Study of the Whole Sink

Now stepping back...

My family has asked if I'm moving my studio into the bathroom!


(These are three separate studies, not a progress sequence.)

#8 Pigeon Study with Cloud

10" x 8" Oil on linen mounted on panel


For Mother's Day my sons surprised me with their own pigeon art.   My youngest made a sculpture with newspaper, masking tape, wire and paint. He signed his name on the tag around his ankle. I love everything about it. Just look at those feet and the little bits of color on his neck.

My oldest, in the thick of a stomach bug, made an origami pigeon and a card inspired by the pigeon that got into my paints. I love the little scratch painting she's doing. We renamed her Picasso (we use to call her 58, her tag number). She still has some paint on her breast feathers.

#7 Study: Two Looks of Buster

5" x 7" Oil on gessoed paper

This is our oldest pigeon, Buster.  As he has aged his coloring has gotten much darker and his beak now has a tiny hook at the end. He always looks a little surly to me.  The right look is a little odd but I kind of like it.  My son said it looked like two pigeons were looking in a window at us.

These were my preliminary sketches-

#6 Pigeon Study

6 1/2 " x 3 3/4" Oil on linen mounted on panel

I read that they have clocked a racing pigeon at 92.5 mph!  We don't race our pigeons, we just raise and care for them as pets. I originally wanted to start a carrier pigeon club for kids where participating families would trade pigeons then send them off to fly home with a message. Imagine getting a message from a friend via pigeon! I think it would be amazing but it's a hard sell---it's work and commitment to care for pigeons. I haven't found another family up for the adventure yet. So for now, we're content to have them bobbing about our yard, with watching them take baths and with hearing their coo's throughout the day.

#5 Portrait Study of a Pigeon

4 1/2" x 4 1/2" Oil on linen mounted on panel

In the previous post, I liked the way I painted the back pigeon more than the front one. So today I really tried to focus on suggestive marks rather than detailed.  Before I started painting, I drew several sketches and I think it helped me get the tight rendering need out of my system.

These are my preliminary sketches done in pastel. The bottom left is the last of the four I did and the one I decided to base my painting on.