Bird Watcher – Stories in My Mind

A Tiny Blackhawk Flyby–and upcoming events

Four months have past since my last post–YIKES!!! You don’t want to know gory details of why. Mostly because I don’t remember all the details, life’s been so busy–all is well though.

Here’s a painting I’ve been working on. It’s not quite finished, but I wanted to share and even take a vote. I am experimenting with a new format for my bird watcher series. Paintings without the mannequin. I wrote a poem to go with this painting and was considering writing it on the painting in the big white spot. However, now I’m questioning that wisdom–when it’s finished I think it may look nice blank. Here’s the poem I wrote, called A Tiny Blackhawk Flyby.

A tiny Blackhawk does a flyby.

Its target—delicate flower heads dangling above.

Possibly he’s pursuing that pesky gnat—I hope he is.

With a whir he’s gone. Where? I look around.

A chirp, then a flash—I see him—perched and preening atop a branch.

He seems so small, fragile, in fact—his life measured in fractions of seconds, ounces, and inches.

As if to puncture this notion in my head—he dives at the speed of sound.

Then, again he hovers above—moving from flower to flower–drinking in each fragrant moment—gathering a memory bouquet.

When the time is right, he’ll visit each memory again.

Lingering—drinking it in—I’ll visit this memory again.—the end

UPCOMING EVENTS

It’s Plein Air season! This year I will be getting in some good practice.

June 24-26–This weekend is Plein Air & More at Cannon Beach, sponsored by the Cannon Beach Gallery group. I will be painting some of the time in front of my gallery, Northwest by Northwest, other times out in one of the other designated areas, both Friday and Saturday. I am still not sure what Sunday will hold–I may not be there. Here is link to all that is happening this weekend at Cannon Beach if you are interested–cbgallerygroup.com.

July 9&10–Up to 120 artists will have plein air pieces on display at the Chehalem Cultural Center ballroom in Newberg, OR–yours truly will be one of them. From today through July 6 we will be participating in The Oregon Lavender Paint Out. Free aroma therapy whilst painting on select farms–what more could an artist want? A link to all things lavender–WVLavenderFestival.org.

October–Solo show at Boomerang in Vancouver, WA. Up all month, opening reception October 7–during First Friday Art Walk.

November–Open Studio Tours–more info on that as it comes out

Other misc. projects this summer–finish painting and installing the mural on Andersen Dairy–oh and meet my new granddaughter in August!!!

I’ll post some painting results from the weekend next week–have a lovely rest of the week!

A Soft, Blue, Mighty Hunter

I have been having so much fun in my studio lately! I’ve decided that if I keep up this pace I will proclaim 2016 “The Year of Production”. Barring any major situations this year, I foresee that it will be.

I know I introduced you to Impending Doom and thought you’d like to see the cause of “doom” at this point, Mr. (or Mrs–I’m not sure) Blue Heron. I am ALMOST done–I say that because I’m not yet happy with the value contrast in the feathers on the upper part of its body. I rarely glaze any parts of my paintings but in this case, I believe I’ll have to let it dry and go in with a little glaze. Of course, you will have an opportunity to see the final product.

Blue Heron almost done — Almost done! (This is obviously at an angle)

I have discovered that one of the best ways for me to really “see” what changes need to be made in my paintings, is to take a photo of it. For some reason, it becomes fresh to me. As I look at this photo of my painting I discover things like a dot, floating below the chin of the bird, that has to be removed. I also notice that there is a thin whitish line that intersects with the top of his head, part of the cloud, that needs to be softened or removed. I make mental notes of those things and if there are lots of things that need changed, I make actual, physical notes. I’m pretty sure I’ll remember those.

As you can see here, there is very little contrast in the feathers, which means, there is no depth (If you squint your eyes the surface looks flat). I tried to add a darker value but because the paint was wet it just wanted to blend in and get messy. Titanium white is mixed in with these colors and white always takes longer to dry, so I’ll have to wait until at least Saturday to be able to come back in and fix it.

You can possibly see a little better what I was talking about regarding the dot in the yellow area and the white line in the clouds, intersecting the birds head.

The remainder of the painting is coming along well and will be featured in my next blog. Besides working on this piece I prepped four canvases for painting and completed this smaller painting called Reigning Kinglets. It’s a 24X30″ painting on gallery wrap canvas. While walking my dog up on the trails at Lewisville Park I “saw” this painting in my head. I’d taken the drippy branches reference picture a couple of years ago and had saved it thinking they needed to be painted. As I walked along, past a flock of Kinglets flitting and floating along the trail with me and in the branches of the trees, I thought, “That would be cool to use those branches, dripping with rain, add Kinglets and name it Reigning Kinglets.” Here it is–Until next time–happy birding!

As in nature, you have to look to see the birds.

