Category: wildlife

White Wolves and goats…

The Stare-Down ~ 6″ x  6″ oil on handcut hardboard panel
Bid Now in the Daily Paintworks auction! 
So…I’ve read that it is important to share things about yourself as an artist and a blogger…really, my life isn’t all that interesting, but if you’ve ever wondered, here are five totally useless things about me that you probably didn’t know:
  1. I curl my toes under when I sit. Yup, weird, eh? (Oh yeah, I’m Canadian too, can’t you tell!) I’ve done it for as long as I can remember. I have big calluses on all of my toe-knuckles…Attractive, isn’t it?
  2. I chew the inside of my cheek when I’m nervous, bored, thinking…well, for any reason, really. It’s a habit I’m trying really hard to break, because it makes me really ugly, but it’s not working. See! I’m chewing it right now! Sigh:(
  3. The sound I hate most in the world is when a musician slides their finger down the string and their nail hits it and it makes…THAT SOUND! I just got jeebed out thinking about it…(shudder)
  4. My most favourite snack in the world is popcorn with coconut oil and curry powder. I sometimes eat it for lunch. Yum…I think I’ll go make some. I’m hungry.
  5. And finally, number five…I was a total dork in school. I mean the dorky dork. No friends, chubby with inch and a half curly hair…can you say mini fro?!, and I smelled like goats…I had to milk them before school. Not a pretty picture, really. 

Well, I hope that you all still like me after that brutal confessional. If you don’t, at least I hope you still like my art!

So bye until next time…when I talk about the consequences of goat milking on teenage developement…

by Categories: animal portrait, arctic wolf, blue eyed wolf, white on white, white wolf, wildlife, wildlife painting, wolf portrait Leave a comment

BoldBrush Painting Competition Entry- Owl in the Mist

                                  Owl in the Mist ~ 18″ X 36″ oil on canvas  $1650.00

I’ve entered this one in the November Bold Brush Competition. If you like it, follow this link here and click on the LIKE button. (This only works if you’re a facebook member) It’ll help me get a bit more exposure, and possibly get in the FAV 15%…Thanks!

by Categories: african wildlife, atmosphere, atmospheric painting, chilcotin, great horned owl, mist, owl, raptor, wildlife, wildlife art, wildlife paintings 3 Comments

Down by the Sea

Down by the Sea 4″ x 6″ watercolor pen and ink
I liked my little sand dollar so much, that I decided to do a little series of seaside themed cards. I think I’ll turn them into a set of notecards soon. (Did I mention that already? Probably, lol!) I’m suffering from dementia in my 30’s!! Man…does the brain ever recover from bearing children?
Anyways…it’s refreshing to go back to the basics every once in a while, and not take my art so damn seriously! I’m enjoying these little guys, and I love the ocean…so I’ll keep ya posted.
Cheers!

by Categories: blue starfish, ocean, ocean foam, seascape, seashell, seashore, seaside, starfish, watercolor pen and ink starfish, waves, wildlife 2 Comments

Serenity — Mute Swan on pond

Serenity — 6″ x 8″ oil on canvas  
for sale on ebay tomorrow (Sun, May 29, 6:00pm PST)
Here’s a new daily painting I finished yesterday. I have to graciously thank “scalespeeder” on flickr for his generous permission to use his photo. I was very attracted to the drama of the backlight glistening through the wings of the swan, and the perfect reflection.  I saw many mute swans in my travels in Ireland, but none of my photos were this “painting worthy.”  
It was a fun little painting to do. I have limited edition, archival giclee prints on museum quality paper for sale as well. Drop me a line if you’re interested.
by Categories: animal painting, bird painting, swan, wildlife, wildlife paintings 5 Comments

Serenity – painting a day

Serenity oil on panel 6″x6″  For sale on ebay April 3-10 
SOLD

Hi all, not much to say today, I’m actually on my way out the door, but I wanted to share. I’m really happy with the way this turned out so I was excited to post it. 
The link is active now, so check it out if you’re interested.
Cheers!
Tahirih
by Categories: bird, daily painting, graceful, Ireland, painting a day, serene, swan, wilderness lakes, wildlife 10 Comments

Grizzly Bear in the River

                                 Grizzly  8″x10″ graphite on bristol  $150.00

Soon to be framed, and on display for sale at the Bella Coola Valley Inn Gallery. Framed Price, $200.00.

