Grevy's Zebra
I am particularly fond of Grevy's zebras. Their large fluffy ears and mule like heads lends them to comical expressions. Their stripes are more numerous and are closer together which makes for interesting patterns and angles For me as a wildlife artist, the complexity and beauty of their markings is an irresistible invitation to paint them.
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Bengal Tiger
Bengal tigers are one of the most water loving of all the big cats, outdone only by the jaguar. When the heat of the day gets excessive, tigers will find a shady pool to cool off in.
Big cats hold a special fascination for me. I am especially intrigued by their beauty, grace and unfathomable eyes. I've done a great many tiger paintings and I'm sure I will do a great many more.
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Clydesdale Mare
I found this diminutive Clydesdale mare spending her retirement years at a petting zoo where she enjoyed the treats and attention the children gave her. I have mixed emotions about this. In a perfect world she would be in a sunny pasture, belly deep in grass. However it is hard to say what her fate would have been had the zoo not taken her in.
Despite her age, she had a beautiful face with kind eyes and a soft expression. I see beauty in all horses and I am just as compelled to paint a back yard pony as I am a show champion.
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Scarlet Macaw
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Hyacinth Macaw
Macaws are spectacular birds. I have often thought about having one for a pet but they are a life long commitment since they can live to be 65 years of age. Hyacinth macaws are the worlds largest parrots. Their beak is designed for cracking nuts but can snap broomsticks. They are lively, gregarious birds and are highly intelligent.
I've painted many of the varieties of macaws. I am attracted to their beautiful coloration. The Hyacinth macaw is a solid blue color except for the naked skin which is yellow.
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Andalusian
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Bay Horse
This is an excerpt from my Apples 'N Oats magazine column regarding the creation of the Catch painting. It tells the story of trying to get that perfect reference photo for a portrait.
As they had just been turned out, Catch really took very little interest in meeting us. This actually makes the photographing part easier. However, he was so engrossed in eating, that after a few shots of him grazing, well . . . we needed a little more excitement!
So Carol flung bits of grass in the air and was rewarded with a lazy flick of the ear. She did the usual clapping, whistling and flailing of arms. He watched her quizzically, occasionally lifting his head (with large mouthfuls of grass mind you) to get a better look. But after a few brief moments, he promptly resumed grazing.
At this point, we fell to bribery. I had some apples in the van and we tried to lure him into some interesting facial expressions, which hopefully didn't involve chewing or swallowing. I managed to get a few more pictures taken, until of course the apple was gone.
So Carol, in an earnest desire to help me get some action shots, started jogging around the pasture, occasionally springing into the air, while making excited chirpy noises, accompanied with yet more flailing of arms. The jogging thing got the ol’ boy’s interest, perhaps out of curiosity more than anything, but he trotted along beside her.
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White Arabian Horse
Help Suppport IERAL
Early in 2008 the Iowa Equine Rescue & Awareness League (IERAL) asked me to create a portrait as part of a fund raiser. IERAL is an established non-profit organization which provides care and rehabilitation for the animals they take in.
This image is of Colton, a lovely little 7 year old, gray Arabian gelding, who's likable demeanor immediately entranced me. His gentle, sweet nature and good manners reminded me much of my own horse.
Colton is blind, probably from a virus that went untreated. The good new is, it is reversible with surgery and the organization is working to raise funds to help with the procedure. So, that coupled with his beauty in both looks and spirit, made him the ideal poster child (urm . . . horse) for an IREAL fund raiser.
50% of the print proceeds go to IERAL
to help Colton and other horses in need. For more information on IERAL, please visit the IERAL website.
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Melanistic Jaguar
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American Flamingo
Flamingos are wonderful subjects to paint. Their long graceful necks bow and twist and are just naturally artful. I enjoy creating intimate portraits. So, often I keep my composition simple to add strength of focus to the animal and its personality. I want to give the viewer the sense of seeing this type of animal for the first time.
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American Wild Horses
"Guardian Spirits" is a painting based on a visit to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in Hot Springs, South Dakota. These people work hard to maintain a privately funded reserve for some of the unwanted wild horses that had been culled to reduce wild horse populations. The horses were destined to spend their remaining days in feedlots until these people stepped up and offered to provide a place they could run free again.
There is a cliff wall covered in Anasazi petroglyphs located at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. As I stood and gazed at the carvings on this cliff, it was like touching the past. At that instant, I knew the combination of the wild horses and the ancient petroglyphs would be a wonderful painting.
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Lion
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Scarlet Macaw
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White Tiger
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Chilean Flamingos
I watched a large group of these flamingos for some time and was quite entertained by their movements. I am attracted to patterns in nature. The space behind the birds holds as much interest for me as the birds do themselves.
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Friesian Stallion
Tall, Dark and Seriously Handsome
Frieisans are one of my favorite breeds. Yeah, I know I’m totally alone in this.
Any one who likes horses . . . even a little, likes Friesians. Anyone who is a romantic. . . even a little, likes Friesians. But they really do have all the attributes I admire in horses. They have size. In general they have great temperaments. They’re black. (Ever since I read Walter Farley’s The Black Stallion that has been the color of choice for me.) They have unbelievable hair. Seriously what’s not to love?
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Japanese Koi
This painting was based off a visit to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. They have a ton of koi in a small lake and when you threw in a little fish food this was the result, complete chaos.
Once again it was color and pattern that really attracted me to doing this painting. I also really like the movement running along the diagonal.
