Different Strokes

I love to keep learning about my chosen medium of watercolor. This book, Different Strokes-Watercolor by Naomi Tydeman, caught my eye not long ago. It is so vivid and colorful. And I liked the title!

The cover shows two interpretations of the same flower by two different artists. The same theme is carried throughout the book. It's fascinating.

I never tire of seeing how other artists interpret their subjects because every artist has a totally different perspective of anything you place in front of him or her. And no one way is right, nor is it wrong. Happily, every interpretation is what art is about: expressing one's own creative viewpoint and passion about a subject. I like this book because it celebrates this inclusiveness, while at the same time providing tons of helpful tips on technique and methods.

There are also several demonstrations of painting progressions - from drawings, initial stages, first washes, finished painting. Demonstrations include still lifes, landscapes, buildings, people, flowers. There are also chapters on basic color theory, composition, and watercolor technique. The book is geared for beginner watercolorists, but I think any artist would find it fun to peruse and learn from.

Happy painting!

Persimmon Heaven

I absolutely love persimmons of all kinds. They are the best fall fruits, in my opinion.

These three persimmons were ripening on my windowsill with the late fall sun slanting in through the windows - which were not very clean as you can see, but I liked how the sun created patterns on the dust and showed the flaws in the glass. I especially loved how the sun brought out such warm orange-red reflections on the white windowsill; and how the glass reflected the warm reds back.

Anyway, here's my salute to an inspired creation of nature.

The Hawk Has Landed

and is now finished. I'll bring him into Irelock Imaging on Monday, have him scanned, and then he'll fly over to my website as a new addition, along with another painting I finished a couple of weeks ago. (The scanned image will look tons better than this photo, as I don't have the right lighting.)

Whew! That was challenging but a lot of fun. I really grew to like this fellow as he appeared bit by bit. I hope you do too.

Meanwhile, hope you are enjoying your weekend. We had quite a bit of impressive thunder, lightning, and rain last night. I woke up to a world scrubbed clean and very alive with bird calls.

Hawk's Progress

Well, since the last post, I've finished one wing on this Ferruginous Hawk. It goes slowly, but am feeling good about my progress.

It is always an interesting and rewarding experience to paint something new. One of the side benefits to painting realistic representations is that I learn, yet again, how to see and observe differently than before: how feathers lay, how light filters through them, how the barbs of the feathers sit, how the amazing coloration -that may seem random at first - becomes a beautiful pattern.

Birds are fascinating to me, especially. They seem so reptilian in many ways. If you imagine them without feathers, you'd see plainly one of those fast-moving ancient dinosaurs that was so pesky in "Jurassic Park." Thankfully, the birds of our current world are not at all eager to eat us.

Speaking of dinosaurs, how about Sam, after bathing. Scary, huh?

Of Hawks and Brushes

In a previous post, I shared some images of eagles and an owl from my visit to Wildlife Images. There we also had the opportunity to see a Red-Tailed Hawk, a Ferruginous Hawk, and an Auger Buzzard. The owls shown to us were Barn Owl, Spotted Owl, and Great Horned Owl.

Here I’m showing a shot of a Red-Tailed Hawk. All the animals shown to us are simply magnificent. Being in their presence makes me want to save and protect any and all endangered animals everywhere. I know this isn’t possible, but I keep trying to think of ways to make some inroads, perhaps very small but at least moving in a positive direction.

Wildlife Images is doing what it can by caring for these animals that can no longer fly free, and by exposing them to the public. The education is successful because seeing these creatures inspires us to want to protect them. In turn, perhaps that respect and appreciation for nature we have gets passed on without words.

I just read an article in PsittaScene, published by the World Parrot Trust, about the current wild population of the Blue-throated Macaw in Bolivia. Only 80 individuals are known, though the number could be as high as 200. The article describes how a team of scientists and volunteers spent weeks, round-the-clock, observing and supplementing the diet of the baby hatchlings to reduce the mortality rate of this most-endangered macaw. Typically, only one of several babies survives each breeding season; the others die of starvation or predation. The mission was successful, boosting the world population by another 10 macaws. Such are the small victories when the odds are so large. (The native habitat of these macaws is not protected and is currently being used for cattle grazing.)

Lately, my thoughts go to: "How can I contribute when I don't have extra to spare? What can I do with my art?"

Well, I paint what I love and cherish. Currently I’m working on a watercolor of a Ferruginous Hawk, using wet and dry brush techniques. This is a shot taken of a small part of that painting that is still in its early stages. It is my hope that when it’s completed, some of you readers will like it enough to buy a print or some cards. This is how I've decided to help: a percentage of each sale – and that applies to any item you buy on my art site, original or print – will be donated to groups working to conserve and protect endangered species and their habitats.

I don’t know how you feel, but a world without birdsong and beating wings would be unthinkable.

Pippin the Lovebird Creates Art

This little parrot is a peach-faced lovebird named Pippin. She is over 6 years old and became my second parrot buddy after Chipper came to my home.

Though she is tiny, she packs a lot inside her small body. Really, I think she's more intelligent than any of the other "Gang of Four" parrots I have!

She is by far the most artistic.

Pippin, like all birds, needs to have a job, to be busy. Boredom and lack of stimulation is the worst thing for birds - and for humans, for that matter.

One day after work, I came home to greet her and found her staring up at me with great pleasure at what she'd created.

This is a piece of coyote bush wood which has lots of holes. Pippin had proceeded to very precisely stick pieces of straw, bits of shredded paper, and fabric into the holes. See how carefully she did this work?

I am still amazed by what she created!

Welcome To My Blog

My interests are varied and wide, but always find their way back to my passions: nature, wildlife, sun playing shadow-games with what I see, and my attempts, through my artwork, to capture something of the essence of what catches my eye. There is a lot of joy in discovering something very beautiful and sometimes hidden, then bringing that aspect to light through a painting.After having lived in Los Angeles for over a quarter century (yikes!), I now revel in the countryside near me and never tire of it. Blacktail deer and wild turkeys wander freely and unmolested through the small town I found five years ago. (Of course, lots of other critters also wander through my front yard, but they tend to keep to the shadows and at night. Some, like skunks, find perverse pleasure in living under my house and spraying occasionally, especially in winter when I can’t air out the house without freezing. Phee-uwwwww!!!)




My paintings are inspired by what crosses my path, what I see on my walks and travels – whatever makes my heart beat a bit faster when I get hit with a sense of awe and delight.






Nature has also come to live with me in the form of four beautiful parrot companions: Sam (Jardine’s parrot), Chipper and Charlie No-Toe (cockatiels), and Pippin (lovebird). You will hear more about them in future blogs, but a brief visual acquaintance is in order. This is Sam looking out the window:

Chipper: eldest and in charge -- sensitive, highly interactive, always thinking (and conniving), and literary critic (aka Chipperoo, Roo) after which the blog was named Charlie No-Toe: singing, hanging out, and copying Chipper is his game



Pippin: the smallest and the sweetest and the smartest ball of energy




And Sam again: biggest, cuddliest green eating machine – and very shy.

So you have now met the main cast of characters that influence what and why I paint. I will be happy to share more with you in future postings. Stay tuned!