Wildlife & Nature Artist Diary

Bird and Flower painting

2009-06-27T17:06:00.004-04:00

I worked on the leaves of the irises today and a little bit on the chickadee. I think it is coming along pretty good so far.

New Painting update, ... Birds

2009-06-26T14:52:00.001-04:00

Here is an update on my newest painting. Things have been hectic around here so not painting as much as I should be.

Birds and Flowers

2009-06-20T12:08:00.005-04:00

This is my newest painting that I've started. It is of a blue bird, 2 goldfinch, a chickadee, a swallowtail, several irises and some buttercups along an old fence post. It appears that I may have 2 paintings picked up by a company for the spring of 2010 and they are interested in other works with birds and flowers. So I'm hoping that when I get this done, they will also want it too. I will keep the paintings and the copyrights on all my paintings, they will just be using the images for flags, windsocks, mats and mail box covers. I will still have the paintings for sale from my site. When this happens I will be also selling some of the products from my website. I'm working this painting a little bit different this time. After I got it drawn on my board, I then did a quick wash with acrylics. Now I will start to paint it with my water based oils. I'm hoping it will make the painting go a little quicker. I will update you as I go.

Drawing on an 11 x 14 gessoed board.

After I put my wash on the board.

I will continue with updates on this painting as soon as there is enough done on it to show you my work in progress.

A Walk in the Woods

2009-05-31T19:03:00.009-04:00

Since I don't have a painting to show you I thought I would invite you to tour our woods with us. We had a chilly but beautiful day here and the kids were home so we decided to take a nice walk in the woods. We live in the midst of the Allegheny National Forest so going for some great hikes are easy to do.

Terry and Niccho, Kristi, Hunter and Peete, and Terry and I climbed some rocks and went into some caves on the trail we were walking. (Tinker is with us, but you can't see her)

Here is Terry and Hunter walking around the base of one of the large rocks.

Terry and Niccho

Kristi and Peete

Peete holding up one of the rocks. :-)

Hunter taking a break.

Papa and Hunter coming out of one of the caves.

Kristi and Tinker looking into a cave.

Peete, Tinker, Papa, Kristi and Hunter near the cave.

Peete, Hunter and Tinker standing near the edge of one of the rocks we climbed.

Niccho taking a break.

Papa and Hunter standing in front of an odd shaped rock.

Walking along the path.

Papa in front of a cave.

Terry and Niccho looking at the view.

Rocks.

More rocks.

Kristi trying to come down a tight trail.

Terry and Hunter under one of the rock's overhangs.

Hunter (the toothless one) was getting tired so he hitched a ride on papa's shoulders.

This is just to show you what damage a porcupine can do. They will eat almost anything. Here is an aluminum sign they have gnawed on and have almost half the sign eaten. Well, that was the gist of our hike. The woods are beautiful, green and lush right now and a joy to walk through.

Gray Squirrel, miniature painting

2009-05-22T07:45:00.004-04:00

Here is my latest attempt at a miniature and my first in many many years of messing around with acrylics. The painting is 3.5 x 5 inches and the squirrel is about 2.5 inches. I think if I were going to put this in a show, he really should be a little smaller. But, all in all, this was good practice for me to work something so little. Next time, I hope to do smaller and better.

Bluebird update

2009-05-18T14:51:00.003-04:00

Just to let you know the chickadees won the battle for the bluebird house. They must of been relentless in their push for the house. I think they did let the bluebirds build most of the next though! Smart little buggers.
I went out and lifted the roof up and took this photo, there are 7 little eggs, and I think they are smaller than my thumbnail. Can't wait for them to hatch, will have to keep an eye on them and get pix of them growing. As long as I don't upset mama too much. I wonder where the bluebirds went?

Bluebirds "Home Sweet Home"

2009-05-12T14:52:00.007-04:00

I finally finished my bluebird painting today and also made a video of my work in progress. You can view it by clicking on this link. Video of Bluebird Painting which is on my Youtube web space. This is finished at a 9 x 12. It is an original oil painting of two bluebirds that took up residence in our bird house. This painting is for sale and will soon be on my website Wildlife and Nature Art with information for purchasing it. Thank you.

