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A Year of Birds 2022: February
Read more: A Year of Birds 2022: FebruaryThe deer come to the bird feeder, and try to finish off any seeds left over. I see them each evening at around 4:30 pm. The numbers vary, but with the long, hard cold of winter, they are desperate for food. They are also fairly tame; I can almost walk up to them and pet…
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A Year of Birds: January 2022
Read more: A Year of Birds: January 2022I will be posting photos taken throughout the year in this online journal. This is a bitter, very cold winter even for northern Michigan. I am feeding the Chickadees and Jays daily, and they seem grateful. The chickadees have become quite tame, and will let me near. I am hoping to teach them to feed…
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Chickadee on the Well: acrylic painting
Read more: Chickadee on the Well: acrylic paintingAs a Michigan artist, one thing I have learned to paint is snow in various lights. This is a painting of a chickadee, sitting on a friend’s snow-covered well cover. I did get a bit experimental, using alizarin crimson in some of the snow shadows. Otherwise, I used my normal palette. I love to watch…
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First Signs of Spring: Acrylic Painting
Read more: First Signs of Spring: Acrylic PaintingLast weekend, I went birding with a good friend. It was a warm day for North Michigan (as in, the first day above 10 degrees F in weeks). I told her, “I doubt we’ll see any egrets or herons yet, it’s too cold.” Well, in one of the marshes that has just started thawing, I…
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Nuthatch in the Tree: Acrylic painting
Read more: Nuthatch in the Tree: Acrylic paintingLast week, I heard the most amazing laughter coming from the trees. I searched, and found the source: a little nuthatch, chuckling away. This painting was done to highlight how agile these birds are. This was painted using my typical palette of ultramarine blue, titanium white, burnt umber, burnt sienna and yellow ochre.
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Sparrows on a Fence
Read more: Sparrows on a FenceI painted this in acrylic a few months ago. My emphasis was on the shadows and lights. I used my typical palette to create this painting.
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Nocturne on Lake Huron: oil painting
Read more: Nocturne on Lake Huron: oil paintingI love painting various types of light, and different types of day. This painting is inspired by how beautiful Lake Huron and its inlets are in the evening, when the water is a symphony of blues and silvers. The painting is of a great egret silhouetted on the lake. I used my typical palette (ultramarine…
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Great Egret Fishing: Acrylic Painting
Read more: Great Egret Fishing: Acrylic PaintingI love egrets, and chose to paint this one hunting and catching a frog in the marsh. This was done in acrylic with my normal limited palette.
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The Chickadee Tree: Online Art Lesson
Read more: The Chickadee Tree: Online Art LessonI love watching chickadees; in fact, they will land on my pan when I carry seeds out in the early dawn. They will congregate in a nearby pine, waiting for me to put their food out. So, they are a natural subject for a painting. In this blog, I will show how to paint these…
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Egret in the Marsh: Acrylic painting
Read more: Egret in the Marsh: Acrylic paintingI love egrets, and created this painting of one based on observations done this past fall. This was done with my typical palette: ultramarine, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, titanium white, burnt umber. I also added a bit of cerulean.
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Chickadee on a branch: acrylic painting
Read more: Chickadee on a branch: acrylic paintingThis has been a busy fall, and I haven’t had much time to paint – or post paintings. This is a painting that I did find time to do this month – a chickadee sitting on a snow-covered branch. My goal was to capture the form of the chickadee and the light hitting him. I…
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A Year of Birds: August
Read more: A Year of Birds: AugustThis is more of my favorite photos of Michigan birds from the past year. I went on a belted King Fisher hunt today. I spotted one overlooking the waters near Squaw Bay, and so got out and hiked through the marsh to get a better look. It was a female, with the rusty belt across…