RED TAIL HAWK, OAK TREES, TIPS FOR PLEIN AIR PAINTERS by TOM BROWN

Click HERE for this painting.

In the detail photo of this painting you can see a hawk circling above the oak trees, apparently looking for prey. I believe it was a red-tailed hawk. This beautiful bird spent a good deal of time circling the area as I painted the scene, and it finally disappeared downward in a lightning fast dive. That’s when I decided to add him to the painting. And it gave me the title for this painting, “SKY DIVER”.

A tip for artists: It pays to be prepared so that you can capture things like this in paintings. In my Plein Air Workshops I encourage my students to practice their color-mixing at home; not on location. And to pack light. I always take ONLY what I need, and I prefer equipment that can set up instantly. When the inspiration strikes I like to get right to it before I lose the “vision” of how I intend to capture a scene like this one.

Sometimes I want to do a painting like this on the spur of the moment. But often there isn’t a place to sit down to paint. So I’ve devised a hands-free painting kit that I can use without an easel, even when standing. A photo of this kit in action is shown below.

Nothing captures the moment like a painting done outdoors on the spot, working directly from Nature’s inspiration. It felt very rewarding to be able to capture this moment in an oil painting, and I was quite pleased with the results. I hope you like it too.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a mellow day.

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Questions? Email me at tombrownstudio@cox.net