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| "Twilight Moon Rising" Oil on Canvas panel 8x10" |
This hand rubbed woodcut is a fine art intaglio print of A Snowy Egret also known as a white heron. It can be found in shallow waterways and ponds throughout the Carolina Lowcountry.
Patient hunters, these beautiful birds can be seen stalking minnows and fiddlers crabs on their long stilt like legs.
In my woodcut painting, an egret stands among the tall marsh grass as tidal waters fill the area.
"Marsh Watch"
Image size: 12" x 10"
Paper size: 22"x 15"
Price: $225.00
This hand rubbed woodcut painting is an artists proof of a small series of hand pressed paintings on French Rives BFK paper.
A bright blue sky with cumulus clouds reflecting in a tidal marsh creek was the subject of today's plein air painting.
It's important to keep all the tools in my "artistic toolbox" sharp so I'm drawing and sketching today to study shapes and forms from nature.
Besides, it's relaxing and enjoyable.
"Reaching for the Marsh"
Charcoal and white pastel on paper
Drawing : 10.5" x 14"
Matted and Framed : 19 x 23.5"
Price: $150.00
In my plein air painting "Mossy Marsh Oak", I used a warm color on the painting surface to enrich my oil paint. The warm tone of the canvas adds contrast to the cool blues and greens in the landscape. It also gives impact to the highlights in the Live Oak, Spanish moss, and marsh.
The painting panel was prepared several days earlier and allowed to dry. 
Once on location, I lightly sketched the scene in charcoal on my painting surface.
Next, I worked over the sketch with thinned oil paint to establish the composition.
I then painted the horizon line, marsh and sky. The form of oak tree in the foreground was painted last, to build on the values of the sky and middle ground marsh.
As the afternoon sun began to set, I was able to see the last rays of the sun highlighting the marsh, creek and live oak. These highlights were added quickly by "etching" into the layer of oil paint revealing the warm tone of the panel.
I hope you like the result of "planned spontaneity" by using a pretoned canvas in this plein air painting of sunlight on a Mossy Marsh Oak.
There's a hint of fall in the Lowcountry this week. The weather is perfect for plein air painting in the marsh with a slight breeze and no bugs.
I started with a preliminary charcoal drawing of the marsh scene before painting. I often bring my sketch book to work out design issues in a composition. Drawing is a useful tool - it sharpens artistic observation and is a good "creative warm up" for painting.
Here's the final plein air painting of the marsh scene in oil. I've adjusted the composition to include the bend in the creek. This change leads the viewer's eye from the foreground around the bend of the creek into the marsh rather than off the page as in the earlier charcoal drawing. I've also lowered the horizon line to include more sky.
Painting is a "process" as well as a "product". Hope you like the result.
"Late Summer in the Marsh"
11"x 14"
Oil on cradled panel
I returned to the tidal creek at Poplar Grove I tried to paint last year. Click here to see that painting.
This time I decided to paint the creek on a misty morning rather than in the late afternoon sunlight.
The finished painting shows the creek filling with the incoming tide on a misty winter morning. I like the effect the mist and rain give to the marsh in the far distance. The gray light coming through the clouds makes the marsh grass and trees seem softer too.
I used my car's back hatch to keep dry while painting in the wet weather. 
Here's a photo of my canvas with some of the paint wiped down to the sienna colored under painting. This time out, I knew I'd have to focus first on painting the tidal water coming into the creek. This is a shallow creek and the water level changes very quickly.
Notice the change in the water level and the disappearing creek banks compared to the painting in this photo taken at the end of the painting session.
While I was painting , John Tarkany the owner of the land on the left side of the creek came by to chat. As a Landscape Architect, he has a special appreciation of the beauty of his creek side property.
I enjoyed a tour of the property with a lively discussion of its history and horticulture.
This creek has a special feel that has to be experienced to be appreciated.
I hope you can get a sense of the place from my painting "Misty Morning on the Creek".
"Misty Morning on the Creek"
Oil on canvas panel
Size: 11" x 14"
Price: $450.00
In the Fall, the full moon often causes unusually high tides in the Lowcountry. I spent the afternoon today painting this tidal effect by former rice fields now turned back into marshes.
A beautiful full moon flood tide lasted for much of the afternoon, making my attempt to capture this marsh scene easier than last time.
The painting began with a toned canvas panel on which I sketched the composition with burnt sienna oil paint.
Once I had completed this stage, I quickly painted in medium values of warm and cool local colors.
I completed the painting by adding 
highlights in the marsh grass and working on the reflections in the water of the foreground.
"Rice Fields at Flood Tide"
Oil on canvas panel
Dimensions: 11" x 14"
Sold Thank you.
