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For some time now I have been wanting to do a painting of bighorn sheep. They are relatively common in the canyons near my home and are often easy to see in most seasons. Because there is little hunting pressure they are not very afraid of humans and will often be grazing near the road or near the river when they come down for water, offering great opportunities to gather reference photos in all seasons. So over the years I have taken quite a few photos and seen some amazing animals and behavior, but not sure how I wanted to use any of that in a painting. Then a good friend of mine, wildlife photographer Ken Bonner, showed me a photo of a large ram he had taken with a snowy background and amazing lighting. Since I have also been wanting to paint something with more dramatic lighting I asked him if I could use his reference for a painting. When he said yes, I got to work on a composition to include his ram along with two others that I had taken. I decided I wanted to keep that snowy background and have each of the rams being lit by the bright morning light as they got up and headed out for the day.

I started out blocking in the snow field and the rocks. My first challenge was to imagine what the rest of the background might look like as all I had to go on was the small bit behind Ken's ram. Spending time out in their habitat in various seasons made this task a little easier. At this stage things always look a little messy, but it's necessary to block in basic shapes, lights and darks, then get more specific as I go.

I created the rock texture by using a combination of brushwork, sponging and spattering. Then I worked a bit on the snow field. When I was satisfied with that I started to block in and refine the sheep. Thankfully, each reference photo had lighting from the same general direction so I didn't have to try and figure that out.

It took some time and many layers of paint to get the lighting and shadows correct so the rams looked like they were stepping out of a shaded background into the bright morning sun. Another minor challenge was making adjustments for the hair texture on each ram. Ken's ram was taken in full winter and had a heavy, course coat. My two rams were taken in late summer/early fall and had smooth, thin coats so I had to thicken them up a bit.

Finally, I added in all the grasses and made tweaks here and there to complete the piece. The final painting measured 14" x 18" and is one of my favorite pieces that I've done. It depicts three handsome rams who often come together in bachelor groups during the winter. It brought together great memories of seeing and studying the animals, plus good memories of photo shoots with my friend, Ken, who not only is a talented photographer, but is a great storyteller as well.

Inspired by Nature is the theme for an upcoming show that I am participating in just a few weeks from now. Everything in the show is either made from natural items such as minerals and gemstones, or depicts something from nature like wildlife art and photography. I participated in this same show last July and it truly is an awesome show featuring the most talented artists and craftspeople. If you are in the area please come join us for this fun show!

Of course, I have been busy creating new pieces to debut that weekend. The painting featured in this newsletter is just about finished. The African wild dog still needs a little tweaking and I need to add some foreground grasses before calling it done.

So why have I painted an African wild dog when I normally paint only North American species or wildlife that I have personally seen and experienced? Well, there are several reasons. The first is that I love to paint fur. My last few paintings have depicted birds and I needed a break from all those feathers which have both texture and pattern. It can make your eyes go crossed sometimes trying to keep your place on your reference and your painting. Interestingly enough I picked a dog with both texture and pattern! Crazy, I know, but in my mind it's easier to do if it's fur.

The second reason is that I love to paint dogs. Now I could have painted a hunting dog or some other breed, but from a sales standpoint people aren't inclined to buy it if it's not their dog. This I know from taking my art to dog shows. I couldn't sell the originals, but I could sell them a custom piece of their dog.

Other reasons for painting this wild dog is because I loved his expression and his crazy colors. Also, I've never painted any African beasts so thought it would be a good opportunity to try. Though I haven't been to Africa and couldn't take my own reference photos there is a handy website that allows you to purchase photos to use in your paintings. Photo credit for this piece goes to Mauritz de Villiers from Wildlife Reference Photos.

African Wild Dog is 8" x 10" and will be available for purchase when finished. I will have him at the Inspired by Nature Show if you'd like to view him in person. Please make plans to come out and join us that weekend!

As always, thank you for your interest in my art!

Blessings ~ Catherine

As I finished my last painting and wrote my last newsletter I was watching the snow pile up outside. Now, nearly a month later the temperatures are reaching 60 degrees, the sun is shining and I have seeds started for my garden. Spring is on it's way! I have also completed my latest painting, "Waiting for Spring - Red-tailed Hawk"

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a bird nerd and that I have a fascination with raptors. Red-tailed hawks are among some of my favorite birds of prey. Though very common, whenever I see one I usually stop and take a photo because these birds come in many flavors. By that I mean they have a lot of plumage variations, from dark to light phases, some heavily marked, some lightly marked. The Harlan's sub-species have little or no red on the tails. These variations are found in both the juveniles and adults. Occasionally, their color is so different you're not sure you are actually looking at a red-tailed hawk.

Despite the fact that I have hundreds of red-tailed hawk photos I have only painted a few of them and these were small paintings with not much detail. I decided that since I have shows coming up that it was time to create a larger painting depicting this beautiful hawk and debut it at the shows. I am hoping to do more paintings in the future. It would be fun to do a whole series showcasing the many plumage variations, but that's a project for some time in the future.

