I’m applying (for the third time; I’m nothing if not persistent and it does pay off in the end) for a major juried show which requires work 9×12″ and smaller. So that’s what I was doing last week and this week- four to six small paintings that will form a decent, cohesive body of work. I leave for the Artists for Conservation “Art of Conservation” show opening weekend next Wednesday, so the clock is ticking.  For those of you following The Big Argali Painting, I’ve got the grid on the drawing and on the panel, but have had to put it aside until after I get back on the 28th.

My criteria for choosing reference for all of these small works was: #1 great light, #2 a mix of Mongolian and North American subjects and #3 a strong, simple composition.

Here are two that, I think, at least at the moment, are done. No spiffy titles yet.

Can’t remember for sure when or where I photographed the goose, but it’s painted from a print, so it was before 2004. I think it was on a trip to England.

The deer was photographed at the National Bison Reserve not too far from Missoula, Montana. Highly recommended for wildlife viewing.