This is a painting that I’ve been trying to get done for quite a while. Like many paintings, as soon as they’re finished, I haven’t yet got the distance to know how I feel about them.
That comes with time. Some of my favourite pieces only became so weeks or months after their completion.
For the Bear book I’m working on, I wanted to include the grayscale value study I had done earlier, but got it into my head that I should finish it. But honestly, I don’t yet know if I like the finished piece more than the sketch. It’s more detailed, of course, but I get far too invested in these paintings.
When I spend so much time in the details, the personality waxes and wanes and I no longer have a good perspective on them. It’s kind of like repeating a word over and over again to the point where it doesn’t sound right anymore.
And because you won’t find anybody more critical of my own work than me, there comes a time in a lot of paintings where I just feel it looks like garbage, there’s no saving it, and my best artwork is long behind me.
I am not fishing for compliments or extending an invitation to a pity party. This nasty distortion of perception and need to trash our own work seems to be something many artists share.
Early last week, I finally finished three separate dog portraits for a commission client, easily one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever done, which was unexpected. I’ll write about the lessons learned from those commissions in a later post.
I figured getting back to this painting of Skoki would be a nice breather and reset. But this book deadline is very close and that ticking clock is getting louder. And that siphons a lot of the enjoyment away from the work.
I had planned on recording more of it and publishing a video as well. We all consume a lot of video, rapidly scrolling through our feeds, but unless you record your own, you really don’t know the labour involved in writing, recording and editing each one. I just haven’t the time right now.
I have one more painting in progress that I want to finish for the book, and I’m going to try to record some of that, but I still have a lot of writing to do. I know what each topic is and where it goes. I just need to find the time to write it.
And though the layout is mostly done, I need to translate it into InDesign, a program I have never used. But it’s an Adobe product (insert fist-shaking and cursing here), so at least I know how they do things. I don’t think the mechanics of a book layout are that complicated, but I’m about to find out.
When I finished this painting and showed it to Shonna, she said there was a lot going on in the bottom half, meaning it might be a better painting if I eliminated some of it.
My first thought was, “But I spent HOURS on that!”
However, setting ego aside, I cropped it to a closer version, something I can do because the full painting is 40 inches tall at print resolution, and she might be right. Though I’ll include the whole painting in the book, I’m now thinking that when I do a print, I might just use this version.It highlights the face and personality, which is the hallmark of my artwork.
What do you think? If you were going to buy a print of this painting, which version would you prefer? The full body painting or the close crop? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Regardless, another piece done, one more to go, and then I’ve got all the images I need or want for the Bear book.
But with all the rest of it, still miles to go before I sleep.
I’m happy to reveal this new painting of Berkley, a bear near and dear to my heart who lives at 
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of excursions to gather photo reference. Rather than spread it out over the summer, I decided to group several trips together while the venues were quieter and before school let out.
With all the photos I’ve taken the past few weeks, I have to get them weeded and sorted as soon as possible. If I don’t, they’ll sit in my “Photos to be Sorted” folder for far too long and become one more thing I need to get to.
When I’m sorting photos, the first thing I’m looking for is whether they’re in focus. If they don’t show crisp detail, I usually delete them.
The third thing is, does it make me feel something? If it makes me laugh, or I think it’s cute, sassy, or any number of emotions, that means there’s probably a painting there, or at least the potential.
If I keep every good shot, I’ve just got a folder full of the same kind of head-and-shoulders bald eagle photos taking up space.
So that’s a keeper.
There is one final category of photos I’ll keep, but won’t likely ever use for reference, and that’s the memory of the experience.
I always learn new things about the birds while talking to Colin and his knowledgeable staff. And frankly, they’ve spoiled me with some incredible animal encounters over the years. This trip was no different.
For example, later this week I’m heading out on a three-day road trip to gather more reference. To make that happen, I spent Saturday morning working on a commission, drew a cartoon that afternoon, drew three more cartoons Sunday, I have to finish my month-end invoicing early because I’ll be away Friday, wrote this post, sorted and edited last week’s photos, and prepared my camera and video equipment for the road.
I want to paint a rooster, donkey, pig, sheep, goat, turkey, and other barnyard standards. When I mentioned needing reference photos, people volunteered places they knew about in the area.
I came away with excellent reference for a Highland calf, a stunning rooster, and a very large turkey. That last one will be a challenge to make appealing because, frankly, turkeys aren’t attractive animals. I also got some photos of a couple of spring lambs.
The following day, the weather was still good, and since I was on a roll, I decided to visit another nearby venue that a couple of people at Expo had recommended. 
They’re only open for four hours on weekdays right now, but that proved to be more than enough time to get the photos I needed.
I came home with so many good reference shots. Most often, it’s the photos I wasn’t specifically looking for that later reveal themselves as worthwhile painting subjects. I got plenty of pictures of pigs, goats (and kids), sheep (and lambs), alpacas, llamas, a donkey, and another Highland cow.
Even though it feels like I’m having a hard time keeping my head above water with deadlines right now, I’m glad I made these reference trips a priority this year. Between the 
Add whatever I bring home from this week’s trip, and I should be set for quite a while. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop looking for critters when I get the chance, but when it’s time to start a new painting, I won’t be short on subjects. Of course, I already have several paintings in progress and a commission to finish first, so these new ideas will have to wait their turn.
Last week, I went up to Innisfail to deliver the first print and sticker order of the season to 
Many of these animals were orphaned, injured or unable to survive in the wild and would likely have been euthanized if the park hadn’t taken them in. I’ve also seen firsthand how much Serena and her staff care about them, not as attractions, but as animals they’ve invested years of their lives into caring for.
They talk about making noise on trails, travelling in groups, carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it. They explain proper food storage while camping, why people should stay in their vehicles if they see a bear on the highway, and why a fed bear is a dead bear.
Because she was so close, I only needed my phone camera and I think I got the shots I needed for the painting I have in mind. Honestly, there’s no other bear I want on the cover of that book. There’s something profoundly special about Berkley that I still can’t quite explain, so I keep trying to find and show it when I paint her.
I also got to photograph the new cubs at the park, and some of the reference I captured last week is among the best I’ve ever shot. Watching them climb and tumble around, I already see several possible paintings in those photos.
One aside to this whole experience. I’ve wanted to record more of these trips for 
I’ve got a few more trips planned over the next couple of weeks to gather reference for upcoming paintings. It would be easy to forego these excursions in favour of more time working at my desk, as catching up is still proving frustrating and impossible. But spring is one of the best times for taking pictures. The animals are active, the light is softer, and there are babies everywhere.