"Laurie's Chickens" 12x12 oil on canvas

I went out last week to photograph Jeff and Laurie's chickens.  It was a cold day but sunny and Jeff stepped outside to feed them peanuts so that they would stand in the sun. They are beautiful birds!

First Still Life of the Season

Like hunters, skiers and outdoor people of all kinds, I look forward to the autumn/winter and its colder weather.  Not, however, to be out in the cruel elements, painting, but to be inside painting, hugged by the heat of my wood burning stove.  This is when I turn to still lifes for inspiration. It is easy to be excited by the sand and the dunes and big open skies. It is much harder to get worked up over lemons, limes and pitchers.  However, I did my best by setting up a crowded table, throwing tons of wood on the fire, drinking plenty of coffee and pitching forward, head first. Here's the first of the season, a large oil, 30x30.