Getting a Sense of the Print

Red-breasted and Common Mergansers with Bufflehead at Flat Rock Dam. Early Proof of Multi-block Woodcut by Ken Januski.

Yesterday I said that I wasn't sure whether or not I'd add color to this woodblock. But after proofing more of the black block today I felt that I had to at least experiment with color. So I flipped the block over, transferred the black block to it and did some minimal carving. I then proofed one color, a blue-green which is much bluer I think than I'll eventually use. A little bit later I printed the black block on top of it.

That's what you see above, with a cockeyed photo, on cheap copier paper. I wouldn't use it to try to enter a competition but that's not my purpose. That is to explore what the print might actually LOOK like. I know a lot of contemporary artists use the computer to see what something might look like, experimenting with colors, shapes, etc. But I prefer to work with the actual materials, to take a chance and live with the consequences.

This is always the most exciting part of printing. Until then I have something that has started to look like a print but that is also missing essential ingredients, like color. Only printing will show how the colors, and shapes, work together. I imagine that there is still a long way to go here. But now I can actually make, then test, some of my plans for the print.

I'm still not positive that I'll make this a color print. It may go wrong somewhere along the line and I'll try to salvage just the black block. But I think it's very unlikely that will happen. Most likely this will be a two-block, and 4-5 color woodcut.

Osprey and Goldfinch Prints in Progress

Osprey with Fish at Valley Green. Proof of multi-block Linocut by Ken Januski.

Experience is absolutely necessary in order to learn all that may be done with one's own instrument of expression, and more especially to avoid what should not even be attempted. When a man is immature he plunges into all kinds of senseless experiments, and by attempting to force his art to yield more than it either can or should concede, he fails to reach even a small degree of superiority within the bounds of what is possible... Only fools and weaklings torture themselves by trying to achieve the impossible.

And yet we need to be very bold. Without daring, without extreme daring even, there is no beauty...

Eugene Delacroix, The Journal of Eugene Delacroix, translated by Hubert Wellington, published by Phaidon Press, entry for Sunday July 21, 1850.

So ... to put it briefly, I hope I'm being bold and not foolish and weak by experimenting as I am with the two prints shown here. Above is a linocut that I abandoned about four years ago. It was based on a field sketch I did of an Osprey seen at Valley Green, along the Wissahickon in Philadelphia on November 15, 2010.

I stumbled upon it by accident recently. As I recall I decided it just looked too clunky and primitive for my tastes. But now I find something appealing in it so I'm reviving it. Out of curiosity I printed the image on the back of the mounted linoleum and carved away the pressed wood backing where the Osprey would print. I then used a rolled blend, something I've never tried, onto the pressed wood surface, not the most inviting surface in the world.

Well as you can see it didn't really respond well to being inked. And yet it did give some color, which is really all that I wanted, to serve as a backdrop for the black linoleum print. This is a proof. Most likely I'll do some more carving on the linoleum, getting rid of a lot of gouge marks and probably just print in one color, black. But only time will tell.

American Goldfinch on Thistle. Proof of multi-block Woodcut by Ken Januski.

I started the Osprey print today after printing the proof above for the Goldfinch woodblock. I'm trying to figure out how much of the yellow to keep. Since most of the first proof is yellow, whatever I carve away will stay yellow.

American Goldfinch on Thistle. Proof of multi-block Woodcut by Ken Januski.

Most likely the last printing will be the black from the first side of the woodblock. As I continue adding colors I'll need to carve away much of the black so that it doesn't overprint as it does here. But I proof it continually at points like this just to get some idea of what it might look like, and what I might lose forever if I cut it away now. Most likely there won't be much black left when I finally print that block on top of everything else. But that stage is still quite a ways away. One thing I would like to get, and I think I have it to some degree in the proof without the black, is a fairly bright print, just like my recollection of the goldfinch on the thistle.

Two Block Woodcut Coming Along

Crouching Green Heron. Woodcut Proof by Ken Januski.

Many distractions along the way but the multi-block woodcut of the Green Heron seen in a crouching fishing position a week or two ago along the Manayunk Canal is nearing completion.

I printed three colors on the second block over the past week or so: an ochrish yellow, deep blue and deep maroon. Then today I recut the first block to get just the amount of black that I wanted, though I had to make a couple of proofs to decide exactly what I did want.

