Blossom Crow

This one took AGES. There were times were it sat on the easel for days in that middle "ugly phase" where you've got your mid-tones down but no detail but I'm glad I persisted because in real life it's cerise and creamy powdery blue. Very happy with this one!

As for my titling process, I go with what I call it in my head while I work on it. Perhaps "High-Wire Act" would be better, but I got so used to calling it "Blossom Crow"- as in "gotta get back to work on that Blossom Crow monstrosity" - that I couldn't bear to call it anything else.

Acrylic on canvas, 16"x20", 2010

BBQ at Byron's

Rich S and Darren enjoying a BBQ and not running from a burning building: it just looks that way.

12"x9", acrylic on canvas, 2010

Lookout

I've been taking photos of this pair of eagles for years now (they are a regular feature atop the church at Princess and East Pender) and I've put off painting them because, well, eagles are almost too iconic to paint, but I think I captured them as menacing and judicial. Having a man-made object in the painting also helps: you pretty much only see representations of eagles in the Bateman mode, ie. flying or perched in the wild, or swooping down with talons extended ready to grab a fish. And it was during this painting that I realized how much more interesting I find birds when they're surrounded by non-natural materials.

I call this my "edgy piece" because I didn't refrain from painting the crap that's all over the cross. :)

12"x9", Acrylic on canvas, 2010

Twig

It was fascinating watching this crow snapping twigs to make a nest. Quite happy with the way the fence turned out!
12"x9", Acrylic on canvas, 2010

the Pecking Order

Capturing movement and the texture of roofing tiles were my main goals with this painting.
12"x9", Acrylic on canvas, 2010

Ivy Crow

12"x12" Acrylic on Canvas, 2009

Roadrunner

My Mom loves roadrunners so I painted her this for Christmas. I was really happy with how realistic it turned out - and so was she!

acrylic on canvas 9"x12", 2009

(original reference photo copyright Ron Reznick. He's an amazing photographer - check him out:
http://www.digital-images.net/index.html )

Jigger and Grace

A Christmas present for my sister and brother-in-law: a friend's dog and their daughter, Grace.
Acrylic on canvas

Duck!

Acrylic on canvas, 2009
8" x 10"

DTES Group Show

Opening reception for recipients of the DTES small arts grant is tonight, Wednesday December 9th, at 6:30pm on the 3rd floor of the Carnegie Centre, at Main and Hastings. Show runs for one week.

Paintings I have showing are: "Canada Goose", "Lucky", and "Michael and Elaine - Zombies!", the latter being courtesy of the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Barrick.

Last week of the show!

My show of bird paintings at Bean Around the World coffee shop, Main and 20th, comes down December 5/6th. Check them out if you haven't already!

Brick Ledge Pigeons

I posted a detail before - here's the final piece.

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 23.5" x 20", 2009

Buoyed

Floating along on a summer's day.
Acrylic on canvas, 2009
11.75" x 9.75"

Lucky

Acrylic on canvas, 2009

10" x 12"

Happy Crow, Sad Rat

Ah, the circle of life...

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 2009
16" x 12"

Chickadee Hotel

Ah, the downtown eastside. Old brick hotels, telephone poles and wires, gingko trees, and chickadees.
Acrylic and ink on canvas, 2009
15.5" x 22"

The bird paintings below are currently on view, until December 6th, at:

Bean Around the World
Main and East 19th
Vancouver, BC

Check them out!

Seed Bin Pigeon

Caught this cocky guy in Chinatown, having a snack at the dried food bins.

Chinatown Goose

A Canadian Goose and an old restaurant on Pender Street, across from the Sun Yat Sen Gardens. That old storefront had such a groovy design: I miss it! Awfully glad I got a photo of it, and just as happy with this painting. It makes me laugh.

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 2009
20"x16"

Blue Eagle Barn Swallow

A colourful barn swallow and the Blue Eagle Cafe sign.

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 2009
20"x16"

Michael and Elaine - zombies!

Took a break from painting living creatures to paint this one for a friends' wedding gift. Rawr!

Dr Sun Yat Sen Gardens Turtle

A turtle at the Dr Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Gardens. There are a few of them and they float around in a state of zen.

Gouache on paper, 8x10, 2009

Crab Park Robin

I love those dockyard cranes. And I love a well-fed bird!

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 15.5" x 20.5", 2009

Crab Park Robin - detail

Detail of "Crab Park Robin." I've always loved the dockyard cranes that look like the snow walkers in "The Empire Strikes Back" and I was lucky enough to catch a shot of a robin with a worm. It was patiently waiting for me to move so it could get to the nest in the tree I was sitting underneath.

Crows outside the Ukranian Hall *sold*

Because you can't depict any kind of wildlife in Vancouver without some crows...

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 20" x 15.5", 2009

More pigeons...

Here's a detail of pigeons on a brick ledge, a work in progress...

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 23.5" x 20", 2009

Pigeon detail

Detail of brushwork. Colour's off, but you get the idea..

Pigeon

No shortage of pigeons - here or anywhere - but this one, nestled in amongst rusty pipes, caught my eye.

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 12" x 9", 2009

Flicker detail

Northern Flicker, closer up. Those spotted and striped wings were frustrating to paint!

Northern Flicker - *sold*

Northern Flicker spotted in front of a Strathcona gingerbread house.

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 20" x 16", 2009

detail of sparrow

Close-up of the house sparrow.

Telephone Pole Sparrow *sold*

A house sparrow, in between some telephone pole transformers.

Acrylic and ink on canvas, 16" x 12", 2009

Rootbeer

Rather than get a copy of an old family photo (me and brothers drinking rootbeer) I decided to paint it. The painting cracks me up even more than the original photo. (Please ignore the camera flash on the image. Thank you!)

Bird on a Chain

I've been taking photos of birds for years now and have recently started to paint instead of document them. As well as being my first bird painting, this is the first major painting I've done that does not feature line work. I'm currently working on a whole slew of "birds in the downtown eastside" paintings at the moment.
Acrylic on canvas, 2008

Sandhill Crane

I took the original reference photo at the Reifel bird sanctuary.
Guoache on board, 2008

Poppies

A wedding present, July 2006

Seth Fisher

Drawn in San Diego, 2004.

Not only were you incredibly talented and original, you were also so sweet and funny and kind and the world's a lesser place without you in it.

Nomia

Last spring I took a "creating comics" evening class and this is my favourite panel from my finished project, a 4-page silent story "Nomia".
I always draw with Pigma waterproof pens and was urged by my instructor to, instead, ink this with pen and nib -a rather slow, scratchy, messy process but I really had fun once I got the hang of it.

Enrico

Enrico Salvini at the Big Wow booth, San Diego Comic Con 2005

Now's the Time to Save, Shoppers!

"Dawn of the Dead". I filled up 5 sketchbooks drawing this movie last year - I'd pause the movie every few seconds and do a quick 5 minute line drawing. Only got halfway through the film before I got distracted by something else. Should finish it, but wow, that was a Lot of Zombies.