New Painting #2

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"Unfinished Stage 2"

I was able to squeeze in a few hours of painting last night. I am starting to really enjoy working on this. Over all, the orange color is too dark and saturated. This tends to happen when I work at night under my bright studio lights. I have learned to use this to my advantage during certain stages such as this one. Now that I have deep saturation of the fur in place I will do several transparentwashes of white and light yellow and add softness and dept to the next step. I also need to work on the rock and decide how it will 'meet' the water.

New Painting!

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"unfinished Red Fox painting"

Hello and welcome back. Hope every one had a great St Patrick's day weekend. I sure did. We were hit pretty hard with a snowstorm on Friday, large puffy flakes changed over to very granular ice that had the consistency of sugar. Got to love New England weather.

I started a new painting, this one is quite small, 11"x14". I have enjoyed water reflections and fur so much when I saw this image I wanted to paint it right away. Keep in mind this is early on in the painting and lots of refinement is still to come. Check back soon for updates of this and other paintings. I plan to take a slight break from photography to focus back on painting again for the next few months.
Bill

Weekend Fox

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A quick post for Monday. First I would like to mention that I have started a new painting. Also a fox. The idea of working on 2 or more paintings at once has worked well in the past year. This allows me to not only work more efficiently (not having to wait for paint to dry). This technique also allows me to keep fresh and not get 'stale' on one painting. I hope to have some mages of the new painting in the next few days.

A quick note: For you wine lovers I will be having a artshow/opening at Hopkins Vineyard in the scenic Litchfield Hills. Show will be July and August with an opening date to be determined. Stay tuned!

Finally I am leaving you with two parting shots. I was just headed back from an early morning hike on Saturday and spotted a fox in a lower field near my house. As I got closer I noticed what he was doing. A small group of mallards were nestled in waiting for the sun to rise and were about to become breakfast. Fortunately for them they spotted the fox as he made a bold approach and scared them off.

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who visits me here at williamkramer.com! Last month ( February) was the highest amount of traffic my site has ever seen! I have lots of new and exciting adventures planned for the spring and summer so please, keep checking in! I am off to Colorado today and hope to bring back some nice images and get some good boarding in!

I will leave you with a few shots of some Ring Necked Ducks that have been staying in a small stream in Bethel for the past 4 days. The are very attractive and take to flight as soon as you get anywhere near them!

Out for a Sunday Drive.

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Went for a nice drive on this cold Sunday morning and had some great action. I was very surprised to see a pair of Hooded Mergansers swimming in a small stream where running water was not frozen. Seems like this pair is bit early on the arrival. Maybe the unseasonably warm weather may have thrown them off. Also saw a few deer bedded down with one was actually sleeping with its eyes shut. A first for me. Finally, a very plump Pheasant sitting ona stone wall staring right at me!

Idaho Utah Trip

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Hello and thanks for stopping back. I just got back last night from a Western trip to Park City, Utah, then drove to Sun Valley Idaho. All of this was in the name of snow. Deep dry powder so deep you cant even walk in it. While I didn't get a chance to take as many photos as I would have liked, I did manage to squeeze off a few nice ones while snowboarding. If you ever get the chance to head West I highly suggest visiting these places! The image with the circular clouds is an interesting formation I have never seen back East called a Lenticular Cloud.
Have a great weekend and stop back soon. Headed to Colorado in less than a week!

In the News

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This feature ran today in the Housatonic Living, which is the arts and leisure section of the Brookfield Journal, The Bethel Beacon, The New Milford Times, The Litchfield Enquirer and The Kent Good Times Dispatch. Total circulation 58,400!

Cold Waxwings

Cedar Waxwing
(Bombycilla cedrorum) The Cedar Waxwing is the most specialized fruit-eating bird. This bird's primary foods are fleshy fruits that are high in sugar content. Like tropical birds with this diet, Cedar Waxwings are social all year long, they nest in loose clusters, and at times they wander widely in flocks in search of temporarily abundant sources of fruit. Because of their reliance on summer ripening fruit for feeding their hatchlings, they are among the latest birds to nest in North America.