"Waiting for Spring - Red-tailed Hawk" is available for purchase. It is

11" x 14" painted in acrylic and is framed. Prints may be available also. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this piece.

I mentioned that I have a few shows coming up. The first one I will be participating in is the Inspired by Nature Show. It is being held at the Hell's Canyon Grand Hotel (formerly Red Lion) in the Seaport Ballroom, Lewiston, Idaho. Show dates are April 23 - 25, 2021. Times are from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm on Friday and Saturday and 10:00 am - 4 pm on Sunday. This show is sponsored by the Hell's Canyon Gem club and all those participating in the show create something using natural materials or inspired by nature in some way. There will be beautiful jewelry, paintings, photography, metal work and more. Mark your calendar and come join us!

My next show won't be until November and I'll have details later. As always my work can be seen at the Dahmen Artisan Barn in Uniontown, WA.

Until next time, thank you for your interest in my art and I hope spring will be coming to your house soon! 

Blessings ~ Catherine

Sometimes a painting takes you on an unexpected journey. You start out with some reference photos and an idea in your head, make your sketches and start to paint. Then somewhere along the way the painting tells you, "I don't like where you're taking me. You need to tell a different story." This very thing happened to me with a recent painting I was working on for an upcoming show.

Back in November 2020, I was driving along one of the back roads near where I live. I do this a lot looking for birds and wildlife, but often times just to clear my head and get away from the world. On this particular day I came across this beautiful rough-legged hawk. She was perched in a field above one of the canyons looking regal and scanning the surrounding grassland for her next meal. I loved the way she looked with the vast openness of the field around her and the tops of the canyon behind her so I snapped some photos and went on my way.

Not long after, I decided to do a painting of her and set to work on a composition. I did some sketches, but also took the photos into a Photoshop program and tried out some different ideas. With my composition finalized I got to work. I started with the distant canyon using brushes, sponges and an airbrush to create the soft look behind her. Then I proceeded to block in the grassy field, the bird and some foreground rabbit brush.

I continued along that path for some time deciding I needed another post and that I needed to change the color of the grass. It was just too bright and kept drawing my eye away from the bird.

Despite my changes I still was not happy about the direction she was going. That grass was making me crazy. It looked okay in my reference photos, but it was not working in my painting so I set it aside for a few days to ponder what to do. I pondered the bird herself in more depth. What is it that makes these birds unique?

Rough-legged hawks are only in my area in the winter time where they come down from the far north to hunt the open fields and grasslands. These birds breed in the arctic. They are called "rough-legged" because they have feathers all down their legs to their toes to keep them warm. Obviously, she's a winter bird and even though she hunts grasslands she was telling me she needed snow. So I started to paint out the grass and sure enough, the painting started to look better.

Also, lucky for me, our normally mild winter got an unexpected snow storm. I ran out the next morning to the same area where I photographed the bird and took some reference photos with snow on the ground, then came home and got back to work. Eventually, "Winter Sentinel - Rough-legged Hawk" came together as the painting she was meant to be. Sometimes you just have to listen to what your subject is telling you. This time I'm glad I did!

Many of my collectors and followers enjoy seeing the process behind the painting so I decided to share that with this recent painting I just finished of a Bewick's wren.

It all started this spring while I was out for a walk in one of our local habitat areas. I heard this little wren singing, but couldn't see him as Bewick's wrens are notorious for hiding in thick vegetation. However, they are rather curious so I made a few "pishing noises" and the little guy hopped up onto an open branch to see if I had something more to say. I was able to get several good photos, but really liked this pose with the tail up and alert, which is often typical for wrens.

This was the image I started with, but I felt that the branch going through the background was quite distracting. I put the image in a Photoshop program and played around blurring the background and softening it. Then I started my painting by airbrushing the background in.

The next step was to do the texture of the branch. I really liked that the branch was covered with some brightly colored lichens and had a rough bark. I accomplished this texture by using paint applied with sponges and glazes to add depth. It's a somewhat messy process, but also quite fun.

This shows the very first layers of the bark and lichen.

Here you can see the branch is mostly complete and I've started to block in the wren.

Starting to add shadows and detail to the wren.

And here is the final piece. I really enjoyed the process of creating this curious bird and also the lively bright colors of the lichen and background. I hope he may brighten your day!

Grassland Singer-Lark Sparrow

The summer has gone by so quickly it seems, probably because I have been deeply immersed in creating my art and nurturing my garden. Perhaps, in a way, I've been nurturing both. 

After winning the Washington Duck Stamp contest this year I have been incredibly blessed with requests to paint several dog portraits as well as a landscape portrait of a waterfall  at night with the aurora borealis. The portraits have included chocolate and black labs, mixed breed rescue dogs and in the near future a versatile hunting dog breed called a Pudelpointer. Many of these have challenged and stretched me because I've had to paint complicated backgrounds or the subject matter was not some of the usual things I paint, like the northern lights. Each has helped me hone my skills however and has kept me growing and improving.