It doesn't really show here but that large yellow background was also printed in black. But the first proof showed that it wasn't going to work. So in the remaining prints I just wiped it clean before printing. As a result there are small bits of washed out black in all of the ten prints.

I'm still hoping to do something more with the background, perhaps just another similar color, so that it vibrates a la. Josef Albers.

 When I start a print, either woodblock or linocut, I'm rarely sure whether I want any gouge/chisel marks to show. They are an integral part of many prints.  After the fact I realize that I would have been better off to completely clear out the white area surrounding the green heron. The bits of ink and color that show through occasionally I think are more of a distraction than an element that adds anything. There may still be time to remedy that a bit when I add the next background color. But most likely I'll just have to live with it.

I began my linocuts about 4 years ago  I think it was leaving much of the carving showing. And I'm happy with those prints. But now I often find that I prefer not to have them in many cases as in the last green heron print.

Barring some catastrophe along the way this will be an edition of ten. The image is 4x6 inches and the paper itself 7x10 inches, printed with Daniel Smith water-soluble inks on Rives Heavyweight paper.

Welcome Warblers - 2014

Black-throated Green Warbler at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

I almost feel like I'm on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh in Ohio in May. So many warblers all over the place that only an iron will can get me to sketch birds and not try to photograph them. The birds were not nearly that numerous nor that close today but they were low and many of them were new.

My iron will went out the window and I ended up taking photos rather than sketching. I need to get back into practice with sketching them. The photo above seemed an appropriate one for anybody who's been waiting to see warblers. The pose has a sense of exuberance similar I think to that of birders when they first see warblers in spring.

All but the final Pine Warbler were birds I saw today. After a day and night of rain warmer temperatures moved in and seemed to bring these warblers, along with thrushes and other migrants. The rain kept the insects low I think and that kept the birds low Most were at eye level.

American Redstart at Kitchens Lane Bridge. Photo by Ken Jauski.

 

For all the American Redstarts I've seen over the years I rarely get a decent photo. This is one of the better ones.

Black and White Warbler along Wissahickon. Photo by Ken Januski.

Outside of Yellow-rumps by far the most common bird today was the Black and White Warbler. I'm sure I saw at least 20. This is one in a somewhat unusual pose.

Black-throated Blue Warbler at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

We see the Black-throated Blue far more often in fall than spring here so it was nice to get such a good look at two beautiful males today, singing as well, just like the Black-throated Green.

Northern Parula at Carpenters Woods. Photos by Ken Januski.

One of the most beautiful warblers is the Northern Parula. But it also is a bird I rarely get good photos of. Today two of them cooperated by staying nice and low, rarely above eye level.

Yellow-rumped Warbler at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

The Yellow-rump of course is the warbler that can't get any respect, only because it is so common. But if you can forget about that it is one of the most beautiful warblers, especially in spring.

Pine Warbler at Wissahickon. Photo by Ken Januski.

The Pine Warbler is another one that I rarely get good photos of. This one is from a week ago. But it is such a striking bird that I decided to include it with all of the beautiful warblers from today.

One other warbler that I saw today and heard at least three times was an Ovenbird. I also saw one the other day. But when I bird I'm not fixated on photography. So by the time I thought about taking a photo of him he had strolled away, as they do. That's okay. Next time I'll focus on what he looks like and get back to sketching these very welcome birds.

Other first of year birds today were Veeries and one Wood Thrush. As always its also great to welcome them back.

Nashville Warbler Revisits

Nashville Warbler at Suet Feeder

Nashville Warbler at Suet Feeder

Nashville Warbler at Suet Feeder

Nashville Warbler at Suet Feeder

Nashville Warbler at Suet Feeder

Nashville Warbler at Suet Feeder

Nashville Warbler at Suet Feeder

I was a bit reluctant to title yesterday's post Revisting Nashville Warbler because I didn't want to mislead people into thinking that the bird had returned. It hadn't. A week had gone by with no sighting.

Last week my wife Jerene yelled out loudly "Get Down Here Right Now." There was the Nashville on our feeders. Today she yelled out "There's a bird I don't recognize on the suet." Sure enough it was the Nashville, and allowing better photos than last week.

Who knows how he got here but he seems to be sticking around, at least in the general vicinity.

Revisiting the Nashville Warbler

Nashville Warbler on Bean Trells, February 2013. Watercolor by Ken Januski

When we saw a Nashville Warbler in our backyard last Saturday it was hard to know what to do first: get the binoculars so we could confirm what it was? Get the camera so I could photograph it? Try to do a sketch? Notify other local birders via the PA Rare Bird List?