Game camera in our field

2009-05-06T09:53:00.013-04:00

I don't have much to show as far as progress in my painting so I thought I would show you what I get on our game camera that is in our back field. First you see whitetail deer, these are what are supposed to come in and enjoy our salt block and corn. The little doe that are coming in are so thin and ragged from such a long snowy cold winter we had. They have not yet started bringing their fawns in, maybe in a couple weeks they will start coming in to feed with their moms.

However, somehow the coons think we put it there for them. They are a nightly pest that come in and enjoy the deers' corn. The deer and coon are so used to each other that they will eat together. Evidently they feel no threat towards each other so they will tolerate the sharing of the food.
Look at the size of these coons, evidently we feed them well!! :-(

Also, the coons feel no threat from the little gray fox that comes around once in a while. Probably because he is bigger than the fox. I don't know if you can see it well but the fox is walking behind the salt block in the photo. ↓

As of late we've been seeing Wiley Coyote. I think he must smell the animals that are coming in to feed. I also think he is weary of the flash of the camera because he keeps his distance.↓

This morning I had quite a surprise when I downloaded my photos from yesterday. (The date is a day off as somehow I set it with the wrong date.) Anyways... this is the first black bear we've had come in this year. I think he is quite a large fellow!

We have had many curious visitors over the years that we have captured on our game camera. Fishers, gray fox, red tail hawks, ravens, porcupines, skunk, many different song birds, squirrels, dogs and cats. Here are some of my favorites from past years. The first one below is of a raven and hawk fighting. Actually the hawk won as the next photo that was on my camera after this photo was of the hawk sitting on the corn.

The next one is of a nice little buck that was coming in during the fall one year.

The last one is of buck fighting. I love this photo as I would never have been able to get photos like this if it weren't for my game camera.

I hope you enjoy my hodge podge of animals from my game camera.

Bluebirds

2009-04-28T08:38:00.003-04:00

Here is what I've got done on my bluebird painting so far. I have a base layer of all colors and now I will start putting in details and depth in the birds and house and will add more color to the background.

Eastern Bluebirds

2009-04-20T20:49:00.003-04:00

My internet server is back up and running again so I am able to upload some photos of our newest neighbors that moved in. This birdhouse is about 20 feet from my living room window so I am getting some great shots.
Here is the female bluebird,

Here is the male blue bird

And here is the little chickadee intruder that keeps trying to move in with them.

Needless to say the male bluebird chases him away every time he peeks his head into their new home. I've had the birdhouse up now for several years and this is the first we've had a family move in.

Ginger the little Dachshund

2009-04-08T10:12:00.004-04:00

Here is a little colored pencil sketch I did of a miniature dachshund for a gift. Her name is Ginger and she is about 6 months old when this pix was taken. It is small and after matting it I will frame it in about an 8 x 10 I think. Now off to clean my house.... geesh I hate house cleaning. The kids are coming up for supper tonight and my hubby will be home in about 5 hours. Will he be surprised to see the house all cleaned... that is if I get around to doing it. I keep telling him I need a wife!! :-)

Chipmunk

2009-03-31T21:56:00.008-04:00

I have finshed my luna moth and my woodpecker, I made subtle changes so they really don't show up much on a photo. I have however started another one, this is of a little chipmunk in an old log with flowers. This one has a lot to do to finish up but thought I would put it on here to show you what I've been working on. These little yellow flowers grow wild along the woods in our area but I don't know what their name is.

Luna Moth and Red Bellied Woodpecker

2009-03-23T22:05:00.014-04:00

I am finally back to working with my art. Neither of these are done yet, but they are done enough to show you what I am working on.

This luna moth is resting on an old dead tree with a fence insulator and rusty wire. I did this with colored pencil done on Dura-Lar. I still need to work on the moth, it needs to be softened and lightened a bit. This drawing is about a 6 1/2 x 6 1/2.

I am so excited about finding this Dura-Lar.... thanks to my friend Lesley (thank you, thank you, thank you).

I know I should finish one before starting another one, but I am having so much fun with working on this new paper that I started another one. Now I have 2 drawings that are "almost done".

This is my Red Bellied Woodpecker that is also a colored pencil on Dura-Lar. This one is an 8 x 10. Another friend of mine took this photo of woodpecker and let me use her image. Thank you Marilyn for doing so. We trade images as it works out for both of us.

