Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

The Bald Eagle has been birthed with the name “Spirit” he seems to be satisfied and I am pleased. This name represents my original intent and feels about the subject; I'm comfortable.

With some final changes, Wednesday Spirit will have his portrait professionally shot. This will allow the image to be printed approx 16x20. Should you be interested in a giclée of this image, the information will be posted in the next two weeks after we work with his printer next week.

The original is framed and ready for the fall juried season. Now he will have the opportunity to see what the jurors think about his Spirit.

Thanks again for staying with me on this journey. Would like to believe you found the trip interesting.

Enjoy what's left of summer vacation and the Olympics. School will start early in August for some kids. Time flies when you're having fun.

Stay cool and pray for rain to benefit our farmers and ranchers in the mid-west. I wish you each, good health, joy and prosperity. 

Spirit will be back in about two weeks to say "hello"

Mary Dove

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Day 12:  Good Friday evening. It looks as if this phase is finished. Now I live with the Big Boy, without a name, for the next 30 days to see if additional corrections are needed. My surprise from the start, because of my relationship with the characters of my artwork, I thought this was going to be one of my bigger mountains to climb.

Maybe because I have been thinking about him for 2 years, he let me take the lead and develop my concept without pushing on me. This means he agrees with my representation. Those of you who are writers understand what I am talking about when you say the character in the story come alive and take over. This is the way I experience my art be it a portrait of an animal, a landscape, a flower or a building.

This is a cooperative venture to be share with all those on the same page, understanding and feeling the intent of the artwork and subject. My greatest pleasure is when a connection is made with this person to enjoy the subject's communication and my creation has a loving home either as a gicée or by sharing the original piece of art.

Here is the end of the first phase. His frame will be ready this weekend; he will hang on the wall to be lived with; to see if both he and I are happy with the end results. Then he is ready to enter the juried shows circuit and the marketplace to be shared. Some collectors have their orders in for when he and I push the “Go” button. 

Thank you for staying with me on this journey. You’ve made the task more interesting by watching over my shoulder. This process is not play; it a concentrated thought and hours of work. Would like to believe you enjoyed the trip.

Again, we need a name so he can be birthed.

Have a wonderful cool summer. I wish for each, good health, joy and prosperity.

Mary Dove


Those new to this process; Day 1: was July 4th. If you do not go all the way back to the beginning from this point, on the side bar click the bottom 1st Bald Eagle title which will take you to the starting point for this finished portrait. Enjoy!

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Days 9-10-11:  this includes two short days and one better day of work. A good workday for me is 4 to 5 hours straight. I work on the painting when I find even a small block of time.

Think I am finished with the top of the head. Always tweak the beak a little; continued attention to the ends of the white feathers and the dark secondary feathers.

The process requires thought:  select design options; attention to and watching for the unexpected “looks good – stop - don’t touch that.” 

Is my original intent for the image being developed? Relate to and feel if the subject communicates with me. Does the attitude show character and personality; has something to say to it’s audience? Or, is it just a flat image on the board?

At this point the guy is still nameless. I feel he has the answer and is waiting to hear what you think. What does he express; what does he represent to you?

Moving towards the finish line; see you in two days. Enjoy the process. 

Mary Dove

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Day 7-8: This ended up being two short work days. Continued to work on the head, more rework on the beak and started to focus on the darker feathers.

Sometimes it's hard to see much change in the painting from day to day. Example, refining the ends of the feathers on the right side take time and patience plus the development of the dark feathers which are secondary to the painting. It's like watching grass grow. 

Keep thinking of a name. He is looking for something unique in a name, special to this space, time and year. Enjoy my travel through this experience. See you again in two days.

Mary Dove

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Day 6:  Good Saturday evening. Today was a monsoon rain day in Sedona. The rain made for a different, nice day; a very badly needed soft rain for this area.

The process is much the same: pushing and pulling on the different areas of the painting; working on Values (lights and darks); texture of the feathers, developing the communication of a strong identifiable attitude. This individual bird has a personality; my intent is to bring his personality alive in the painting.

The end of this road is paved with patience and persistence. You may need to go back to Day 5 to see subtle changes. Each day is one more step towards completing the story. Enjoy.  Think you for your interest in following this process. Have a wonderful weekend. Mary Dove

See you again in a couple of days. Today, did order the mat board, framers acrylic and frame for the finished painting. This was a positive step. 

