Chestnut Breasted Manikins drawn in Queensland, Australia. Pencil on toned wood panel, 12×12, work in progress.

With a solo show coming up in August at JRB Gallery, I’ve got my nose to the grindstone (ow) while burning the midnight oil.

The theme is a tropical one, an Explorer/Naturalist/Artist Goes To Exotic, Tangled Jungle Locales and Comes Back Alive With Sketchbooks Filled. It promises to be wild and fun. I’m posting a few beginnings here.

Black faced Antthrush, drawn at La Selva, Costa. Pencil on toned wood panel, 12×12, work in progress.

When I go into the forest, I spend many hours collecting images. I use sketchbooks and a camera. My favorite for serious drawing in the field is from Daniel Smith Art Supply, it’s the Robert Bateman sketchbook, spiral bound, to be used with a 4B Woodless Graphite pencil. I also carry along a Moleskine for notes, and a hard bound acid-free sketchbook from Borders Book Store, 81/2″ x 11′, in which I draw those rainforest trees en plein air with a rapidograph pen. These images and ideas come back home with me and get combined into paintings. Right now I’m doing small panels, gessoed (Daniel Smith’s Buff Titanium gesso) and toned with cobalt blue acrylic mixed with a little burnt and raw sienna. A really pretty cool neutral. These measure 12″x12″ and will be glazed with color and highlights. I’ll post them again as they progress. These will be the core of the show. This is also pretty much all I’ll be doing for the next 13 weeks. Other than planting trees.

White-whiskered Puffbird, Panama. Pencil on toned wood panel, 12×12, work in progress.