Owl Wreath

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Oh what a day of Christmas fun! So nice to have all the family over to celebrate the day. With so much food left over - I sure hope they'll be back every day to clean out my fridge!  Painting number 2553 in 2553 days. 

Screech Owl in Ink

Screech Owl in Ink
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

With so much on my plate this last week, I’ve been longing for my pens, paper, and some quiet time!  Finally, tonight, I have gotten the chance to get back to this very organic medium.  Drawing is the most natural thing in the world for me, and to slip back into it is like wrapping up in a warm blanket with a hot cup of tea!  We have various owls around, and hear them often at night.  I have always loved their noises, but now that we have a tiny dog - I think of them in a whole new way.  I must go out with little Chewy at night - just to guard him!  They are still beautiful to draw, but I’m keeping them away from our puppy!  I have also decided to sign my pen and ink work along the form of my drawing, instead of sticking out by itself at the bottom left or right.  Doing so just feels more artistic, as if it adds rather than distracts......Artwork number 1123 in 1123 days, and Day 30 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge - another successful event!

Owl in Tree

Owl in Tree
Oil on panel, 4x6
purchase here

In the midst of decking the halls for Christmas, I have stopped briefly to paint this little owl!  For the last several years, we have had an owl family that nests at the very top of one of the old trees in the pasture.  When the baby owls are young - they sound exactly like little kittens trapped at the top of that tree!  I don't know how long it took me to realize they were owls - not kittens in need of my help (which would have been impossible at 100 feet in the air)!  I love hearing the gentle sounds they make to one another during the night.  Sometimes, they stand atop the telephone poles in hunt for those pesky field mice.  At other times, I see them pluck their prey right out of the pasture - dive bombing so quickly it will make your head spin!  So today, I am capturing one in oil.  I think this may only be the second owl I have ever painted.  Once again, I am painting small at 4x6 inches, since it is another day of decorating, and time is very short on this holiday weekend.  This painting makes 701 in 701 days, and now I must return to my Christmas preparations!

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl
Oil on panel, 6x4
purchase here

Today is my 700th painting in 700 days!  Wowza!  It is hard to believe that a simple challenge to me in an email turned into a life changing event!  The way I think about painting is different than it was before "daily painting".  I get up knowing that sometime during that day, I will complete a painting.  I have already looked for my best painting window, and have probably already thought of an idea or two to paint.  Like brushing my teeth and washing my face, it has become automatic.  Sure, there are some days when I don't feel like painting - as with housework, cleaning, etc - but I do it anyway.  And, the simple act is therapeutic.  I have learned to paint through family crisis, often drawing in the hospital while I waited bedside for news - and the motion consoled me as I waited.  Before "daily painting", I was only a happy painter - not wanting near the brushes when life started throwing wrenches my way.  Not anymore, I paint everyday regardless - and have learned so much through the process.  Every day is a lesson - and it is my artistic "fix" that keeps me moving forward.  Now, it is time to start getting the Christmas stuff out of the attic - and hanging the lights on the house!