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Day 5:  Today was more overall general work on the feathers, more layering buildup and spent time on the eyes – always touch the beak a little. Because of my layer application system, you almost need to go back to the day before to see progress. From now on you will wonder why it takes so long to create such a small change.

Well truth be said, sometime I am doing a “what if” to an area which take time to assimilate the effort into the status quo. Sometimes a small area is worked on for extended periods of time until it feels right.

My oil pastels are the size of your little finger; others are as large as the end of your thumb. My chosen challenge is to achieve detail with these tools. My fun is when you wonder, “How did she do that?” Enjoy.

See you again in a couple of days. Mary Dove

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Day 4:  This day was again focused on layering in the Values. Sometimes I select an area to start the development of extra detail.  Then I move to other areas of the painting so these areas are not forgotten.

When I turn my attention back to the focus of the day, I am most often surprised with what I find. By returning with a fresh eye, often I find the happy accidents that just need to be left alone. The best way to handle this process: when you start getting tired move to a different area. Or you may set yourself up for a major mistake or over working what would be a beautiful area.

Every day it seem to be a "work on the beak day."

Keep thinking about a name as the painting  develops. Most often the name makes the painting. When a piece goes to a juried show, the name can make a difference.

Enjoy the process. Will be back in about two days. Mary Dove

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Day 3.  The paint is starting to get past what Betty Carr calls the ugly stage. 

Now, you start to see the image merge from the background. This day, the plan is to bring up the color and structure of the white feathers. I am always mentally present with the painting watching for "happy" accidents (which means leave it alone and don't mess with it). When you keep this high degree of focus on the work, you know you've been engaged in hours of concentrated thought, most often forgetting to eat lunch.

See you with Day 4 in a couple of days. Sign up to follow the progress so you receive an email when the next image is posted. Then go to the blog. The image always looks better on the blog site because I design for this dark background. Have a fantastic week. Mary Dove


PS: Keep thinking about a name for this painting.

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Day 2: Spent time on developing the beak and the eyes; started to bring up the value of the white feathers. The process I use in oil pastels is layering. Sometimes a great deal of work will go into an area that seems not to change very much. As the process moves forward the texture of the board also creates a condition to be dealt with – the background board is not a smooth texture. The challenge become interesting as the color is built up. In this case the texture of the white feathers. You can see the rough texture of the board starting to show.

He needs a name.

I am lucky if I can get a good 4 to 5 hours of work completed on any given day. Most days I take however much time I have to focus on the project.

With the oil pastels, and the Arizona dry weather, the oils start drying out on the board and are no longer workable as I need to work over the previous layer. Between work scission, the mounting board is kept wrapped in plastic. The pastels are also kept in a plastic container.

End of work day 2. See you in a couple of days. Keep thinking about a  name for this guy. Take care. Mary Dove

Follow this Bald Eagle oil pastel to a finished painting.

Each summer a new animal or bird is selected for an oil pastel painting. 

Last summer the subject was a Young Desert Ram; won two awards.

Young Desert Ram

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Two summers ago the subject was a Red-tailed Hawk; also an award winner. 

Red-tail Hawk

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He needs a friend. A Bald Eagle would make for a good buddy. So, this painting has about two years of thought before the first stroke of color.

Day 1:  The first stage is where the subject is blocked in and under painted. 

The focus of my blog is Value. The selection of the subject and background color is the beginning of my value system for this painting; a high contrast painting because of the drama expressed by the subject.

In this first day, my guy is becoming a personality on the board. We are starting to communicate. We’ll see which of us will win in the “do it my way" game.

 Names for my painting usually arrive after the painting is finished. As this piece develops, suggested names are welcome.

June – BoldBrush Painting Competition

June 30th my entry was sent in to the BoldBrush monthly artist competition. Included is a link to the June entries. You will enjoy perusing all of the entries.

See June Bold Brush Painting Competition

The last time I looked my "Barred Owl" pen and ink drawing, is the first image

in the 2nd row.

Barred Owl

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“Barred Owl” pen and ink drawing was designed to maximize the use of negative space and still capture the attitude of the subject. This effect is a different expression of this beloved owl. My intent was accomplished. Enjoy!

The "Barred Owl" is also available as a limited edition lithograph.

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A question to ponder. Where did the month of June go? The summer is flying. Enjoy your July 4th.