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Sandhill Cranes: Acrylic Painting
Read more: Sandhill Cranes: Acrylic PaintingI love sandhill cranes, and am always awed when I see them gather in the grassy marshes. This painting reflects how these beautiful birds make me feel. I used my normal palette of earth tones.
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A Year of Birds: May 2022
Read more: A Year of Birds: May 2022A Year of Birds The first week of May, my friends and I drive back north from North Carolina. There are plenty of birds to see, but we are in a hurry to make the long trip. Finally, we are back home, and to reward ourselves, my friends and I indulge in a quick trip…
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Yellow Legs in the Evening: Acrylic Painting
Read more: Yellow Legs in the Evening: Acrylic PaintingI saw this wonderful little bird in the marsh a few weeks ago. They stop here on their way north to Canada, and I always enjoy watching them feed in the evenings. This painting was done with acrylic, using my usual palette. I wanted to show the fiery glow on the still brown marsh plants…
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A Year of Birds 2022: April
Read more: A Year of Birds 2022: AprilApril is starting out very cold, after the warm weekend at the end of March. The chickadees and cardinals still visit the feeder, but once the snow melts from the ground I will stop. I don’t want any bears visiting! On the weekend, I go out to Misery Bay, and the canals nearby. I saw…
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A Year of Birds: March 2022
Read more: A Year of Birds: March 2022March is certainly coming in “like a lion” here in North Michigan with snowstorms, cold wind, and bitter weather. When temperatures sitting near zero still, it feels as if my hands, feet, nose and even eyes hurt if I am out too long. My visits with the birds when I feed them are short on…
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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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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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A Year of Birds: December
Read more: A Year of Birds: DecemberAs the holiday song says, “Baby, it’s cold outside!” In Michigan, December can come in with some pretty cold blasts, and it has. It makes me glad that Hanukkah also occurs at the beginning of the month, to create “warm feelings” in spite of the frigid early morning temperature. The mergansers are hanging out with…