Barnacle Geese Paintings
Paintings of barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis)
BARNACLE GEESE - WILDFOWL PAINTINGS
See how I develop a painting depicting a flock of barnacle geese as they come in to land. The previous pages show the sketches and compositional drawings.
The noise of a large barnacle geese flock just feeding is impressive, but the spectacle of a few thousand geese taking wing combined with the crescendo of sound is quite stunning.
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Barnacle Geese on the Solway Firth (Branta leucopsis)
OIL PAINTING DEMONSTRATION
Hopefully these photos of the developing painting offer a better insight into my working methods.
Illuminated in a patch of sun the striking black and white markings of a barnacle goose flock look great against a dark sky. This is the atmosphere that I'm striving for with this painting.
Once the panel is completely covered with paint it is easier to assess the overall effect.
Now that the painting is coming together I need to make some changes. Here I decided to further darken a corner of the sky.
The background was devoid of bird activity and I wanted to create a more bustling environment with further parties of geese moving about. The differences in scale has added depth to the composition.
Before committing possible improvements to the actual painting it can be helpful to try things out by painting on pieces of acetate laid over the surface.
The finished painting
Incoming Barnacle Geese
Oils 19 x 34 inches
Original Sold
Available as a print
Barnacle Geese Print
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Barnacle Geese Prints for Sale
The prints below depict barnacle geese. Prints depicting other species of goose can be found on the bird prints pages
Limited edition giclee print reproduced from an original oil painting
Prints are signed and numbered by the artist
The prints are on Somerset Velvet watercolour paper (100% cotton, acid free)
Barnacle Geese Facts
WHY BARNACLE GEESE WERE SO NAMED
The English name of this species, and the scientific name of the Brent Goose (B. bernicla) and the Goose Barnacle, come from the fable that Barnacle Geese were produced from barnacles, organisms that grow on timber exposed to salt water. This belief stemmed from the observation that these geese were never seen in summer, when they were supposedly developing underwater (they were actually breeding in remote Arctic regions). The barnacles and the geese shared similar black and white colours, plus a certain type of barnacle looked - with a bit of imagination - like a tiny black and white goose. The geese and the barnacles appeared in different seasons. Though the issue was controversial, it was an important part of medieval cuisine because it enabled Catholics to classify these geese as fish and therefore to eat their flesh during Lent.
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More about these geese via EXTERNAL LINKS
Barnacle Geese (Fact Sheet from the RSPB)
Barnacle Goose (BTOweb BirdFacts)
29 Toberargan Road, Pitlochry
Perthshire PH16 5HG
Telephone:
International +44 7925 549 002
UK 07925 549 002
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