Purple Heron Oil Painting, Fallow Deer, Nueces River

My somewhat fanciful water bird, Purple Heron is posted on Etsy.

I have fun painting water birds - expanding and contracting shapes, playing with color. This little oil sketch is 7 inches wide by 5 inches tall and is available for $55.00. I'm working on a realistic painting of a heron at the moment. I'm planning to finish it this week.

detail:

Fallow Deer

I was out photographing with my friend Genie and we saw these fallow deer. What a beautiful animal! They were beside the road, having escaped whatever fencing they were in. They stayed close to each other and touched one another frequently. These two weren't very concerned with my vehicle and we got to watch them for some time. What a treat to find something so unexpected like this. But it seems that every time Genie and I go on a photo safari, we find something unexpected! It's fun seeing through each others eyes, we notice things so differently.

I looked them up and found this photograph of fallow deer with mature horns/antlers. Wikipedia calls them antlers and only the males have them. (I'm not sure which they are called, in reading I've found them referred to both ways.) What a magnificent animal! I would love to see some of these antlers.

We have many exotic animals in our area of Texas. I love it when our game camera catches them on our property. We've had elk, axis deer, and others come through. Occasionally they will stay a while, which we love!

Neuces River

This is one of my favorite spots along the West Prong of the Nueces. I photographed it late in May. The reflections are always great, the water clear, the landscape is interesting. This beautiful water flows through the Texas Hill County and is a vacation spot in many areas. You'll find great spots for camping, boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking,tubing, bird watching, and nature areas.

Here's the same spot photographed in Fall and below is my painting of the site.

Fall colors:

© Jean Levert Hood 2008, Nueces in Fall

You'll find my small watercolors and smallest oils in my Etsy store . Work on Etsy is priced from $10.00.

You can purchase my oil paintings and studies on my website .

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They're asking for a vacation. I'm not sure what to do. I'll keep you updated. Till next time!