I took steps one and two first, view him through the binoculars and then run upstairs and get the camera and try for some photos as he flitted in and out of sight for 30 minutes or so. I probably made a mistake with step 3, which is alert local birders. As with any rare bird it makes most sense to see it as well as possible as long as possible and get proof of the bird, either verbal, visual or both.

When I came back down after posting the two blurry photos to the bird list I don't think we ever saw the bird again. I assumed that we'd see him later in the day,  especially as he probably wasn't going to fly anywhere in the rain. But we never saw him again that day or the next few days.

I did a quick watercolor that I posted here but it was unsatisfactory in many ways. Since then I've wanted to do a better version, one that was more accurate in shape and color and also more a finished painting. That is it at top, a smallish 7x10 watercolor on 300# Arch cold press paper. I think it does justice to such a rare scene.

I did look on ebird in the following days to see if I could find any other nearby sightings. Though I didn't try every state the closest one I found was Texas!

Killdeer, Great Blue Heron, Snow at Manayunk Canal. Watercolor by Ken Januski

The watercolor above is a reworking of the earlier watercolor of the Killdeer and Great Blue Heron seen at the Manayunk Canal a number of weeks ago. It's the earliest I've ever seen a Killdeer in Philadelphia and I wanted to commemorate it, and the snow and Great Blue Heron in a painting. This was also the second version, but I still wasn't happy with it when I finished it a couple of weeks ago. It just didn't seem to vibrate in terms of color or value. I felt I hadn't taken advantage of a special scene. So I reworked it yesterday for the Manayunk Roxborough Arts Center Members Show. It's not perfect but I think much better now.

February Backyard Warbler

NashvilleWarbler on Bean Trellis. Watercolor by Ken Januski

Nashville Warbler on Bean Trellis, 02.24.2013. Ken Januski

Nashville Warbler on Bean Trellis, 02.24.2013. Ken Januski

It's sad to say that our small urban backyard seems to have gotten worse for birds over the years, even with a lot of native plantings. I think this is probably due to the continued cutting down of large old trees in the neighborhood. In any case we rarely see much in the backyard especially in the winter.

So it was a great surprise to see this bird in the drizzle today. It was with some House Sparrows but noticeably smaller.  There really wasn't much doubt it was a warbler. These are bad photos, shot through the kitchen window of a bird that stayed in one place just for seconds. He's been back a few times and I hope for better looks and photos. But for now I'm posting it online hoping that some of the readers of the PA Rare Bird List will agee that it's a Nashville. I can't really see it being anything else.

Hopefully I'll revise this later with better photos  and perhaps a sketch or watercolor. He didn't come back but I did do a quick watercolor based on one of  the photos that is now at top of post. I'm still hoping to see him again tomorrow.

Since posting this I've read that Nashvilles are very early migrants that use the Mississippi flyway. I wonder if there's any chance he was flying there and got pushed over here by huge storm of recent days?



Sandy - We Were Lucky

Mid-afternoon yesterday Hurricane Sandy seemed headed straight for Philadelphia. All the warnings seemed correct. The city was declared in a state of emergency. I expected that we would lose power, perhaps have other damage from falling trees or flying debris, and on a lesser note, lose all the tomatoes and peppers still in an unripe state hanging on bushes in the backyard.

With heavy winds and rains predicted, and already taking place to some extent, I was certain of one thing: the beautiful but seemingly delicate flowers of  the volunteer Nicotiana in the backyard would certainly be destroyed. At top you see a photo of one of them from a few minutes ago, with Sandy largely gone.

They emerged unscathed, as did our household and as far as I can tell those of our neighbors.

The only sign of local damage I could find was a fallen tree across the street. Amazingly it fell parallel to the sidewalk and not perpendicular so that it crossed the street and landed on any of the cars parked there, including our own. In fact it doesn't even seem to have disturbed traffic driving down that side of the street. A photo is above.

So we've been extremely lucky. By late afternoon it looked like the predicted turn to the left of the storm was a more southerly turn than expected. The maps on television and online indicated Philadelphia would be on the outer edge of the strongest part of the storm. But maps are one thing, reality another. I was still quite wary. Though the trees whipped around  most of the night and early morning and though the wind howled, the storm did in fact largely pass us by.