This drawing is not done either. I still need ot work on the feathers, his belly needs softened and lightened a bit. The fungi also needs some touching up too.

If you like to work in colored pencil or graphite, the Dura-Lar is a great paper to work on. It is actually a film but works wonderful with pencils.

Now I must dicipline myself and finish both of these before I start another one.

Birds of Prey

2009-03-01T20:49:00.013-05:00

I had a wonderful opportunity to take great photos of some beautiful birds of prey. There is a man, Mark Baker, who has a bird of prey rehabilitation center to help injured birds. His goal is to rehabilitate them so they can be returned to the wild. Unfortunately some can never be released as their injuries are too great. These birds have a home with Mark and go to schools, bird shows, and other events where he can educate people about these beautiful birds and is a wonderful opportunity for people to see these birds up close, something most people never get the opportunity to do. I am hoping to be able to do some beautiful paintings from my photos.

The pretty boy is an American Kestrel.

A sweet little Screech Owl.

Here is a beautiful Northern Goshawk.

This is a Great Horned Owl, he has a bad eye and a broken wing that can not be fixed. He is the reason I went to take photos. I am going to do a painting of him for an up-coming show.

This is a Barred Owl, you can see he has a bad eye and can't be released back to the wild.

This is a photo of my son Terry, he had a great opportunity to hold a beautiful Red Tailed Hawk. Notice the leather gloves you have to wear in order to handle these birds. Their talons are razer sharp.

This is a Peregrine Falcon, he has part of his wing missing. But he is still beautiful.

Last but not least is a Northern Goshawk, another beautiful bird of prey.

A big thank you to Mark for a great day of taking photos of such beautiful birds.

Mia

2009-02-24T17:26:00.004-05:00

Here is a pet portrait of an Airedale Terrier I did as a commission for a young man to give to his grandparents for Christmas 2009.

This painting was done in a 9 x 12, in oil.

They were very pleased with the portrait.

Tinker Video

2009-02-19T14:27:00.004-05:00

Well, not much new art news on my end. I'm working towards a couple shows, but work is nothing that can be shown as yet. So to keep my site fresh, I thought I would tell another tale about Tinker. As a reminder, Tinker is my daughter's minpin that we are raising. We've been "blessed" with this little critter for over a year now in our home. I can not go anywhere in the house that she doesn't follow and bug me. She can't just sit quietly and let me do my thing, she has to make her presence known to me all the time. Ok, that isn't quite true, she does sleep at times, but if she isn't sleeping, eating or bugging my husband, then she wants my undivided attention. Here is a little clip where she wants me to talk to her. I'm ignoring her so she is "talking" to me. As you can see since I am ignoring her plea to talk to her she is at times pulling on my sweater and poking me with her nose. Oh what a dog!! BTW, it isn't that I enjoy ignoring her, but I love to hear her talk.

Updating Blog

2009-01-23T18:21:00.036-05:00

I was reminded by a good friend of mine that it is very important to keep my blog fresh for people to want to come and visit my site. So since I don't have any new paintings at the moment I will share our Tinker with you. She is a little min-pin that my daughter got from her neighbor. Because of her work schedule it just didn't work out with Tinker being home all day by herself. My daughter couldn't bare to give her away because she and our grandson were very attached to Tinker, so she brought her up to me and her dad. I was not ready for a new dog as I still wasn't over the loss of our little Mindy that we had for 17 1/2 years. We could not have asked for a better dog than she was for us. She could have been a poster dog for adopting dogs from the humane society or other pounds like that. She was the best.

Mindy with our grandson Hunter taken about 6 years ago.

Ok, now getting back to Tinker, she is definitely a high maintenance dog! She is sneaky, conniving and drains us of most of our energy.

She gets into the garbage.

Bad dog!! Bad bad dog!

Tinker hides, lying in wait underneath blankets so that when you go by her she can attack you with the cunning grace of a wolf.

Ok, maybe not quite like a wolf, but the attacks are swift and vicious and if she was bigger I'm sure she would go for the throat.

After the attack is over she needs to rest and regain her energy. It takes a lot out of her after she is done with her grueling attacks. Her favorite resting place is usually on one of her victims, she needs to make sure they know who is boss.

Tinker with papa (Terry)

Another picture with papa.

