Tag: artist

  • A Year of Birds 2023: May

    May is coming in windy and cool, but with sunlight sparkling on the water when it peeks through the clouds. The egrets are back in the marshes across from Misery Bay, and I watched one as it hunted frogs and preened in between. They are beautiful with their lovely plumes of feathers this time of…

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  • Art Fair in the country

    Last weekend was a two-day arts and crafts fair out in the country, which was beautiful. It was a chance to practice setup, and discover that I had ordered the wrong tent (I ordered a new one today) before the art fair in July. I sold three paintings, several ornaments and a painted birdhouse, so…

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  • Art Fair Next Week

    In ten days, the first art fair of the spring that I will have a booth in will be held. It will be in Rogers City, and I have been busy getting prints ready, framing paintings, printing fine art cards and taking care of all the tasks to prepare. I am a bit nervous, too,…

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  • Getting ready for new exhibit

    This has been a busy time of year, getting ready for an exhibit in Detroit, and will be taking my art to a new gallery in Grayling. I am also preparing for an art fair in a few weeks. Today, I also delivered prints and painted birdhouses to a gallery in Harbor Springs. Below are…

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  • A Year of Birds: July

    July 2022 The weather is getting warmer now each day, bringing the whine of mosquitoes and the droning buzz of deer flies. The only value I see in these pests that bite whenever I venture outdoors is that they do feed the birds and their fledglings. At a nearby park on the river, I saw…

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  • Chickadee on the Well: acrylic painting

    As 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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  • The Chickadee Tree: Online Art Lesson

    I 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: September

    The sandpipers are now in their fall plumage, with the spots starting to disappear on their breasts. I feel a bit sad seeing those, realizing that soon they will migrate. The Canadian Geese are gathering into larger groups, and can be seen “practicing” flying together, honking away, then landing, in preparation for their fall migration.…

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  • 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 on…

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  • Bouquet of Flowers: acrylic painting

    I love flowers, and decided to take a photo of some beautiful ones I saw at a friend’s house (with her permission). I found that acrylics are perfect for capturing the lights and dark values. The colors used were ultramarine blue; alizarin crimson; yellow ochre, Hansa Yellow, sap green, titanium white, burnt umber and burnt…

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  • Egret Painting

    I love water birds, and have enjoyed seeing the egrets near Lake Huron in North Michigan. I decided to create a painting to show the beauty of this bird. I used a limited palette (as usual) with this painting: ultramarine blue, Hansen Yellow, yellow ochre, Hooker Green, Titanium white; Burnt umber and burnt sienna.

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  • Meadow Flowers: Learning Acrylics

    As noted before, I am starting to explore acrylics. I love the details and vibrant colors. Below is a 16 X 20″ painting on canvas wrap that I just finished, called “Meadow Flowers”. The actual painting is a lot more vibrant; someday I will learn how to do a proper photo. I used a limited…

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