Plein air painting on location is never more challenging than when trying to record rapidly changing weather conditions such as ebbing tidal water and the setting sun.
I started this creek side marsh painting in the afternoon with a quick charcoal reference sketch on a toned canvas about 3:00.
An hour later, I had laid in mid tones and was trying to refine my values in the sky and creek which were rapidly changing. Notice the dropping water level in the creek.
Soon the creek had run dry, the afternoon light faded, and I still had away to go with the painting. 
I like to finish plein air works "alla prima" (all at once) but I lost the light and tide this afternoon.
In today's race to paint the score is: Mother Nature "1" vs. Plein Air Painter "0".
I could finish the painting from my reference photos but the finished painting wouldn't be the same.
I'll return another day to paint faster and smarter. Time and Tide wait for no one...
To see more of my marsh paintings click here.
This view of a Lowcountry tidal creek
winding through marsh grass turning gold in the autumn light caught my eye as I searched for a painting location during the Oil Painter's of America's (OPA) "Great American Paint Out" at Poplar Grove this weekend.
Plein Air painters from all over the region 
including members of OPA, the Charleston Outdoor Painters Association, the Charleston Artist Guild, and the Community of I'On Artists gathered to paint in the beautiful fall weather at the 6,000 acre property of Poplar Grove.
Painting this tidal creek required working fast
to capture the ebbing tidal water and rapidly changing afternoon light. These conditions often create a painting that is looser and more expressive than work created in a studio environment.
The need to work quickly is one of the challenges that artists find both frustrating and rewarding about painting on location-"en plein air". Sometimes the effort to paint en plein air produces a fresh, exciting finished canvas. Sometimes a less finished but still useful color study or location sketch. Whatever the result, the experience of plein air painting on location in a natural setting, renews and expands an artist's skill.
"Autumn Gold Marsh"
Oil painting on canvas panel
11" x 14"
Price: $450.00
The Oil Painters of America (OPA) organized a plein air event this weekend at Poplar Grove Plantation near Charleston, SC as part of OPA's "Great American Paintout".
Local OPA member Sara Jane Reynolds 
invited regional artists including the Charleston Outdoor Painters Association , and the Charleston Artist Guild to paint with OPA members on this spectacular 6,000 acre Lowcountry Preserve.
The weather was perfect for plein air painting, sunny and mild with few bugs - a rare day in our semi tropical climate.
I took a break from my afternoon painting on a peaceful tidal creek to see who was painting where.
Here are a few of the painters I found painting at locations all over the 6,000 acres of property that make up Poplar Grove.
The covered dock on Rantowles Creek was a popular painting site.
Taking advantage of great views from every direction were painters Barrie Hinson, Ben Nita McAdam, Ann Merrill, Sally Reynolds, and Rick Reinert.
Sparky Howard, Property Manager of Poplar Grove takes notes 
while keeping things running smoothly as Sara Jane Reynolds and Ann Merrill enjoy the views of the creek.
Linda Hickman chose to paint an open marsh view including a creek side oak tree used as a "rookery" by herons in the evening.
in the shade of a group of trees. The afternoon light on a marsh vista and distant tree line made an interesting composition for her second painting of the afternoon.
Carol McGill was putting the finishing touches on her palette knife painting of Rantowles Creek at Bulow Boat Landing. Carol had created two plein air paintings of Poplar Grove that could be hung together as a set. She said a number of "Paint Out" artists had chosen to paint at the landing earlier in the day.
The Oil Painters of America SC "Great American Paint Out" plein air event
continues tomorrow with a morning paint out session followed by a reception from 11-1pm to meet the artists and view the artwork in the Poplar Grove Boat House.
The monoprint painting process provides a degree of spontaneity that often produces work with a loose, free flowing feel. The summer clouds in the sepia painting "Marsh Sky" are a good example of the loose handling of paint on the monoprint surface.
In this painting, the subject and artistic process combine to create an evocative impression of a traditional Lowcountry scene.
For more oil, plein air and woodcut marsh scenes click here.
"Marsh Sky"
Sepia Monoprint on Reeves BFK Paper
Image size: 17.5" x 24"
Matted size: 24" x 30"
Price: $250.00
"Moonlit Trawler"
Woodcut hand rubbed painting
on Oriental rice paper
Image size: 6" x 8"
Paper size: approx. 9" x 10"
Price: $125.00
The woodcut printed painting "Moonlit Trawler" is derived from the woodcut "Marsh Creek Trawler" which I posted yesterday.
Work on the water never stops day or night. I liked the mood of a trawler returning home safely on calm water in the moonlight.
