As 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 withContinue reading “A Year of Birds: December”
Category Archives: michigan artist
A Year of Birds: November
The days are getting shorter and much colder. Today, on the third, it snowed! I have started feeding the birds again, on the ground (I don’t dare fill the feeder, or the bears will get it; they have not gone into hibernation yet). The juncos were the first to find the seed I put out,Continue reading “A Year of Birds: November”
A Year of Birds: August
This 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 acrossContinue reading “A Year of Birds: August”
A Year of (Michigan) Birds: June
It’s early June, and I saw a pair of sandhill cranes at Squaw Bay today. They are beautiful, and hard to see since they are perfectly camouflaged by the ochre reeds and small dead trees next to the marshy water. As soon as they saw me, they went and hid in a clump of trees,Continue reading “A Year of (Michigan) Birds: June”
A Year of Birds: April
By mid-April, the migratory birds are back, and it is a delight to both see them soaring in the air and hear their calls in the trees along the beach. The other day as some friends and I were hiking, we came upon an amazing sight: a group of 7 cedar waxwings was perched onContinue reading “A Year of Birds: April”
New Gallery Representation
I am pleased to now have my art represented at a third local gallery: Hanni Gallery in Harbor Springs, MI. She currently has nine of my paintings, and I encourage anyone who can to visit this outstanding gallery. There are wonderful hand-crafted items in 3-D as well as paintings.
A Year of Birds: March
It is March, and the weather is finally starting to warm up a bit – it even goes into the mid-40’s on a sunny day! The snow is starting to melt, and the landscape is slowly turning from white to brown. Locals are used to the “spring slush” in which back roads turn into muddy,Continue reading “A Year of Birds: March”
A Year of Birds: January
While I often share my paintings here, I have rarely shared my personal reference photos. I will be posting some of my favorite bird photos over the next few months, organized month-by-month, as well as some thoughts on each month. First is January. When it is January in north Michigan, a blanket of snow severalContinue reading “A Year of Birds: January”
Busy Few Weeks: Galleries and Birds
The past few weeks, I have been busy in the field, taking notes and photos, and also visiting galleries in North Michigan. I just signed a contract to be represented by Blue Heron Gallery in Elk Rapids; and was also juried in by the Gaylord Area Council for the Arts (GACA) gallery in Gaylord, Michigan.Continue reading “Busy Few Weeks: Galleries and Birds”
What Michigan Artists Do in the Winter
The past few weeks it has snowed a LOT. Here’s a picture of what it looks like outside my front door: Since before moving here two years ago, I lived in warmer climates (California, and then Texas), I was amazed by the amount of snow that falls – and stays – each winter. The landscapeContinue reading “What Michigan Artists Do in the Winter”
Yay! Sold Out and Other Great Stuff
Okay, I’m very, very glad – my art cards have been selling well at local art galleries during the holidays, and today I sold out of one of the card lines (the blue jay – I should have made more!). I also created a profile and will have my art on the Saatchi Art Gallery online.Continue reading “Yay! Sold Out and Other Great Stuff”
Portrait Day 7
The portrait is finally done. For some reason, my camera picked up more yellow than is in the original. I added yet more details to the face, softened transitions, added more details to the dog’s fur. The pit bull was painted with raw umber, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue for darks; and yellow ochre, burntContinue reading “Portrait Day 7”