Chickadee Pair

I just barely had time for a quick bird sketch before the big game! With a favorite TWSBI fountain pen and watercolor, I sketched this duo in ink before filling in the color.  We have so many birds flocking to the feeders - it's fun to spend a little painting time with them!  So happy the Chiefs won another Super Bowl!!  We ate living the dream in Kansas City!  Painting number 4051 in 4051 days. 

Magnolia Chickadees

I love when my tulip magnolia tree starts blushing pink with blooms!  This beauty was a Mother's Day gift years ago from my little darlings, and each year when it blooms I remember that fondly.  I love the connections so many of my flowers and trees have with loved ones, on this earth and not.  Each bloom brings back the memories of those days.  I'm painting in oil on this rainy day, and a sudden rain shower tossed the blooms a bit, changing my composition.  They will brighten again tomorrow, and I might just paint this tree in front of the flowering pear behind it, more from a distance. In between rain, I finished this painting while the birds flew in and out of it's branches.  I enjoy painting to their birdsong!  Painting number 3011 in 3011 days.

 

3 Chickadees!

Those sweet chickadees are so fun to watch AND paint!  I've been spending a little time watching them each day with a hot mug of tea.  We have many different birds coming to the feeders - normally 25 or more at a time!  They fly from branches to feeders to the ground - all while visiting with each other.  Each day, I learn more about their forms, the way they tilt their heads and their postures.  I love to capture their little personalities with ink and watercolor, which is faster for me to use than oils.  That's enough reason to choose ink and watercolor on a 10 degree day  with the wind kicking up!  Painting number 2958 in 2958 days. 

Chickadee Pair

I love sketching this sweet pair during the golden hour!  So many chickadees visit the feeders all day, bringing many other friends with them.  Surprisingly warm on this day before a winter storm advisory, I've been out tending the gardens, covering cabbage, kale, Swiss chard and lettuce!  I was so surprised to see a new little bunch of gourmet lettuce - in February!  I'm sketching today with my new TWSBI Diamond fountain pen loaded with Nutcracker ink. Instead of mixing inks, I simply went over the lines I wanted darker while they were still wet, allowing the ink to mingle.  I read some articles today about some bad chemical reactions that can happen inside a fountain pen when mixing inks willy nilly, so I think mixing on the paper best. I have so many blends I want to try with my favorite black... maybe I should buy the very inexpensive TWSBI Go just for that purpose!  If I melt the insides, it would not be a loss of one of my favs.  And, that pen is exceedingly easy to load and unload!  Painting number 2950 in 2950 days. 

Two Chickadees

Watching the little chickadees at play is so fun!  So many birds are constantly flying to the feeders.  When I am very still, they do not even notice me!  I've started playing a few bird calls on my phone as I work, and the birds come very close indeed!  I've lately been wanting to sketch these beauties in pen and ink, really studying their forms.  The pen I chose today - a TWSBI Eco - mostly has Levenger's Raven Black in it, but there was a mix in it before with their Cocoa Brown, too.  So, it has the tiniest bend in tone.  I have floated a really juicy water brush pen into the lines, giving me wetter areas on the cotton paper for that ink to spread. I like it!  This allows me to get very dark, and I'm leaving plenty of white in the negative space.  I love the whole pen and ink process, and hope to sketch many of my feathered friends!  Painting number 2938 in 2938 days, and day 25 of the #stradaeasel challenge.  Now we're off to dinner at my Mom's - her first time to host us for dinner in her new house!  

Chickadees Four!

These little chickadees have been gobbling up my birdseed as soon as I can fill the feeders!  So, I sketch them as they fly in and out, landing on the Rose of Sharon branches - also eating the seeds from the little pods!  I'm lucky to see this area from a rocking chair on the front porch, so I can hide as I work!  As soon as I stand for a photo - they all fly away!  This is another painting for the postcard challenge - so this will go out soon in the mail!  Painting number 2914 in 2914 days. 

Chickadees Three

Today was a gorgeous day to spend outside!  After cleaning a couple of flower beds, I took a break to capture these sweet chickadees.  They didn't mind me at all, as I worked close by - so I switched my garden tools for pen and paper!  Love their chatter as they converse!  Painting number 2698 in 2698 days.

Chickadees 4

Each morning, I like to start my day with a hot cup of loose leaf tea with lemon. As I waited for the hot water, I noticed several young chickadees on the emerging hummingbird vine.  The mama popped in to drop a morsel into one mouth before flitting off again.  As I enjoyed my tea, I watched, and knew I must get my ink and watercolors!  The little family stayed long enough to be painted, but did not like it when I held up my work to get a photo!  Love spending time with the many birds who come to visit!  Painting number 2685 in 2685 days.

Chickadees on the Feeder

purchase here

The birds are busy around the feeders on this snowy January morning - and this green enamelware one is lovely against the snow!  A Mother's Day gift from my youngest daughter, this is my first painting to include it!  Because of the shape of the belly of the feeder, only the little birds can partake of it's bounty.  While the larger birds attend the other feeders, this one swarms with chickadees and nuthatch.  I am using one of my newest palettes from Watercolor Confections - the Terrain.  The choice seems at first unlikely for a snowy day, but I chose it for the perfect color of green for the bird.  I then made the other colors work, although that meant mixing the right browns and grays for the birds.  I like this palette and think it will be especially good for the summer landscape.  Painting number 2572 in 2572 days.

Chickadees in Ink

Chickadees in Ink
Ink on paper, 5x7

After getting a little frustrated with a large painting today, I am turning my attention to something cheerful!  These darling little birds are joyful creatures to watch.  They are quick, light, and hop along the branches cheerfully, as they wait for an opening at the bird feeders.  They are so abundant today!  It feels so like spring with the warm, balmy temps and calm breezes......even though the winds are due to change, and possibly bring us some snow!  Oh no!!  I am not a cold weather fan, and truly could not live any further north than Kansas City!  Give me the heat any day!  But, these birds are a staple, no matter the weather, and a joy to draw as they flit back and forth to feed.  These little chickadees make the 1127th piece in 1127 days.

First Light

First Light
Acrylic on panel, 8x10

Tonight finds me a little worn out after another very busy day.  I have a complicated landscape on my easel, and not enough hours left to finish it.  I love watching these little chickadees flitting from branch to branch outside my windows.  Taking turns at the feeders, it is almost like a dance among them.  I lay aside my oils, using acrylics on this one.  I like the way they define the birds.  This is a sweet and simple composition - and early morning light that is soft and easy on the eyes.  I will probably top this one off with oils tomorrow - especially the branches.  But for now, I will let this one rest - and maybe I can get some rest, too.  Another busy day tomorrow.  This is painting number 99 in 99 days.  I should do something fantastic for number 100...........how will I find the time?  I hope tomorrow finds me full of fresh enthusiasm :)

My Little Chickadees

My Little Chickadees
Oil on panel, 11x14

Flowers and birds always call out to me when I'm out in the countryside painting.  These irises called to me from a garden along the road side in Augusta - just east of the little park in town.  I started this during a Joshua Been workshop on a cool, crisp morning - my first attempt at plein air iris painting using my oils.  The trick for me was to be sure and get enough paint on the surface!  I was able to lay the paint on thicker than I normally do - which was so much fun!  I absolutely love the feel of the creamy oil paints under my brush.  Feeling like the painting needed a little more interest, I added the chickadees later - while looking out my kitchen window to the feeders. That is the great thing about being the artist, I can change things up with a few more strokes - anytime :)