Winter Night Paintings

On this Christmas day, I would like to share two small paintings, and the studies that went into their making.  Both are images of clear winter nights.  The first work features a white cottontail nestled safely into tall grasses.  In the sky behind it is the Big Dipper, the constellation comprised of the seven brightest stars of Ursa Major, also known as Great Bear.  Also, pictured on a far away hill is The Radio Tower at the End of Time, an icon that appears often in a separate series of mine called, Joseph and the Moon.

Silent Cottontail, Watercolor on Paper, 3.5 x 5", 2011

Below is the digital study I made for this work, as well as a page of thumbnail drawings from my sketchbook.

Study for Silent Cottontail, Digital, 2011

Thumbnail Sketches for Silent Cottontail, Graphite on Paper, 2011

The second winter night painting is of an old adobe mission style church upon a butte.  There is a light in the sky, and a stoic mountain in the distance.  I borrowed the general shape of the mountain from an old painting of Oregon’s Mt Hood, which is featured on a Powell’s Books gift card.  You can see it here.

Adobe Mission, 2.5 x 5", Watercolor on Paper, 2011

Pictured below is the original thumbnail sketch for this painting, as well as the digital study.  With each change in medium, all of these images have a different quality to them. Often, it can be a gratifying struggle, navigating the pieces of each picture that I like, in coming to a final image.

Thumbnail Sketch for Adobe Mission, Graphite on Paper, 2011

Study for Adobe Mission, Digital, 2011

To see more of my artwork, please visit MikeSchultzPaintings.com.