In the studio with artist, photographer and instructor Robert Louis Caldwell

I apologize for the delay in this posting but I have been under the weather (hopefully I'll be back in good form for the holiday). Here's a look at the latest piece I'm working on. Best wishes to you for a great holiday. I'll talk to you in 2008!

The blue heron painting is toned and drying. It should be ready by Friday for some color. I am also working on two more paintings and hopefully by Friday I can post at least one of them.

Well, the blue heron piece is ready for paint. I have finished the drawing on the canvas and can't wait to start. The painting is large (for me), 32" x 48", and will take me awhile to finish, but I hope to have it completed in time for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. Now I am off to Gallery Jamel in Waldorf, Maryland, for the Robert Bateman show tonight. This is supposed to be his largest show ever and I am very eager to get up there and see some of his work in person. For information on the show, visit http://www.galleryjamel.com/

Well, I am back from my research/reference trip to Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks, NC. I had a great time and have come back with roughly 950 reference photos. Of course, half of those are probably no good but I think that I have enough to keep me going until spring. The trip started off with a smile. Any of you who go down to the Outer Banks knows that inevitably there will be that person who tries to drive on the beach in a car. I turned off Route 12 onto the beach ramp to Oregon Inlet and what do I see in front of me but a little Mazda Miata dug down to its frame with two people standing outside the car looking at it as if they can't figure out how this happened. So of course I drove up and said, "What on earth where you thinking!" Neither of us had a tow rope but the gentleman had a 100-foot extension cord. Yes, indeed, I pulled out the car with an extension cord. The trip was off to a great start. After getting some reference shots at Oregon I...