Maple Bush Landscape Painting

This special request was a rather large painting I completed for a client. I don't normally take on commissions of this type but felt it was time to push the limits of my comfort zone and explore something other than animals and wildlife.

The reference photos used for this painting came from my own collection (main scene) as well as from the client (gentleman). The painting is a gift to commemorate the life of a special father and grandfather who enjoyed spending time at the maple bush.

"Sweet Memories"

pastel

23"x16"

 



Squirrel and Maple painting update

Humm, the background is seemingly taking forever to paint...it doesn't help that I've been busy again the past few days. Oh well, a little bit here, a little bit there and eventually it will be done. I just hope I don't give up and abandon this one too.

Red Squirrel painting composition-mock photograph

The latest mock image of what I am attempting next... again using soft pastels but this time on Hahnemule velour board instead of suede mat board.

I'm not sure how the busy scene will turn out...the dead leaves on the ground have already got my head spinning. I will most likely break down the painting in section using grids so that I don't loose myself in the repetitive detail of the leaves and the crevases of the bark. I will be adding a sap bucket to the maple tree to the left of the scene and remove the patch of snow under the squirrel that is on the sap bucket.

This mock scene is composed of about 4 different reference photographs; the squirrel photos were actually taken in my back yard. The idea came about when my family and I visited a local Maple Bush farm last Easter Monday. After thinking about the scene, I originaly was going to add a few chickadees but later decided that the red squirrels would be better because their larger size would make them more visible in this large scene.