It seems everytime I spot a Wax Wing it is either very high in the top of a tree or flying around so fast I can not get close enough for a good photo. Today, with very cold temperatures it seems like these were reluctant to go anywhere. I find these to be one of the most visually attractive birds we have around here. I was happy to get these photos mid winter when most of our birds have migrated south.

Blue Jays

Observation sketch from my Bird feeder

Although sometimes disliked because they chase smaller birds away from feeders, Blue Jays are among the handsomest of birds. They often bury seeds and acorns, and since many are never retrieved they are, in effect, tree planters. They regularly mob predators, and their raucous screaming makes it easy to locate a hawk or a roosting owl. Although seen all year, they are migratory and travel in large loose flocks in spring and fall. Birds from farther north replace local populations in winter.

description 12" (30 cm). Bright blue above with much white and black in the wings and tail; dingy white below; black facial markings; prominent crest.

Birth of a Painting #5

Its been a few weeks since the last post relating to the Birth of a Painting Series" click on a number below for previous stages from the recent past. The idea is to photograph the painting ever few hours so you can follow along . Looks like snow is coming tonight...and possibly Friday. Cant wait. Any comments of feed back please feel free to email me through my Contact page
Cheers
Bill
Click Below
#1 #2 #3 #4

Art Show Photos

Thanks for all the people who made it out to the show. I had a great time meeting new people and seeing many familiar faces. The paintings will continue to be hanging up until the 28th of February. So if you still want to have a peek and eat some great food please do so!
have a great week!

Art Show January 28th

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SNOW!!!!

Finally, January 19th, 2007 we got it. Snow. Although it was a light dusting, its beauty was exquisite. With batteries charged and the big lens attached I headed out into the dark grey sky hoping the sun would brighten up things enough to take some images.

First stop was one of my secret nature preserves where I have yet to see anyone in the morning and nature seems to go on with its routine as if the middle of a huge forest. In reality the preserve is is fairly small and surrounded by neighborhoods, roads, and train tracks. Although I did not see all that much the silence and stillness was truly remarkable.

I was surprised how long I had to look to find some deer. I did find 3 doe bedded in some very thick brambles. The were kind enough to let me take some pictures before heading off into the deeper forest.

Around noon I headed out again, this time looking for hawks. Yesterday I spotted what I thought was a Coopers Hawk around lunch time. As I approached to take a picture it took off. Seeing ten Red Tailed Hawks a day seems typical for me, but a Cooper is a different story. Noticing very different coloration and a red breast led me to believe that is what I saw. Today I headed back to the same area in Redding to see if by some small chance it may be hunting the same area. Sure enough, there it was, this time only about 20 fee off the ground on the edge of a drive way , as I pulled in and adjusted my light meter he posed. Confirmed, a Coopers Hawk. Interestingly I have learned that a Coopers Hawk was recently removed from the Threatened and Endangered Species List and the population has been increasing over the past few years. Click to images to enlarge

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend
Bill

Coyote in Connecticut

Although I have seen lots of visual sign that coyotes do live around here. I have never actually seen one alive in the wild in this part of the country. Previous photos of coyotes on my site were taken in Wyoming and Montana. As it goes sometimes no matter how prepared you try to be sometimes its just not enough. On my way into the office today I saw my first east coast coyote. I had a very short lens (55mm) and the lighting was terrible at best. Although these images are blurry as you can get I still felt this is an important moment for me to share. Enjoy!!

Three on One

Welcome back to the site. Temperatures have dipped back into the freezing range and most standing water has at least a thin sheet of ice on it. While out shooting this morning at a nature preserve in Danbury I came upon 3 swans making a lot of noise, at first I gave it no mind. But the noise and splashing continued for a few minutes so I decided to investigate. Once I got closer I realized that 3 swans were swimming in the only unfrozen water on the whole pond. This open water just happened to be at the front door of a beaver lodge and he didn't seem to happy to have neighbors so close by. Over and over the swans would chase the beaver under and then the beaver would pop back up and slam his tail down on the water sending a huge splash up in the air trying to send the swans away. It was over in a few more minutes, the beaver went back to working on the lodge. Very fun to see interaction between two very different animals.











Art show will be installed on Monday January 5th...details to follow VERY shortly.
Cheers
Bill

Happy Friday!

