Often the only time that I have for painting is on Fridays.  When it’s time to put the brush down, it can be hard to set it aside.  I have 4 or 5 hours for some good tunes from my headphones, some creative chit-chat with my studio mates, and a chance for the things in my head to come to life on canvas.

Today, I’m presenting you with my first  finished work of 2012.  It’s a bit of a self-portrait, inspired by a friend’s vacation photo of a flightless cormorant.  If you are not familiar with them, flightless cormorants live solely on the Galápagos Islands.  Their wings are too sparse, and their bodies too heavy, to fly away.

Here is my underpainting:

This is the work in progress:

And, finally, the finished piece. Flightless, by Heather Carr