#408 Western Fence Lizard #408 Metal Print

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This my watercolor painting of a Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), which is a common lizard of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area. This particular lizard was in my backyard in Roseville, California. As the ventral abdomen of an adult is characteristically blue, it is also known as the blue-belly. Males defend their territory and try to attract females with head-bobbing and a push-up display that exposes the blue throat and ventral colors. Territories are ultimately defended by physical combat with other males.

These lizards like all reptiles are ectothermic (cold blooded) and need to sun themselves at every opportunity in prominent places like rocks and fence posts making them easy prey for birds and snakes; as a result the lizards have developed fast reflexes. Sceloporus occidentalis lives up to five or six years, but because of predators they typically live only one year.

In Califor...

My search to find my biological family was the genesis of my journey into the world of art. When I finally found my birth family, at the age of 40, I was plunged into a new and very different family. On one occasion while talking with the father I had never known, I discovered that my great uncle was the renowned watercolorist Dong Kingman. Fatefully discovering a cheap watercolor paint set, and intrigued by my relationship with Kingman, I wondered if I had inherited any of his talent. This lingering question spurred me into trying to paint. My first challenge was deciding what subjects I would paint. As a fan of Van Gogh, and knowing that he painted images from his day to day life: houses, fields, people working, I decided to do the...