#6- Egret Fisherman

Egret Fisherman__6x8 oil__$190 includes shipping

Birdseed Project #6

 

These Great Egrets stroll the marshy edges and have their meals! Of course I don't need to buy seed for them!  At LEAST 10 % of this purchase price will go into the bird seed fund, and I hope it starts the ball rolling on approaching some local businesses to also donate seed. I find that there are many funds "for the children"...but not many for the greatest generation...Here is a little story about Dan:

Dan visits his wife Jan every day. She lives in my mom's nursing home. Dan has spotted me filling the bird feeders and several times he asked me to scatter some seed on the ground for the birds who prefer to feed there...I did this a few times, then realized that my mom, in her wheelchair cannot see the low-birds. Dan knew this and started handing me a $5 bill every few weeks "to cover some seed for the low-birds"...

THIS is the story that sparked my seed project, and inviting YOU to join!

_________________________

AND...

How about ART for Christmas?

See my new fine art prints

 http://vvaughan.blogspot.com/2012/10/son-of-sun.html 

 

or ask Santa for the adventure of a lifetime

A Painting Holiday in New Zealand March 3-9, 2015

Guadalupe Visitor_state 2

Guadalupe Visitor__state 2___30 x 40___ click image to see some detail____available
I posted the "paper towel block in" of this a couple days ago, and last night I posted the detail of the bird. I made a few adjustments to the bird (beak oil change), and some contrasts around the bird. ...The painting is "done", but I already see adjustments in "drama" that I will be working on for the next few weeks. If anything drastic happens, I will post it again...but I am already ready to move on to a new adventure tomorrow!
So, this is a giant cypress tree along the banks of the Guadalupe River, near Gruene, TX. It's a good thing I painted it when I did, because fall color will hit this tree pretty soon! These turn a beautiful orangey-rust color...Hey Chris...you ready???
The water is crystal clear, fed by cool springs...As I sketched and photographed, a group of "tubers" launched "off camera" on the right side. We all grew up as tubers in this part of Texas. It's the funnest thing you can do in the hot summertime. Schlitterbahn, the worlds greatest "toobing" water park, was created by tubers, for tubers, just a few miles from here. vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Guadalupe Visitor_detail_ egret, cypress trees, river

Guadalupe Visitor_detail___30 x 40 oil on linen....
I will post the finished BIG PAINTING tomorrow, unless I am not happy with it, yet :) If you look at My blog,
yesterday I posted the "block-in" phase for this large work....if you search back a couple weeks you will see various egret studies. The small paintings were "bird tryouts" to see which "pose" I liked....This gesture looked best to me, and today I painted Mr. Egret into the large work...honestly, I have spent YEARS painting small ones every day, and it's like breathing to me! But the large works ...well, they are WORK! My pal Robin Cheers prefers to complete a painting "alla prima", and I reckon I do, too...it annoys me to work all day and not be DONE...BUT...Big ones have more parts...I am getting to like it, too, when I can leave for a few days and come back to the big one and get into it, again! Sort of like a favorite vacation spot you keep returning to....just looking at this small part of the big painting, I already see what I need to work on tomorrow....that stuff in the background on the right is too light :) Are you a follower of this blog, yet? Click to follow and you will find out when I post. Easier still is joining my group. E-mail me to do that, and you will get the art in your e-mail box every day... vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Morning Warmup_study_8x6 oil on linen

"Morning Warmup" 8 x 6 oil study on linen panel_____$190 when the big one's done!
THe past few days I have posted studies of birds. One of them will be added to a large painting I am working on. So, after these bird "tryouts", I think I have decided to use this one...maybe. I REALLY like the flying birds, but you'll see...this one might fit the scene better.
Speaking of tryouts, the football tryouts are long over and the games are under way. We had our "Friday Night Lights" tonight for Round Rock Dragon Varsity Football. A VICTORY! My son is a Junior Quarterback...a starter on the A-Team JV, but so far he has been playing on varsity as our #1 QB had some surgery. BOY, these kids bounce back fast! The #1 guy was back tonight, but my son got to play, a little bit , too. Funny how exciting the HOLDER for the extra point can be when he's your son! Last week my young holder got his name mentioned in a feature article of the Austin Sports page...his first media coverage! Maybe you read it: he was the guy who was pressured into an incomplete pass on the two point conversion which would have won the game...ah well...they failed to mention that he had to snag a snap that nearly went over his head and saved the day earlier in the game...it wasn't as meaningful as the "miss"... durn media!

Surveyor_6x8 oil on canvas panel

"Surveyor" 6 x 8 oil study on canvas panel $150 soaking wet!
This big egret must not have seen me on the river bank, because he flew by slow and close. I liked that he seemed to be surveying the surface of the water, because sometimes he flew so low that his wing tips nearly touched the water. I painted this from the photo I took. I ALWAYS have my camera around my neck! If you have taken a workshop with me, you have seen me at my sunrise demo with the camera hanging into the paint, practically! ...The painting lesson here is a bit of a "broken rule" for oils, which is USUALLY to start with the dark colors. (The rule is "Dark to Light...Thin to Thick"). I started with THIN, but thin LIGHT colors and I put the darks over them, THIN, still....THEN I put the thick whites in at the end...then a few more darks, because I messed up an edge...then more lights...then more darks...then....SEE? it's OK to break those "rules".

Egret Landing_6 x 4 oil study on linen

"Egret Landing"_6 x 4 oil study on linen______$100 if you are the first to ask
When I lived on the farm, I spent a lot of time sneaking up on the cattle egrets as they grazed alongsidr the cows. They always saw me, but I could take a seat and sit still and they would come back after a while. Their head and neck feathers would change to a yellowy color at certain times of the year (spring, I think). Here is a "lesson": Study the birds and animals before you create a composition, especially if you plan to change the setting. You might put Spring plumage on a winter bird, and that would be embarrassing if one of your collectors noticed! Just remember: the reason someone will buy your art might be because they JUST LOVE or are VERY FAMILIAR with the subject. They will be the first to notice if you haven't done your homework.

Seven Strokes in Marble Falls

"Seven Strokes in Marble Falls"....8 x 6...$150 juicy wet!

I taught a workshop this week in Marble Falls, TX. We had a very fun group of serious artists, who wanted to end the week with a "Seven Stroke" painting! Each one came out UNIQUE! We created whole new species of egret...things!

There were a lot of laughs as we broke the rules ...my painting here was seven strokes plus 10.

So, WELCOME to the BLOG, my new friends!

Please keep in touch and tell me if you want me to stop sending the blog mail.

**Watch me on Texas Country Reporter this weekend. CLICK HERE for show times.