Interestingly enough, Blank Park Zoo actually used this image in the sign next to their koi pond, talking about the varieties of fish they have.
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Domestic Rabbits
These little rabbits were a great deal of fun to paint. All fifteen were based on several photos of just a few models. A friend of mine was raising rabbits and had bred a mixed litter. They were eight weeks old when I photographed them.
I had fun with the composition because I just kept sketching in rabbits until I ran out of paper. Originally, I considered grasses or gravel for the background, but didn't feel they would work because of the complexity of the composition and the color variations. I decided on a simple color wash instead. The simple background kept the rabbits as the central focus.
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White Horse
This painting was part of a grouping of horse paintings done for an exhibition. The series consisted of the role of horses and their fundamental importance to our progress as a nation. This last piece in the series shows the present and I believe future of the horse as more of a luxury item. His immaculate grooming as well as his tack tells that he is a horse whose sole purpose is the art of horsemanship. That being said, this painting also represents the pure beauty of the horse and its willingness to perform any role we lay before it.
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Grevy's Zebra
Both "Romeo" and "African Contours" are paintings of Grevy's Zebras. I especially enjoy painting zebras because of my love for the equine family. Also I am particularly fascinated by the way the stripes follow the form of the animal and the contrasting values of light and dark.
It is generally believed that the purpose of a zebra's stripes is camouflage to confuse the predator. A herd of zebra moving in a frenzy is a sea of stripes. It is far more difficult of separate an individual for attack.
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Giraffe Group
Giraffes are one of my favorite subjects to paint. I always enjoy coat patterns and color variations of different animals, but giraffes also offer the interesting physical characteristics of a seemingly delicate structure, long neck, and large contoured ears.
Giraffes are both elegant and a little goofy at the same time. My painting “Sunstruck” was my portrayal of the elegance while “Skyscrapers” is a look at the more humorous side of giraffes.
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Horse Face
This was a quick portrait of my horse "Chicory." He has a sweet disposition and a kind eye. I don't have as much time to spend with him as I would like, but I always give him some hugs and kisses daily, and take some time to scratch his "Itchies." He generally has such a soft look on his face. This gentle expression is what I tried to capture here.
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Clouded Leopards
This piece is named "Soul Mates" because clouded leopards are one of the few big cats that mate for life. I came upon this pair at a zoo all snuggled up together. I was struck by the charm of the situation, but what made me want to paint them was the way they seemed to blend together as one. They were wrapped up so tightly it was hard to tell where they separated. I also enjoyed painting the strong patterns and shapes of their coats.
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Andalusian Stallion In Spanish Tack
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Giraffe
The model for "Sunstruck" was a bull giraffe named DJ, from the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa. He was always in motion, swiveling his ears and adjusting his mouth. His facial expressions conveyed such great character. What pulled me into doing this painting however, was all the angles and the way the light bounced off them. He seemed to almost glow.
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Quarter Horse
I went to a cattle branding on a ranch in Wyoming during the summer of 1999 and I was captivated by this horse and rider and how they worked together so perfectly. They had formed a definite partnership working almost like they were one creature. It brought to mind the partnership between a husband and wife, how they compliment one another and often introduce their partner as their "Better Half."
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Percheron Team
Horses have always been a great love of mine. I don't actually remember, but I think a horse was quite probably the subject of that first drawing I did as a child. I read stories about them, drew them, dreamt of them, saved up my money to buy picture books and plastic figures of them.
The heavy breeds of horses have become my favorite and I am fortunate enough to have a neighbor who raises Percheron draft horses. They are living works of art with their ebony coats, thick necks and robust form. I often walk along their pasture watching them graze and delighting in the antics of each years new foals. I guess it was inevitable that at least one painting should come of that.
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Giraffe
The male giraffe that is the subject of this painting was quite spectacular. He was considerably larger than any of the others in the enclosure. I was particularly drawn to the character of his face. I loved all the wrinkles and the graying of his balding head and I enjoyed working with the rhythms of the shapes and patterns in his coat. The negative space was also important to this work. I actually framed out my Image by how much negative space I wanted, not how much giraffe.
I've not done a giraffe painting in a very long time. I had such fun doing it that I wondered why I've not done one sooner. This old bachelor was such a great animal that I'm sure he will be the subject of many more paintings to come.
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Blue & Gold Macaw
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Rodeo Bull
This bull was loosely based on a rodeo bull waiting in a holding pen. I was attracted by his vivid markings and colorations. However the most important thing that I wanted to convey was a distinctive personality. I wanted "Tough Guy" in a relaxed posture but alert. His expression being an interesting combination of docility, fierceness and a certain serious dignity.
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Three Horses
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Resting Foal
This was the first painting I did using suede board for my substrate and I fell in love. It has certain limitations to the abuse I usually deal out, (I tend to layer in color until my paper screams for mercy) but the suede offers a visual softness that I struggle to create on watercolor papers.
I've had the photo of this foal laying in my to do pile for nearly a decade. It wasn't until I decided to try suede that I actually used it. Sometimes it takes just the right combination of medium and substrate to make me say, "Hey, I think I'll do this one today.” And apparently suede matboard was just such a trigger.
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Draft Mule Team
These draft mules were taking a break from giving buggy rides at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. I shot over two rolls of film on them but because they were feeling quite nappy I was hard pressed to find a couple of photos without one of them yawning or with its tongue stuck out.
This is one of my favorite paintings and one of the few originals that I am keeping for myself.
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