Goose on the Water new Daily Oil Painting and eBay auction



Goose on the Water
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Oil Primed Linen Panel
5" x 7"
2013
Click here to bid in the eBay auction for this painting.

As a painter it's easy to get in a rut.  We find our favorite subjects, our preferred techniques, and we sometimes get comfortable with ourselves and our art.  It's understandable.  I mean, with the investment in materials and time and the difficulty we face with selling our work and trying to make a living, it can feel a little risky to jump out and constantly explore new subjects and push ourselves.  One of the things that I love about doing these small daily paintings is that it allows me the freedom to explore and try my hand at subjects I wouldn't normally think to paint.  This week alone I've painted a landscape, an old rusted truck, a clasic Plymouth car, and now this goose.  Not a bad week for someone who's normally a landscape artist.

In the past I'd never really found myself interested in wildlife, but recently I've developed a bit of a fascination birds.  There's a really nice horeshoe shaped pond at the apartments where I live and I often walk there and enjoy the view.  The play of light on the water and the strong rhythms of the towering pine trees that surround the pond delight me.  The only problem is this goose.  He's a foul tempered fowl, and often charges at the gate with his wings flapping.  As I walk around taking photos he sometimes follows close behind ready to nip at my heels.  I've taken lots of pictures of him too, and luckily on this morning he took to the water rather than my legs.

This small 5" x 7" oil painting was painted in about two hours.  I started with a pretty detailed pencil drawing, then began painting during my lunch break.  I worked in a few minutes here and there and then managed to paint the rippling water and reflections after school.  Water and reflections have always been a favorite of mine, and I'm pretty pleased with this quick rendition.  When it comes to water, I usually find the less I paint the better it looks.

Now it's time to get back to my small pochade box and a new daily painting.  Hmmm.....what will inspire me today?