Thomas Kero - Artist

14"x18" Oil on Canvas

I started this painting in 2011, but didn't finish it until 2021. It hung on a wall in the corner of the studio, pretty much forgotten. It is based on a picture I took at the top of the mountain in Bella Bella on a windy winter afternoon.


#2106-2

14"x18"
Oil on canvas
I have been working with this set of images for a couple of years. With this painting, I was attempting a more dramatic lighting. The cold wax medium gives more texture, and requires a quicker, more direct approach.

Although the title of this painting is "Big Raven", it's not quite true, as it is painted about actual size, which is to say, pretty big. This one is sitting on a cedar branch, with just a bit of blue sky peeking through the rolling clouds.

Oil on canvas, 

20"X24"

I have heard that ravens and crows not only have a language vast complexity, but they even have local dialects and accents. In this installment in my 'Raven on Hemlock' series, a huge raven was having a lengthy conversation with an unseen other.
Oil on canvas

18"x24"

A couple summers ago, I was camping with my kids at Gale Creek, a little sheltered bay that, at one time, housed a large Heiltsuk settlement. The mouth of the bay is blocked by little islets, only navigable at high tide. As the sun set, this bald eagle took his place, on one islet.
Oil on canvas

18"x 24"

16.01

This one is really a technical problem, as much as anything. How do you catch the light on feathers, when the feathers are black?
Oil on canvas

18"x 24"

14.03

Looking at this guy, I couldn't help noticing the geometrically angular forms--the verticality of the chest, the horizontality of the beak, and the 45 angle of the back, chest and abdomen.
Oil on canvas
11"x 14"
14.01

I was watching this guy for about twenty minutes. He kept jumping from side to side. The longer I watch these animals, the more I am impressed by their intelligence.
Oil on canvas board, 12"x16"

I was watching this raven late on the evening of a rainy day. Shortly before dark the sun broke through behind me, just catching the tree and the clouds to the east.
Oil on canvas. 12"x 16"

This was one of those spring mornings, when the heavily falling rain illuminates the distant passing sun.


Oil on canvas, 18"x 24"

In Bella Bella, crows and ravens are constant companions. They often stand on the power lines watching for danger and opportunity.

Oil on canvas, 18"x24" 2008

This is part of the view from my front window. I liked the way the bird, the wires, and the bare tree branches silhouette against the pale pink winter sunrise.

Oil on canvas, 18"x24"