But that's obviously not the case elsewhere. When one area escapes another does  not. That's a sad fact. We can only  wish the best for those millions, yes millions, of people who were not so lucky.  I just heard on the radio that 20% of Pennsylvania is without power. The only  positive thing you  can possibly say about something like this is that at least some of the victims will be able to weather it and turn it into an interesting experience and story: 'I  remember back in 2012. We got hit by Sandy and didn't have power for xxx days...' For others sadly some of the losses will be irreparable.

One last note on those Nicotiana. We last planted them at least 15 years ago. Then they were absent for at least 10 years. About five years ago they started appearing as volunteers in various parts our backyard garden. But they  never survived long enough to flower. Then this year as they  started taking over varioius raised beds Jerene transplated them to various spots around the beds. By mid-October they  almost looked tropical, four feet tall and full of exotic blossoms. Nature remains full of surprises: some bad, some good.

Late Summer Bird Sketches

It always seems that the heat and humidity of July limit the time I spend outside and consequently the time I spend field sketching. But a few cooler days over the last week or so have prompted me to get out a bit more often. Above at top left is a young Great Crested Flycatcher seen at Morris Arboretum about a week ago.
Below it is a Pectoral Sandpiper, seen last Sunday at Tinicum, along with many, many Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers. It was shocking to see so many, some of them right at our feet below the boardwalk that crosses the main impoundment. As I sketched this I deliberately left the large white area on breast. And yet when I looked at the photos I took and guide books it doesn't really show up. My guess is that it was just lighter, which is likely, and I overcompensated. I did want to accentuate the dark breast markings as well as the flight feathers toward the back. When I see such a flock of birds I'm always disappointed that I don't have a full day to just sit and sketch them. Unfortunately Tinicum is about 30 minutes away where as Morris, a very small wetland, is only five to ten minutes away. So I often end up at Morris where there's never such a plethora of shorebirds.
And Morris rarely disappoints. After all it is an arboretum. So there are always interesting trees and shrubs. The wetlands area is primarily native vegetation. Usually it's quite easy to get close looks at Great Blue and Green Herons, Belted Kingishers, Wood Ducks and numerous other local birds. We haven't seen many Eastern Phoebes since late spring. On the right page above is the first one we've seen this summer, at Morris yesterday. Green Herons have been quite visible the last week or so and the one above is also from Morris.

There was also a very vocal young Red-tailed Hawk and I was able to do a couple of sketches of him. Unfortunately he changed his position as I was about half-way through the larger drawing. That explains the darker areas on head. I tried to guess what it looked like and then tried to rectify my mistakes with more ballpoint pen marks. It's a basic maxim of field sketching that you should only put down what you see. But sometimes it's hard to follow that maxim; there's always a desire to make the sketch look more finished. Other birds keeping their poses for only a short time were a Cedar Waxwing, seen at top left and a female Belted Kingfisher below. One of the odder sights was the kingfisher attacking the hawk numerous times.

There is nothing particularly good about these sketches, though that of course depends upon your perspective. Compared to what I started with three years ago they're magnificent. Compared to some of the truly amazing artists of the Wildlife Art thread at birdforum they're still the work of a beginner. Irregardless I do enjoy them now and have for the last couple of years. I know that at least partially they've captured what I've seen. They always seem nutritious as I think most honest field sketches do.
I'm not so sure about the finished version of the reduction linocut of Twelve-spotted Skimmer and Solidary Sandpiper. I won't go into all the technical problems but I think it's evident that it's just not a very clean print. There's a bit of muddiness in execution. I'm surprised that this doesn't happen more often with the complex method of reduction linocut. In some ways this is my most unsuccessful, at least in my own eyes. Still I do love the composition and think the print is not a complete failure. But I also know I had plans for something much more successful. So this one doesn't seem quite as nutritious as those field sketches. Not all progress in any field is constantly smooth though. This may be the necessary next step in reduction linos for me. Perhaps the hext one will be much easier and much more successful. As always this is much informed by my field sketching, even if it looks like I've been very sloppy or don't really know the creatures portrayed.