“Reigning Kinglets” 24″x30″ oil on canvas, hanging in my studio

A New Adventure

Before I even had a chance to write my goals for this year–including all the steps to reach them–a goal was met, which dictates all the remaining goals for the year, PAINT!

Here’s what happened–a gallery owner and her husband saw my work in a publication (American Art Collector). Her husband said, “Watch this artist”. She contacted me via email and said, “We love your work”, we met at the gallery on Tuesday, January 5, and the rest is history. I now have my first major gallery representation at Northwest By Northwest Gallery in Cannon Beach, OR.

The cool thing about this is, “Gallery representation in Cannon Beach, OR” was the first thing I was going to write in my goals for the year. I feel so blessed to be able to check that off my list and move on to the next thing on my list–PAINT–which is exactly what I need to do to reach the goals that Joyce, the gallery owner, and I have set. My focus will be on producing more pieces to add to the bird-watcher series, which means, it’s time to start blogging about the adventures of Orin T. the bird-watcher–something I’m sure you are looking forward to.

Yesterday, I began cleaning an area in my studio for the still-life where the Great Blue Heron will “live.” This is the fourth painting in the series, the creative juices are flowing–it’s wonderful to feel excited about this series again and to have a place where it can be seen by so many.

Heron props–soon to be arranged. Orin T. is feeling overwhelmed by the project.

A Year In Review–No Wonder I’m Tired!

Before I go to far with this blog I want to say THANK YOU! Thank you for reading my blog, for commenting, for supporting me as a friend and as an artist, for making this art journey with me. I could not do this without you, nor would I want to. Making art is as much about bringing joy to others as it is about receiving joy in the process of making it.

2015 has been a faith-building year in a number of ways. It didn’t always seem like I was getting much done because of all the distractions, but when I assess my progress in numbers its been a success–more so than I’d thought.

Tools of the Trade — Tools of the trade–this palette is not mine but I love the dry chunky paint on it so I have it hanging in my studio for inspiration.

Here’s a quick overview of what I did last year professionally:

PAINTINGS

46 paintings completed of a variety of sizes, studio and en plein air
3 paintings almost completed on the easel, two small and one large
2 murals–one public 12×10′ and one nursery 8×14′

SHOWS

7 Group shows
- Orcas Island All Things Birds and Beautiful Art Show and Sale
- National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society (NOAPS) on-line International Spring Show
- 24th Annual Juried Art Show Sale & Competition, Breckenridge Fine Arts Center
- Battle Ground Art Alliance show at North Bank Gallery, Vancouver, WA
- NOAPS Annual Best of America Exhibit, The Dunnegan Gallery of Art, Bolivar, MO & The Vine Art Gallery, Osage Beach, MO
- 3rd Annual Open Studio Tour show at North Bank Gallery, Vancouver, WA
- Christmas Benefit group show at Above and Below Gallery, Vancouver, WA
2 Solo shows
- It’s All About Birds, Lava Java, Ridgefield, WA
- 3rd Annual Clark County Open Studio Tour

BLOG

This is my 57th post this year on this blog. Highlights:
- Viewed over 3,600 times
- Seen in 75 countries
- Most views in one day–August 22–243 views in response to “My Heart Skipped a Beat”. Maybe people were just making sure I hadn’t had a heart attack or something.

AWARDS/PUBLICATIONS

Finalist in The Artist Magazines Annual Competition in the Animal category
Won a spot in the NOAPS 25th Annual Best of America Show
Southwest Art, January 2016 edition
American Art Collector
local articles in the newspaper–too lazy to look up the dates 😉

MISCELLANEOUS

Moved my studio from my garage to 711 NE 1st St, Suite 105, Battle Ground, WA 98604, and loving having a place to go to work.
Worked on an art collaboration with two other artists, creating a temporary art installation for the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge Anniversary and Grand Opening of the newly remodeled Carty Unit.
Started an Instagram account
Updated my website and activated the shopping cart feature (that was a lot of work!).

ON A PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT BUT ART RELATED NOTE–

Like all of you, my life has been a journey. Highs, lows and a lot of in between stuff. Much (MOST) of that journey did not include art. All of my journey has included religion (God) in some form or another. A few years ago I came under conviction and took the most life altering, important and significant step–I left the church that I’d been raised in. Some may think this a small thing–it was NOT for me–but it has proven to be the best decision of my life. In 2014, while dealing with some significant losses, I was reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, for my morning devotions. His words were deep and in my minds eye I could “see” a complete paradigm shift regarding the gospel. I came under conviction to begin doodling through each daily devotion as well as write my response–a kind of “therapy” for me as I was challenged by the simplicity of the true gospel as it is in Jesus Christ alone. I began doing that the end of October and on January 16, 2015 I started a blog called DoodlingDevotionals.com. So, on top of accomplishing all of the above professionally, each morning, before doing anything else, I doodled and wrote a response to my devotions–resulting in 320 posts (there are actually all 365 devotions on the blog but when I started the blog I uploaded my doodles done prior to the blog on separate pages.)

