educational programs with them. Michelle had even taken classes with Walter Crawford at the World Bird Sanctuary on a grant from the Black River Audubon Society. After Evan was born we volunteered less and less as he took up most of our time. Today was kind of a shock to us. After six years all of the people we had known and worked with there were gone. The birds are well cared for, but the new people seem to be far from relaxed with the birds. The program was short, just an hour, with only a few minutes with each bird, and some of the birds were unavailable.
All in all we left feeling that we had lost something. The Raptor Center and our time there was filled with many fond and wonderful memories. Today was like returning to a home you once lived in and finding only a house. The sense of home was gone, it had faded way into our memories. It was a sad moment for us, but it lead us to revisit those memories. To dust them off and live in them again for a time.
To Roy, the original members of the Raptor corps., Casper, Caspet ( two wonderful American Kestrels) and Alice the Coopers Hawk, today we were thinking of you.

He is finally done! It took a day longer than I thought, but he's done. WoooHooo! I had to photograph it the end the scanner just did not want to do the job. Thanks to a kind donation of a copy stand and some advise from Walter Rowe of Grafton's own Rowe Photography. Thanks Walter I owe one.Now I just have to get Mr. Prothonotary here listed on Ebay tonight.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!
I did manage to get a little further one this little guy. Added some more color and shading. With a little luck he will be done today and then he will be off to Ebay.

I have added some color at this point. Using mainly drybrush techniques that allow me to work the watercolors in a somewhat opaque fashion, developing layer upon layer of color.
It is after 1:00 am and things are getting blurry, so think I'll pick this up tomorrow.

So here we are at the under painting stage of this wee little painting (2.5x3.5 inches). I just very quickly blocked in some of the values and am ready to start laying in color.

I have also officially established that my scanner hates the color I mixed to do this in. Maybe it knows about the new camera and is jealous. Can you send flowers to a scanner?

Sketch for a new ACEO Painting

This sketch of a Prothonotary Warbler is from another trip to Sandy Ridge. He should be a finished watercolor by Tuesday. They are nesting there just off the trail.

Sandy Ridge

Michelle, Evan and I where at Sandy Ridge in North Ridgeville Last weekend and got some great pictures of the Sandhill Crane that Evan spotted all by himself! It was a nice evening walk through the woods, as long as you didn't stop long enough for the mosquitos to find you. Of course Evan's favorite part was stopping at Hershey's on the way home for ice cream.....mine too, but don't tell Michelle.

First post on my new blog.

Well, here goes my first post on my first blog.

This blog will be about me and my artwork. I will be posting sketches, works in progress and finished pieces. It will probably be a slightly eclectic collection of work but will mainly center around images of nature and wildlife. From time to time images from bedtime stories I tell my son may creep in. There are many of those stories rolling around in my head that I am sure will end up as a personal book project very soon.

With all that said here is a post of dry brush watercolor study I did yesterday. All in all I think it came out okay.