Sweating Through Exhibition Prep

We're at the start of an Excessive Heat Warning here. It goes through the next 40+ hours and won't be exactly cool when it ends. This seems appropriate since the Manayunk Arts Festival starts this weekend. I don't plan things this way but as I think back about the various shows I've been in I often picture myself sweating like crazy, working in incredibly hot weather, trying to ready a show.
Fortunately I'm a bit more prepared for this show and had some advance warning about the heat. So I have most of my work ready to go. Above you see some of the framed work, including two gull watercolors from 2012. That Great Black-backed Gull at Flatrock Dam looks refreshingly cool doesn't he. If I were a marketer I might hope that it might be a subliminal message to viewers this weekend to buy it and instantly feel cooler.

Above you see a stack of seven framed watercolors and linocuts. On top of them are about 15 linocuts, that are in mats but not framed. They'll all go the the Manayunk Roxborough Art Center. Eventually some/most/all of them will be transported along with other work from members, especially five exhibiting artists, of the MRAC coop to the arts festival. There they will be part of the Emerging Artists Showcase at Main and Roxborough.
The festival itself of course wants to showcase the Manayunk area, though artists and crafters from across the US will exhibit. The Emerging Artists Showcase features local artists. Since I live less than a mile from where I'll be exhibiting I guess I qualify as local. You can't get too much more local than that. But it also will showcase the Mayanunk Roxborough Art Center mentioned above. Like many places, especially non-profits, the economic downturn has hurt in may ways: fewer grants, fewer purchases of art, part of whose profits go to the center, etc. MRAC was once a thriving part of Manayunk and Roxborough. The exposure gained at the arts festival will hopefully help to return it to that thriving state Along with art shows it offers many classes as well as literary programs. See the site for more info, or stop by the festival this weekend.

Semi-Annual Photos

About once or maybe twice a year I break down and post just photos. I make a concerted effort not to use photos but sometimes they seem appropriate. This is one of those times.

My guess is that few people have seen Red-headed Woodpeckers in Philadelphia. They're not uncommon elsewhere, but they are here. So I wanted to go back out and see if the Red-headed was still there and also to photograph it. Mainly I did this in case anyone else wanted to try for the bird.

It took awhile but I did find the bird in the same place, almost directly across from the Gorgas Lane entrance onto Forbidden Drive. I first went across the Wissahickon and stood right under the snag where I'd seen him earlier. I was there for 30 minutes but saw nothing. So I went back across the creek where the snag is clearly visible but much further away. I didn't seem him so moved on and found the mystery bird mentioned further down.

Eventually I made my way back to the 60' snag and there he was. So I spent about 15 minutes taking these photos. They are poor in quality but I think will convince anyone of the ID: juvenile Red-headed.

This bird was a real shock because of his blinding whiteness. My first thought was pigeon. But I rarely see them along the Wissahickon, and they never land except at Valley Green. Was it a dove? Didn't really look like it either, though the only one I really know is the Mourning Dove. So I snapped some photos, tried to get closer and scared off.

He moved very quickly like a hawk. But I've also been surprised at how fast pigeons moved. So I assume pigeon. But as I walked back toward the Red-headed I wondered. Could it be a kite? I don't know kites at all and certainly have never seen them this close. The more I thought about it the more I convinced myself that I'd topped the Red-headed with a kite.

When I got home though and pulled out my guides I couldn't convince myself that it was a kite of any sort. If anyone reading this has any opinions let me know. But for now, sad to say, I'm leaving it as a pigeon.

Red-headed Woodpecker - A Documentation Break

I always have to decide whether or not to bring my camera with me when I'm birding. Since my primary concern is always to see and sketch birds I often don't want the baggage of the camera. But often I'm also taking along a scope and tripod so the added weight of a camera is negligible. Today wasn't one of those days though.

I expected that most of the warblers were now gone, even though we saw 7 Black-throated Blues yesterday and almost 20 Yellow-rumps. If it's the height of migration I'm more likely to bring a camera too since I think I might be able to get some good reference photos.

So no camera today. A half hour into my walk, right past the Gorgas Lane entrance to Forbidden Drive I saw some movement in a 60-80 foot snag across the water. Two birds were chasing one another. Once I got my binoculars on them I found the first to be a Northern Flicker. No surprise. I've seen a lot of them recently. So I figured the second would be as well.

But not when I saw that flash of white on the wings. A Red-headed! I've never seen one in Philadelphia before. Expert birders I've talked to say that they are here very occasionally and almost always immatures.

The light on this one made it hard to see color. The white on wings was obvious but I really couldn't determine head or back color, at least on this first view. But there was no doubt it was a Red-headed.