In between the commissions I managed to complete one new piece to send to the Michigan Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Print contest. It depicted a pair of northern pintails resting in late afternoon light. The painting received a 2nd place at the contest by popular vote of those attending the Ducks Unlimited event. I was very pleased with that result and the piece is currently available for purchase here on my website.

And lastly, I have been nurturing my garden through it all and have been blessed with an abundance of lovely fruits and vegetables. There was so much I had to enlist the help of my husband with the canning. We made 30 pints of jam, 32 pints of applesauce, 10 pints of salsa, 12 pints of tomato soup, quarts of canned tomatoes. We've had numerous BLT sandwiches and lots of fresh veggies to eat and I have given away quite a bit to friends and the local food bank so it has been a productive summer in all ways.

I'd like to say that I'm looking forward to the more restful days of autumn, but I'm getting the feeling that may just be wishful thinking. I just received a request for another commission today and have some local shows that I'd like to create some new paintings for coming up in November and early winter. There's always a duck stamp contest going on somewhere too that I'd like to continue to pursue. In the days ahead it looks like I'm going to continue to be one very busy lady!

As you can see a lot has taken place from the last post. I've added some middle ground elements in the form of a small branch with lichen and moss, some rocks and grasses behind the fox. I have the basic colors of the fox blocked in and have started to suggest some foreground texture of the bed of pine needles. My original intention was pine needles covering everything below the fox with some early spring wildflowers starting to pop up through them. I even took a day and drove up to the mountains where I live to photograph the forest floor and the wildflowers so I would have accurate reference to work from. But somewhere in the process I changed my mind about painting that many pine needles. It started to compete with the fox for texture and created an effect that was too busy and chaotic.

I opted instead to have the fox laying on a bed of moss with some exposed earth and just a suggestion of pine needles. I also did away with the wildflowers opting for simplicity and fewer things to compete with the fox. I enjoyed doing all the textures and techniques, but I didn't want to get too carried away with it. I wanted the piece to have a restful quality to it. The fox is alert to something just beyond our view, but it's not alarmed by what it sees. It's merely content to rest in the sun on a spring morning and survey it's territory.

This was my final version that my client approved. I have to say I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out!

This week I'm getting started on a commission for a client who wanted a painting of a fox done. Over the years she's enjoyed having several of them living in the woods near her home and as she is making plans to move she thought having a painting done of the foxes would be a good way to preserve the memory of her time at this location. She told me stories about the foxes and gave me a few parameters for the painting, but pretty much left it up to me to come up with the composition. The fox will be laying on a bed of pine needles at the base of a big tree. This painting is going to have a lot of texture (tree bark, pine needles, fur) in it that should be interesting and fun to create.

I start, of course, with a basic drawing, my road map of components. Then I start blocking in a few areas in the background.

The trees on the left are going to be indistinct and pushed to the background. I want them to be soft focus and create depth. To do this I use my airbrush. Another way to accomplish this would be to use a technique called "scumbling" which is essentially a dry brush technique of scrubbing on paint and blending it to create soft edges. This is challenging to do with acrylic because it dries so fast and it does create a certain amount of texture. Since the rest of the painting is going to have a lot of that I chose to use the airbrush to keep things softer.

You can see how well it works to create indistinct patterns of light and shadow coming through the trees. My next step is to mask off the fox and part of the area I airbrushed so that I can start to create the texture of the pine bark. I start with a dark base color then I use a piece of crumpled paper dipped in white paint to start adding the texture. It looks quite messy in the beginning and it is! I had white paint all over my hands as I re-scrunched the paper to create different patterns.

At this point I start to use transparent glazes in various shades of browns and grays to create depth. It's essentially a layering technique. Add texture, glaze, add texture, etc. After the paper texturing technique I switched to a piece of household sponge to create finer patterns with the white paint. I also used the sponge to create texture in more opaque colors and slowly continued to build my layers.

I'm starting to add shadows and continuing to refine the bark. Finally I switch to small brushes and start to paint in crevasses and cracks in the bark and continue to glaze areas I want to recede and add more color to areas that I want to come forward.

This was my stopping point today. I'm pleased with how things progressed and had a lot of fun creating these textures. I'm excited to see what happens tomorrow!

Balin's portrait is finally finished! It only took me four months, but that was because I had to put it on hold while I completed the commission for the Washington Duck Stamp. Once that was behind me I jumped back on this piece for myself, but it was slow going for a few days as I tried to remember what my plan was from four months ago. Eventually, I was able to find my way, but I did end up changing the position of the duck in his mouth. My reference photo showed him carrying a gadwall which looks nothing like a wood duck so I had to use a lot of imagination, a mounted wood duck which I had and photos of a deceased bird in order to recreate the pose. It somehow all came together and I'm very pleased with this painting of my boy!

Now that this is behind me I am on to other things. I have several commissions waiting for me and I'm hoping to find some time to enter a few more duck stamp contests. Looks like I'll be busy most of the summer!