The success in the blog was not the amount of viewers or followers, but in the commitment I had made. I have NEVER in my life been able to even write in a journal more than 3 consecutive days in a row. To have doodled and posted consecutively for 89 days in a row is significant. The days I missed blogging, I still doodled. The first day I missed was the day my grandson was born in WI. A week with him and our kids still did not keep me from doodling, I just made up for the missed days by posting more than one a day for a few days. Even though the blog was viewed only a couple of thousand times in 36 countries it was to me a most valuable experience, causing me to go much deeper in my understanding and relationship with God. I am a better person for it in many ways.

Now, as the clock ticks toward midnight, and 2015 comes to a close, I anticipate with excitement what next year might bring, both professionally and personally. I have begun a rough draft of goals for next year which I will share when I have completed it. To be sure there will be more paintings added to the Bird Watcher series–yes, I said paintingS. Until then, let me leave you with these inspired words from Emily Dickinson–“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul–and sings the tunes without the words–and never stops at all.”

BE SAFE and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Some Hungry Little Beach Birds

I’m finally getting back to my ocean painting–some little birds are putting it in perspective. The great unveiling will take place this weekend during the Clark County Open Studio Tour. I hope you’re planning on coming if you can. I can’t wait to show off my new studio/gallery–it is finally full of art and makes me feel more like a ‘real artist’. 😉

Detail of currently untitled painting. Only a few more of these little guys to go.

H Is For Hawk–Coopers I Think (and an update on another bird)

This is the second go around with this bird–the first one was a total flop. I wouldn’t have even attempted a second except I wanted to tell you a little story about this little hawk. Last year about this time when the hawks were migrating back, I looked out the window to see this little guy sitting bolt upright on the shepherd’s hook we have out on the back patio that says “Welcome Friends”. Hanging on the hook of course is a bird feeder with black sunflower seeds in it. The irony was not lost on me and I was fortunate that he stayed long enough for me to get a picture.

Soon after taking this picture he flew to the ground, wandering around, looking under our hydrangea bush and around the tree trunk. At the time there was nothing there but it wasn’t long until an unsuspecting mixed flock of birds came swooping in and began pecking around on the other side of the bush–they were totally unaware of his presence. I didn’t have to wait long to witness the violent quickness of these stealthy birds. All of a sudden all the birds flushed and the hawk was in hot pursuit of a bird. They were flying directly at me standing in the kitchen window, the smaller bird (I don’t know what kind, it happened so fast), crashed into the window as the hawk grabbed it in its talons and used the window like a spring-board to switch directions and accelerate out of there, taking the now lifeless little prize with it to the top of the pine tree in our backyard.

Although I felt horrible for the little bird I felt honored and amazed to see the hawk in action so closely–very closely. It hung around a few more days than disappeared.

I am not an expert at all on hawks–I’m quite sure this is a Coopers because it seemed to large to be a Sharp-shinned hark, which looks almost exactly like it.

Since I’m wrapping up my alphabet bird project I thought I’d show you the finished Belted Kingfisher as well. I know I posted it one time but it was not finished. I just got back to it today. Not only did I bring more dimension to the bird I decided to really brighten up the background for a better contrast. It makes me happy now.

Finished painting of a female Belted Kingfisher

Now it’s time to go get ready for the artist reception for the 2015 Clark County Open Studio Tour. The reception will be a wonderful opportunity to see they style of art each artist creates–it is at the North Bank Gallery in Vancouver from 5-9 p.m. Next weekend will be an opportunity to tour 50 artists from Clark County. If you live in the area come visit me. Here’s the link for more information: http://ccopenstudios.org

U and X Birds–You’ll Have To Read The Blog To Find Out Who Is Who

Look what I did today!!! There will one more to post tomorrow–it’s ALMOST finished–and the alphabet will be done.

Both the birds I painted today were challenging letters. I decided to go with a domesticated (at least in the US) bird for my U–the Umbrella Cockatoo.

It’s always a challenge to paint a bird that is one solid color–white in particular. I must say, I kinda like the way it turned out.

For the letter X, I was going to do something creative like paint a bird dropping and write something like X marks the spot where a bird was–but that was a cop out. Instead I went the scientific name approach. Here you have the Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, better known as the Yellow-Headed Blackbird.

I know only a little about these birds. Although I do see them at the Ridgefield Wildlife refuge along with the Red-Winged Blackbird, they are not nearly as prolific, especially along the side of the road. One thing I do know about them, they don’t have a pretty singing voice. In fact, it’s rather harsh and annoying. Like the Red-Winged Blackbird they nest in freshwater marshes, forage for food in farm fields and open country and hang out with other blackbirds in the fall and winter.