Over the next two hours I got numerous looks at the bird, some much better than others. Then I could see that the back was dark gray-black and that the head was definitely not the deep, almost maroon red of the mature bird. So this was an immature.

At top are the field sketches I made. Things that struck me were the elegant sleekness of bird. The neck and head looked slimmer than I recall from other times I've seen the bird. Perhaps this was due to it being an immature. Or maybe it was just its pose. I also saw that there were a few black markings on the white section of the wings, something that Sibley notes in his rendering of the immature.

One of the great things about sketching is that you do notice things like this. I don't think I ever previously noticed those markings on an immature. I haven't yet checked my guides to see if the Red-headed is smaller than the Red-bellied. That was my impression though I had nothing to compare it to. I didn't really notice its smaller size when it chased off the Northern Flicker. Other woodpeckers landed in the tree but it seemed to reappear quickly and chase them off. I don't see Red-headeds often enough to have an impression of their character. But based on what I saw today I'd guess that they are agressive.

Turkeys, Watercolor, Winslow Homer

Over the last week I've been looking at the work of my favorite watercolor artist, Winslow Homer, in the book 'The Watercolors of Winslow Homer' by Miles Unger. Each time I do I'm reminded of just how good watercolors can be. Looking at the book, laid out in more or less chronological order, it's easy to see Homer's growth away from his drafting skills. Homer was a very accomplished draftsman and this is most obvious in his early work. Drawn shapes remain an armature on which to hang his paintings in his later work but they really are just that: an armature, with which great liberties can be taken. The introduction to the book mentions how watercolor can excel, especially in Homer's work, in capturing light and atmosphere. These are almost always present in Homer's watercolors. The introduction also mentions that Homer never shies away from letting the mistakes or other evidence of the work of finishing the work remain visible. I think it is the combination of light, atmosphere, and fearlessness about showing artistic process that make him so appealing to me.

While working on two pastel drawings recently I found it refreshing to be able to be more carefree with them than I can be with the less familiar, and forgiving, medium of watercolor. But I had some misgivings about the health effects of breathing the fixatif needed to fix the pastel powder to the page. My online investigations only made me more concerned. So I decided to stop them for awhile and go back to watercolor. In preparation for that I took another look at the Homer book mentioned above. One thing that struck me was the rich, luminous but inexact washes that Homer would often use for part of the background. I thought I might be able to use this in my next watercolor.

I and my wife have seen Wild Turkeys in three places in Philadelphia over the last 15 years or so: Tinicum, the Schuylkill Center, and Northwestern Ave. near Morris Arboretum. We spent three hours of a beautiful day with weather in the high 70s at Morris Arboretum today. We saw no turkeys, but did see a total of 28 birds, including a Solitary Sandpiper, Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, 20 or more Wood Ducks and at least 12 Cedar Waxwings. A Wild Turkey would have fit right in, but it wasn't to be today. We did see one at Tinicum taken Memorial Day weekend, 2008. A photo of it is the basis for the accompanying watercolor.

Though I had taken a number of photos of the turkey I've been holding off on trying to do a painting due to the iridescence of the wings. How was I ever going to get any sense of that? It wasn't of paramount importance but I also thought it couldn't be ignored. But watercolor, as evidenced in Winslow Homer, can create very rich coloristic effects. I'm not sure if the iridescence comes through in this photo but I think that it does in the original. I'm happy with it.

Watercolor is a medium that can turn from brilliant luminosity to MUD in a matter of seconds. I think it is a medium that is best used with a solid draftsmanlike armature underneath. But for me it is a crime to be ruled by the armature. It is there as a lifeboat, not as a prison. I think that this is how Homer used it. For myself I think that there's a great danger of MUD if I don't also have my own fairly detailed drawing to start. That anchor, which I know is always there, allows me the freedom to let the paint speak for itself. My artistic background tends strongly in this direction. But it is greatly helped by the example of Winslow Homer.

One last thing that I think draws me so much to Winslow Homer: his love of nature. I don't think he was probably a bird lover though. The few paintings I've seen that include birds aren't among my favorites. But birds can be intimidating. It's easy to feel that every feather should be rendered. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but it looks to me like Homer was a bit timid with birds and doesn't use the brash abstraction that he does with other parts of nature. He's somewhere in between his usual brash abstraction and a need to portray all the details of the bird.