ABOUT THIS PAINTING: 
This is an original oil painting on a 9 x 12 canvas wrapped MDF panel
 
This particular painting has a funny story. I paint the ducks behind my house a lot. They're so used to me they don't bother to move when they see me. The other day this male and female were in the biggest fight I've ever seen, I thought she was going to murder him. I don't know what he did but it must've been bad. All day he was trying to make up and she wasn't having it. Then late in the day I looked out and I caught this moment. She is above, the male mottled ducks have the slightly brighter yellow beaks. she was holding his head tightly under her beak and for the first time all day his eyes were relaxed. I grabbed my easel and sketched this as fast as I could. I wanted the energy, just the essence of the moment. I got photos too. It's all a study for what will be a larger painting some day. These ducks are such characters, they're a constant source of inspiration.
 
These little paintings are my favorite things to work on. Sometimes they're studies for larger paintings, sometimes they're just easier to carry when plein air painting. The daily painting movement was started by online artists 20 years ago to help with their painting practice, but do you really need a reason to want to paint these pint-sized paintings? I say no.