X is for Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus--Yellow-Headed Blackbird. — X is for Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus–Yellow-Headed Blackbird.

F Is for Flicker

I got a couple of paintings worked on today. I’m mostly happy with the flicker–Northern Flicker to be specific.

Currently the flickers are going crazy in our fruit trees. This particular flicker was hanging out in the birch tree next to our kitchen window and seemed quite curious.

Pretty tired so there’s not much to say tonight–I did get a lot done in the studio today, shades on the window thanks to my husband (now I have more privacy) and paintings hung on one side of the studio–I also worked on a hawk painting but I’m not happy with it yet so will post it tomorrow after I make sure it’s proportional.

Chow for now.

I Is For Indigo Bunting and Q Is For Quail

I love Quails so I couldn’t pass up painting one–however, I did not think it through, they are not easy to paint quick. Too much stuff going on on them. However, I think I did pretty well minimizing all the “stuff” while still making them look pretty convincing–which is a big deal for me–minimizing that is.

When I lived in AZ many years ago, I loved visiting the valley during their nesting season. After everyone would hatch, numerous little fluff ball babies would come leaping out of their prickly cactus nests (I didn’t like it when a Roadrunner would visit during their great exodus.). Then, like a ribbon teasing a kitten, little legs moving so quickly they couldn’t be seen, they would run along behind their parents.

Quails eat mainly seeds, flowers and leaves but will also eat insects. They require what is called protozoans to digest their food. The little babies acquire the protozoans by pecking at adult feces–yum! At times a clutch can have up to 28 eggs which usually means another female too lazy to build a nest and sit on the eggs has “dumped” eggs in another nest, leaving the other parent to raise their young. The oldest recorded quail was 6 years 11 months old. A couple more little facts before moving on to the bunting, their topknot is actually 6 feathers that overlap each other and for those music lovers, the male and female California Quail call antiphonally, meaning that they alternate calls, fitting them into a tightly orchestrated pattern.

I is for Indigo Bunting–another difficult blue to come up with–especially yesterday and today. Maybe if I’d had a cerulean blue it would have been less frustrating. (In our area we have Lazuli Buntings) The male of course gets to sport the beautiful blue during the breeding season and turns brown for the winter. The female wears brown feathers year-round.

These migratory, smallish, songbirds live in the South and from the Midwest down to Florida. They often migrate at night using the stars to navigate. They live in brushy, woodland and farmland areas, eat what sparrows eat and often raise two broods of 1-4 babies.

Off subject here–I am only 4 away from completing the alphabet. It looks like I’ll have them ready for the Clark County Open Studio Tour November 14 & 15. Here is a link if you are interested in knowing about it, http://ccopenstudios.org If you are in the area, come by and see them as well as other works I’ve been doing. Although this has been a fun project I’m ready to move on to some not so quick paintings–something with more detail–my comfort zone.

L Is For Loon and J Is For Junco

It’s a two bird day again–a third is mostly done. The Loon–another bird I don’t have direct contact with unless during migration they wander through and I happen to be by the lake they land on. These stealthy fishermen breed and raise their young in the Northern States and Canada–which explains why I never see them.

L is for Loon--Common Loon and baby — L is for Loon–Common Loon and baby

They are commonly known for their eerie call echoing across lakes–my first real recollection of hearing them was when the movie On Golden Pond came out.

The bird in this painting is in its summer attire. In the winter their lovely spots below their neck are replaced with white feathers, while above the neck they are plain grey.

As you can see, their babies enjoy riding on their parents backs–although I’m sure it’s not because they are showing any sign of affection toward their little ones, but it sure looks cute.

The other bird I painted today is a very common sight at our home, especially come fall when all their young are raised. It is the Oregon Junco–most commonly referred to as just a plain Junco, that’s why I had no problem using it for my J.

Junco are one of the main birds we see flitting around on the ground under our bird feeders in the winter. When they fluff up in the winter they look like a round little ball hopping around foraging for seed.

J is for Junco--Oregon Junco — J is for Junco–Oregon Junco

They hang out with other birds like Black Capped Chickadees, Pine Siskens, Gold Finches and Nuthatches. They eat seeds from the ground or close to the ground for the most part. When we had our deck they loved hopping along the railing picking seed up.

This bird is a male, the females have a more slate colored head. The Oregon Junco also has the pinkesh colored feathers on their side. The other Juncos we see in our area is the Slate-Colored Junco and Dark-Eyed Juncos. One thing I discovered today was that Juncos are a part of the sparrow family. I never knew that.

Tomorrow I will have an Indigo Bunting done–another bird I’ve never seen that I am aware of, but it starts with an I and it’s a beautiful blue and it’s from the East, I must paint birds for my friends in the East as well.

Until tomorrow–have a lovely evening.