American Realist Animal Paintings

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Besides having an affinity for ravens, artist Sally Adams shares her admiration for the band, Counting Crows. A combination of b...

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Artist Onelio Marrero displays a stunning koi pond in mesmerizing shades of deep blue and green. Part of his series of paintings exploring ponds, waterlilies,...

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Artist Emil Morhardt displays an impressionist portrait of three brown pelicans. The birds sun themselves in the Sea of Cortez against a subtle greenish-blue late afternoon sky. "I hadn't thought about pelicans having a 3D vision like hawks until I was looking over my photos and saw one of the birds staring straight at me," shares Emil. He references his photographs from a National Geographic Zodiac that the pelicans seemed curious about, allowing very close viewing.

About the Artist
Emil Morhardt is an acrylic painter from Santa Barbara, California who expresses his passion for birds through realistic acrylic paintings. He paints at home in a studio room that has large windows and a north-facing view of the mountains. He observes the animals from this window, watching roadrunners, foxes, bobcats, deer, and coyote run by. Surrounded by this wildlife, Emil paints bird portraits reminiscent of those by artist John James Audubon. He bases his paintings off hundreds of photographs he takes of birds in the wild and at wildlife recovery centers. Emil captures the freedom and inquisitiveness that birds display in the natural world. Before painting birds, he painted landscapes of San Francisco and the Eastern Sierra. Emil was raised in the high desert of California and learned to paint from his father, who was one of the early California watercolorists...

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"Considered symbols of luck, Koi fish are known for their tenacity to swim rushing streams and waterfalls until they reach their goal," says artist Candice Eisenfeld. "They are determined and they never give up. Symbolic in Buddhism, they represent courage and strength."

About the Artist
As an American exploring issues of identity, artist Candice Eisenfeld paints through the lens of the first American art movement, the Hudson River School. Rather than depicting a specific locale, Candice’s artwork evokes a sense of place. These "inner landscapes" are invented, and often reference photographs taken during travels in southern Appalachia and the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains. Whether real or imagined, her paintings are influenced by the Dutch Masters, Tonalists, and Chinese painting. Produced on a single wooden panel, the ethereal landscapes are often joined with segments of aqueous color fields which act as commentary for the landscapes, like the chorus in a Greek play. The crisp, hard edges separating the landscapes from the color fields command a sense of order in an otherwise fluid and painterly surface. With two or three sections of the panel competing for attention, the painting creates multiple focal points. Candice's art has been displayed in embassies in Namibia and Belarus, held in the collections of Norwest Bank and Northwest Airlines...

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"These two friends were at the Santa Fe rodeo grounds, early in the morning, just after they were fed," shares artist Heather Foster. "They were relaxed toget...

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The area in northwestern New Jersey where the artist lives has a large deer population. This painting is a scene revealing a portion of the yard in the home o...

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"The iconic powder-blue lifeguard tower with a patriotic flag waving, stands tall on the wide Southern California beach," describes artist John Jaster. A life...

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"Common Ravens are a friendly lot, hanging around in large groups at an abundant food source or pairing off to wander as a couple," ...

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Artist Pamela Hoke displays a monochromatic portrait of a highland cattle. She captures the serenity of a majestic yet gentle and b...

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A brown colt quenches its thirst from a pristine lotus pond in artist Guigen Zha's symbolic piece. Part of his Dreamland series high...

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Two geese turn to regard the viewer along the grassy bank of a quiet lake. "Growing up with my older sister, my mom would always dress us in the exact same clothes," shares Jo Galang. "With the same haircut and similar looks, people would always mistake us for twins since we were almost the same size and height. It was fun back then but as we grew up, we each evolved into our own distinct personalities."

About the Artist
Artist Jo Galang expresses a quiet nostalgia in her airy interpretations of the landscapes and waterways of the Pacific Northwest. Her soft oil paintings capture the meditative sounds of rivers and waterfalls flowing past her easel. During the summer, she spends as much time as possible outside creating plein air sketches and studying the light on the landscape. As a young art student in the Philippines, Jo was privileged to study with the renowned painter Danilo Dalena, who she says encouraged her to be the artist she is today. "I believe my art looks simple enough that people have no idea how much time I have spent working on it," she says. When she is not painting, Jo and her husband enjoy taking road trips, playing cards and finding creative ways to spend time with their granddaughter.

Words that describe this painting: animals, birds, Canada geese, geese, lake, landscape, nature, summer, water, waterfowl, grass, classical, wildlife, animals, classical, realism, representational, oil painting, green

Two Peas in a Pod...

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A delicate portrait of a Canada goose against a pastel backdrop. "Spending time alone in nature is something I take advantage of whenever possible," shares ar...

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When I walk along Santa Barbara beaches in winter, Marbled Godwits are the most common bird, often seen in herds, as in thi...