Last night I was happy to share this painting with its future owners. Jill and Frank came by the Studio to have a first look. The painting of Zelda is not complete but I felt it was a good point to share it for feed back. My main goals will be to develop a bit more muscle tone in the shoulders and legs. I am also going to refine several areas in the back ground such as the water and leaves. I have had a blast working on this so far. 14 different image references were used to create this composition.

Have a great weekend and stop back soon for a new Birth Of A Painting

Cheers
Bill

Winners Announced

Happy New Year, as promised, the winners of the Contest have been selected and notified. Congratulations to Scott G. in St Port Lucie, Florida who won the calendar. Grand prize winner Laura S. from Dillon, Colorado wins a print of any photo or painting off the site! Thanks to all who entered and keep coming back I plan to have regular contest through out the year
Cheers
Bill

Answer to Contest question:

A tree's roots, branches and twigs can endure freezing temperatures, but most leaves are not so tough. On a broadleaf tree -- say a maple or a birch -- the tender thin leaves, made up of cells filled with water sap, will freeze in winter. Any plant tissue unable to live through the winter must be sealed off and shed to ensure the tree's survival.

As sunlight decreases in autumn, the veins that carry sap into and out of a leaf gradually close. A layer of cells, called the separation layer, forms at the base of the leaf stem. When this layer is complete, the leaf is separated from the tissue that connected it to the branch, and it falls. Oak leaves are the exception. The separation layer never fully detaches the dead oak leaves, and they remain on the tree through winter.

Christmas Vacation...

Hello and welcome back, or if this is your first time here, thanks for visiting. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and was able to share time with their families and friends as I did.

I wanted to post a few photos taken over the past few days. Lots of hawk sightings around noon time, ( I took the whole week off from desk work so that I could paint, hike, take photos and do yoga) I was also able to get some close shots of a Great Blue Heron. It seems to be the same one from the previous post with the goose, he has been in the same spot a lot and takes his time before flying off giving me time to snap some pictures. For the doubters I took a photo of an oak tree with leaves still attached, a red tailed hawk flying off the branch. This is a reminder to enter my CONTEST. Winner will be announced January 1st.












Last but not least, how many deer can you count in this photo? Take a guess!











I will be painting all week and will have updated images for the Birth Of a Painting series. Also, I will possibly be able to post images of a Zelda, a private commission I have been working on for the past 3 days.

Cheers for now!
Bill

Barred Owl Sketch

Barred Owl

(Strix varia)

Average Height: 16-24 inches

Average Weight: 1 1/2-2 pounds

Wingspan: 3-4 feet

Lifespan: 10-15 years in wild, up to 30 years in captivity

Description: The Barred Owl is a large brown owl without "ear tufts." Adults have dark vertical streaking on the chest and belly and white underparts with brown barring in the neck. The Barred Owl has dark brown eyes.

Call: The most common sound of the Barred Owl is "hoo HOO hoo hoo, hoo HOO hoo hooaaahhhhh." This is often interpreted as "Who-cooks-for-you-- who-cooks-for-you-all?" Barred Owls have many vocalizations, however, and also include a "bark."

Range: Barred Owls are found throughout the Eastern and mid-western United States, as well as in the Northwestern states such as Washington and Oregon, and in Canada. It is a very common owl in Connecticut.

Habitat: Barred Owls prefer dense conifer or mixed coniferous and deciduous forests, wooded swamps and river valleys.

Diet: The diet of Barred Owls consists mostly of mice, but also includes squirrels, rabbits, smaller birds, crayfish, amphibians, reptiles and insects.

Source: http://www.sharon.audubon.org/

Birth of a Painting #4 and bonus**

Happy Monday...I had a chance to do a little painting this weekend. I worked on the 'wood pile barn' (need a name for it) and started a new painting of a friends dog Zelda. I am considering posting it as I paint it as well.
Although I went on several hikes, I didn't take too many pictures. This one of a Blue Heron and Canadian Goose was the best of the bunch. I took it on my way back from Jo's house on Chestnut Ridge Rood in Redding. Usually Blue herons wont let me get this close, but I was struggling with enough light to get proper sharpness and exposure. This one however seemed to have a unique feel to it. Cheers
Bill

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