Ravens At The Pond

Ravens At The Pond.

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $140.

purchase HERE

Artist Note.

I have been sitting 

sketching the ravens

from inside the car

at this spot.

They vanish if I get out.

This is a local ponding 

area for the Pecan Factory. 

The Common Ravens 

stay year round in our area

and LOVE this particular

spot... even

 when there is no water!

I have seen up to 20

at one time, but

there are only 

about 8 ravens 

in this painting.

Gambels Quail

Quail - watercolor study.

Artist Note

The quail are all over the place

at the moment,

and they are the neatest birds to watch

with their

bobbing heads and perky steps.

Here are five on the rail of our deck -

there were 8 of them at one time. Fun!

They come for the water as well as the food.

Clever - the water bowl attaches to the rail as you can see.

They are friendly to the other birds at the feeders, 

but the Thrashers do have a bit of 

a dictator attitude and think they

 rule the deck.

I sit and sketch from
inside the window.
pencil and watercolor
They can't see me
due to the reflection of the sky
on the glass..

Quail lay their eggs in a shallow 

depression in the ground. One a day.

They may line it with dead leaves or grass.

No full nest of twigs etc.,

I have seen where they surrounded the eggs 

with stones or lumpy dirt to prevent them 

rolling away. Clever and protective.

I found their their eggs under

a bush in a plant-pot one year

These are those which didn't hatch

out of 14 last year, I love the markings

and have not done a full painting 

of them - yet!

It will soon will be hatching time

I can't wait to see the babies

running in a line behind

mom and dad

When a Friend Combines Art Forms

I love it when a friend pushes

the limits and comes up with

something new.

In this case, my friend 

Lisa Graham has achieved just that.

Do yourself a favor and click

on this link.

      

Video and Painting Steps here

Lisa generously shares her journey

from inspiration to completion.

I find it interesting that Lisa 

places the video first

on her post

and the finished painting last.

Does that mean video 

will become more important

than the painting?

Only time will tell.

We are fortunate to be watching 

the creative

journey of this artist.

Lisa is a retired RN (young)

and a full time professional artist.

She is a story teller with 

her art and I have followed her blog

for a few years. Always sensing

something very deep and real

about her work, and this latest

venture proves what a true

artist she is... to her very toes!

American Goldfinch

Goldfinch Demo

8x6" oil on canvas panel NFS
Still thinking about it!

Artist Note.

Friday's class asked for a demo 

to see how I painted a bird.

I painted this from a photo.
I feel some little areas still
need a-tweakin'

The main points
of the demo
were focused on
how to handle the edges
on this light-colored,
softly feathered friend.
Nothing crisp going on here!

I started by painting
the bird's shape with
yellow paint adding the colors
of the background
around it - blending
into the form - 

Wet into wet.
It was easy for them all
to  see the
colors becoming
"friends of their
neighbors."

Full quote by Marc Chagall

All colors are the  friends 
of their neighbors
 and lovers of their opposites

Cactus Wrens

Cactus Wrens

6x8in oil on canvas panel NFS

Artist Note.

I decided to keep this one.

The Cactus Wren is a 

favorite of 

mine. 

Hard to spot with their 

very effective camouflage

markings when they are

in the desert and nest.

Did you know they mate for life?

Their beak is long for a reason,

they can be quite aggressive,

but the ones I have visit me

are models

of decorum with the other birds

at the feeders.

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

Look what I will be wearing.

A gift from a good friend.

She knows I love fun socks.

Thank you, Gail!

Ducklings.

Ducklings

8x6in oil on canvas panel  $140.SOLD

Artist Note.

This is from a photo 

I took in April last year.

Such a sweet scene.

At first

I was attracted

to the reflections 

more than the ducks, 

and then

 the ducklings

came along  and my heart 

did a little bump of

pleasure. 

I took the photos 

thinking that as a painting

it would be too much 

on the sentimental side.

BUT

today I needed a bit of the

'gooey" area of my heart

pampered...

and as I am painting birds

at the moment

I went looking for the photos.

Guess what? Cute

and sweet works...

I ended the day 

more relaxed

than when I started.

For The birds!

For The Birds

6x6in oil on canvas panel SOLD

Artist Note

I was sitting on the patio 

at a local cafe 

and one of these little guys
came right on up to me

and took food right
out of my hand.

Talk about socialized...
and a bit cheeky!

All MINE!

All MINE!

6x6in oil on canvas panel SOLD

Artist Note.

I may prefer to paint nests but

I have loads of bird pics

and sketches.

I find them totally fascinating

and can watch them for hours,

Anyone out there relate?

I find crows are great to paint 

and somewhat easier too

because of their strong

shape and color. 

This guy is scurrying 

away with his treasure

but, look who is watching him...

Yep, he didn't have it for long!

I have been trying to work 

on a painting of the

American Goldfinch 

I see at my feeders,

but the painting got 

looking too much 

like a greeting card.

Not what I wanted so I

kept scraping it off.

Got a great abstract 

out of it though!

I am going to keep trying.

All my 

American Goldfinch

disappeared overnight.

last weekend - it seems too soon.

(they only winter here)

Wouldn't you know it ...

they left the very day

after I paid big bucks for

a nice quality bag of

 Nyger seed.

sigh.

.

Peonies & Strawberries

Peonies & Strawberries

8x6in oil on canvas panel $140. SOLD

Artist Note.

Hot house peonies - 

a gift! 

In a vase my mother made.

Loved painting it.

Did another in watercolor too.

I have a workshop 

coming up here in 

Las cruces, NM.

June 7-9 with a 

wrap up morning on the 10th

Contact me if you are interested.

I can promise a fun, 

productive workshop

with lots of individual

attention.

I was honored by a request from

Marcela Strasdas to 

show my tip of using 

a piece of glass to test out

any changes.

I did a step by step of an 

Santa Fe adobe building

see link

Julie's post on glass

Marcela wrote a great post 

with clear photo steps

which I think showed 

the advantages clearer 

than my post did...

so hope you follow the link

to her version.

Visit blog HERE