"Marsh Creek Trawler"
Woodcut hand rubbed painting
on Oriental mulberry paper
Image size: 6" x 8"
Paper size: 9.5" x 11.5"
Price: $125.00
I hand cut this picture of a shrimp trawler in a marsh creek into a block of wood, then inked and transferred the painting by rubbing it onto thin oriental mulberry paper. The resulting woodcut print is a reverse of the design on the original woodcut block.
More of my trawler paintings may be seen by clicking this Link.
As I sketched and took reference pictures at the Robert Ashley Boat Landing 
in the fishing village of McClellanville, I enjoyed talking to researcher workers with the US Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Sea Turtle Project and the SC Dept. of Natural Resources Mink Restoration Project. Both projects are finding populations on the rebound this year. What great news.
Here is a picture of native wild minks on a mat of sea grass and driftwood. 
Minks live in the marshes of the Lowcountry where they build nests on floating mats of dead sea grass. They are highly susceptible to environmental toxins and have been a "species of concern" due to their dwindling numbers in the northern coastal areas of SC.
South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources researchers are monitoring the newly reintroduced population of wild minks in the Cape Romaine National Wildlife Refuge.
Pictured (l to r) are Clemson Grad student Michael Waller and tech Will Chaplin back at the landing after a day doing mink surveys.
They ask boaters in the CRNW Refuge to not disturb their survey equipment 
that has the pictured label attached.
US Fish and Wildlife Dept. BioTech Allan Dawson (center), Rebecca Gallagher (left), and Jerry Tupacz 
secure their boat after a day on Cape Island working on the USF&D Sea Turtle Project. They report they're finding more sea turtle nests this year (2008) than last year. If nests continue to be found at the present rate, there may be over 1,000 documented nests in 2008 compared to 800 nests found in 2007.
It was a busy day of painting trawlers and working on Jeremy Creek in the historic fishing village of McClellanville SC.
" Marsh Breeze"
Zinc plate etching
Image size: 4.5" x 6"
Paper size : 8.75" x 10"
Price: $50.00
To view all Live Oak artwork, click here.
The etching process used to create "Marsh Breeze" begins with a zinc metal plate covered with a tar like coating (a "ground") through which thin lines are cut with a diamond tipped stylus or other sharp tool. The plate is then put into an acid bath to etch or corrode the lines into the plate's surface.
The longer the plate stays in the acid bath, the deeper the lines. Deeper lines hold more ink, creating darker marks in the final artwork. This same process of coating the plate, drawing into the ground, and etching the marks is repeated numerous times to develop the final image for printing.
To print the artwork, the plate is coated with a thin layer of specially formulated "printing ink" which is wiped off, leaving ink only in the recessed lines. The "inked" plate is next placed between wool blankets and hand cranked through a press to transfer the artwork onto a dampened sheet of paper. The resulting artwork depends on the artist's use of ink, type of paper, pressing techniques and etching skill.
A well done etching is a combination of skill in drawing, processing the plate in numerous acid bathes, applying the ink, and printing techniques. It's a long process but worth the effort-an artistic image in the manner of old masters such as Rembrandt, Goya and Durer.
"Marsh Oak"
Zinc plate etching on buff paper
Image size: 4.5"x 6.75"
Paper size: 8.5"x 10.75"
Price: $75.00
The excitement and concern over the health of the Middleton Oak this past week has lead me to post artwork of Lowcountry live oak trees.
To see more artwork of marsh scenes click here.
Today's artwork uses finely etched lines to create a tonal representation of a stately live oak with Spanish moss gently swaying in the breeze.
To see more of my etched artwork, click Etchings here or in the art category list at the right of this page.
Here's my interpretation of a Lowcountry marsh scene hand carved into a birch wood panel. Portraying the vaporous clouds with the sharp marks of the carving knives and chisels was an interesting challenge.
The effect of both the carved marks and the black and white painting on oriental rice paper gives a popular subject a fresh, contemporary look.
"Marsh Sky"
Hand rubbed woodcut painting on oriental rice paper
Image dimensions: 12"h x 18"w
Paper dimensions: 15" h x 25.5"w
Price: $275.00
"Shrimp Shack on Geechee Dock, Shem Creek"
11" x 14"
oil on cradled panel
Price: $375.00
I spent the afternoon in the bushes painting this view of the buildings and trawlers at the Geechee dock on Shem Creek.
I liked the contrast of the red roof against the blue sky, which is slightly grey due to passing summer rain clouds.
Geechee culture in the Lowcountry developed from some of the same influences as the Gullah culture in the past. Calling this dock "the Geechee dock" refers to its use by local fisherman with roots in the Geechee culture.
Fresh shrimp and blue crabs caught locally by the fisherman on the trawlers are sold here daily.