The Bella Coola Valley, where I live is one of the last wild places on earth. The population is tiny…we have about 1800 people in a stretch of about 60 km, the valley is narrow, lined with glacier fed creeks, and streams filled with salmon, so it is also one of the prime locations for spotting grizzly bears in the wild. While most people on the planet can only hope to see these amazing creatures in the zoo, I have to shuttle my kids inside while they plunder the fruit on my fruit trees and lumber nonchalantly through our yard. People come from all over the world to get a chance to see one. In fact, today I have the great fortune to go on a river drift with my boss, Fraser Koreluk, who owns Coast Mountain Lodge and Kynoch adventures here in Bella Coola. They offer deluxe accommodation, and outdoor adventures, such as eco-tours and Bear viewing tours. I hope we see bears today, so I can get some more reference photos to paint from.

Framing Options
unframed $150.00 framed $200.00

by Categories: accommodation, bear, Bella Coola, eco-tourism, grizzly bears, wildlife, wildlife art Leave a comment

Grizzly Bear Sow and Cubs painting demo

I only decided to make this a demo at this stage…sorry, I didn’t get an earlier pic! But this is only about 40 minutes in. The canvas is only 9″x 12″. I didn’t draw or grid this one at all.  I just eyeballed the main shapes and distances with reference marks, filling in the darkest darks and a vague outline with a rough underpainting of burnt umber thinned with 1/2 mineral spirits and 1/2 walnut oil. I like walnut oil because it doesn’t stink like linseed, and from what I’ve read, it’s more stable and non-yellowing. I did a thin coat of burnt umber mixed with a touch of payne’s grey for the mother’s undercoat, which shows through most of her light overcoat. The cubs have a bit of ultramarine blue mixed with that, as they appeared to be greyer, with less red in their coats. The overcoat on the mom is mostly yellow ochre with a bit of burnt umber and white, with touches of burnt sienna for the redder markings.  The black for her eyes and nose is burnt umber and ultramarine blue, which makes a great black. Much less flat than tube black, which I don’t like to use at all, other than for getting some interesting greys.  I’ve started to wash in the background with a half medium half paint mix of burnt umber, paynes grey, and white, with a bit of terre verte.                                                                                                                

This second stage is at about two hours. I’ve refined Mom’s fur a bit, adding some darker shadows, and I’ve finished off the cub on the ground and started on the cub on her back. The cubs have a different texture and color of fur, so I’m mixing a bit more blue to the burnt umber, yellow ochre and white mix, to get a greyer color. They’re also fuzzy, so I’m using a dabbing technique to capture the look of their fluff. I’ve refined the background as well, trying to get the look of the tide flat’s wet muddy, sand. 


   Patience 9″ x 12″ oil on canvas  $250.00

And Voila! Finished, in about 3 and a half hours. This one will be for sale at the Bella Coola Valley Inn Gallery, as soon as the paint is dry…probably Friday. Thank you so much to Roy Tennant at www.freelargephotos.com for the reference. Cheers!

by Categories: cubs, grizzly bear, grizzly sow and cubs, mother and child, oil painting, tide flats, wildlife, wildlife art Leave a comment

The Guardian

The Guardian 20″x24″ acrylic on canvas

This painting is somewhat of a companion piece to an older painting of mine, called “The Sentinel”. I’d envisioned it after seeing an eagle on a piling at the wharf, and I liked the vertical, powerful, format. It certainly seemed to give the eagle some authority. The village where I live is predominantly native, and it seemed fitting to insert a totem pole, and the mist is a common feature of our coastal rainforest.
I hope you like it!
Cheers
by Categories: animals, bald eagle, west coast native, wildlife Leave a comment