ENDANGERED: Fine Art & Photography Contest 2019 Submission

This painting is a realistic portrayal of a piping plover on the beach, rendered in oil paint on a smooth tight weave linen on a masonite board. I prefer the harder surface of board for painting. I paint directly and used thin paint for the initial drawing of the bird, gradually building up paint while suggesting feathers and detail. This plover is painted wet in wet oil paint to keep a freshness of quality. Once the plover was nearly complete, I painted in the surroundings.

I used my photographs for reference for the piping plover, but worked primarily from memory and imagination for its surroundings. This allows me more freedom to concentrate on the overall impact of the painting. Since I am familiar with the subject matter, the images are quite realistic -- but my primary objective is not just accuracy but rather to communicate and share how I feel about what I am painting, to create a sense of time and space.

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