1986 Woodduck .............

When my wife and I married in 1984, I knew she was a non stop painter.  Mostly she painted portraits at that time.  As a school teacher, I had my summer break each year and by the second summer, she had me painting along with her, in Minnesota.  We lived in a very small rustic cabin along Lake Pokegama, and the boys were probably 7 and 10 in age.  They were out and about and we sat at drawing tables and worked four or five hours day.  We sat in front of a bank of windows overlooking the lake rain or shine.

I painted this Woodduck in oils, just to see if I could pull it off. I had never painted any birds before this one.  I had found a small picture, 4 by 6 inches, to look at from an old National Geographic and I just started painting.  It is in actual size a 16 by 20 inch painting.  I never sold it and I am glad that I didn't. It is one of my favorite ducks and favorite paintings.  Some people get confused about the one leg but it was resting it's other flipper, tucking it under it's wing.

At the time I painted it, an artist, Robert Bateman, a very famous  Canadian wildlife artist, was doing so well in the print business.  He was painting so many different animals and birds. He was an inspiration to me and the background and foreground with plants, remind me that I was studying his  work, as they look like what you see in his paintings. He is 20 years older than be and is still painting today.

I haven't touched a paint brush for a few weeks now but I will be working on a mural with my wife soon as we want to get that accomplished by the end of May.