Tinker with our son Terry Jr.

She loves to sit on your shoulder while you watch tv. I think it makes her feel bigger.

Tinker also has a prissy side to her. She doesn't like to get her feet wet. So if it has rained she walks around on her front feet trying to keep as many feet dry as possible. I think if she knew how to hop on one leg, she would do that to keep as many dry as she can.

But snow, she loves the snow.

Coming out of one of Hunter's snow forts.

Tinker likes to sled ride, here she is with Peete.

Here is Tinker chasing Kristi.

We have to be careful when Tinker is out in the winter because if it is too cold her legs freeze up and she gets real stiff and needs to come in and get warm. So Kristi got her a jacket to wear if it is cold out.

Tinker... aka Miss Priss showing off her new coat for winter.

Tinker also loves our grandson Hunter, she will cuddle with him every chance she can.

Tinker and Hunter cuddling on the chair.

After a long day, Tinker loves to cuddle with Kristi when she takes a nap. After all she is her mommy.

So all in all, Tinker has wormed her way into our lives. She will never be a dog like Mindy, but she brings plenty of laughter and doggie love into our home once again. It is never boring with her around. When she goes home with Kristi and Hunter on Kristi's days off it is very quiet around our home and we look forward to her coming back to us.

Shetland Sheepdog Portrait - Buck

2008-11-18T22:02:00.006-05:00

This is the portrait that I finished of Buck, the Shetland Sheepdog. You can read more about Buck's portrait on my site at Shetland Sheepdog Portrait. Buck's portrait was commissioned work of art. This is the portrait that you can view through You Tube as it was being painted. Shetland Sheepdog Portrait Video, Step by Step

American Kestrel

2008-11-18T21:53:00.007-05:00

This is a 2.5 x 3.5 painting of an American Kestrel. This painting is for sale and can be seen on my personal website at Wildlife Paintings and Nature Art. I had a wonderful opportunity to take photos of many birds of prey that are being rehabilitated and cared for by the Hawkhideaway Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, owned by John and Mary Forness, located in Cuba, NY. John and Mary Forness and Mark Baker rehabilitate injured birds of prey to be released after they are well. They also care for birds that are not able to be released due to their injuries.

Ackley Swamp

2008-11-08T09:52:00.004-05:00

This is a painting I did for juried art show. To read more about this painting and see more upclose photos of the birds in the painting, you can go to my personal website page at Ackley Swamp Paradise . This painting is for sale.

Shetland Sheepdog Portrait Video

2008-11-08T09:43:00.006-05:00

This is a little video of my painting of a Shetland Sheepdog named Buck. It shows my painting from beginning to end. You can view the video in my You Tube site at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Hs0G-JwJo or you can view all my videos at http://www.youtube.com/JSchraderArt

OVAL National Wildlife Art Show

2008-10-15T20:17:00.000-04:00

Marilyn Marsh and I met up over the weekend of September 26, 27, and 28 in Henderson, Kentucky for the opening reception of the OVAL National Wildlife Art Show. Marilyn and I both had paintings accepted and thought it would be a great way for us to get together again. Behind us is Marilyn's painting "Eye of the Storm". Neither of us won an award but we had a great time looking at all the beautiful wildlife paintings from all over the US.

This is me with my painting titled "Goldfinch and Blue Morning Glories". After the show we went back to our motel and had a great time catching up from our last adventure together. The day after the show we went to Land Between the Lakes where we could view Bison and Elk roaming in a little prairie.

The following day we went to the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, IN.

Between the two places we took plenty of photos for future paintings.

Gray Squirrel and Pink Lady Slippers

2008-08-04T16:29:00.001-04:00

This gray squirrel was a regular visitor to my bird feeder this past winter. This painting has been sold.

Raven and Old Shovel Crow

2008-08-04T16:20:00.001-04:00

This is the latest painting I just finished. I have this shovel crow and thought he would look great in a painting so here he is! This painting is for sale and can be viewed on my personal site at Widlife Paintings and Nature Art

Elk Painting

2007-08-05T13:42:00.001-04:00

In the fall of 2006 we went to Yellowstone, what a beautiful place. This Elk in the Yellowstone Painting was done from memories of our trip.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting or want to read more about it you can go to Wildlife Paintings and Nature Art