Tuesday, June 28, 2011

For The Birds

One of my Favorite things is to hear the birds sing the Dawn Chorus in Springtime! After the long winter with only the bravest birds sticking around to sing in the short, cold days, the burst of song in the Springtime is Heavenly to hear! So it is really no wonder that I have images of birds all over my house and in my artwork too, although that can't capture their songs. The Poster of common North American birds (pictured above) hangs in my kitchen dining nook.

I even have some three dimensional birds catching dust on my shelves.......
And images copied from Medieval bird paintings hanging on my walls.......

Birds frequently decorate the borders of my Annual Christmas card.... this is just a corner of one.... Sorry about the poor lighting.... the weather persists in being gloomy over here.....

And I frequently paint birds on the furniture I decorate.....
this one is a Saw Whet Owl... on a mailbox of course!

And Humming bird and Barn Swallow decorate my desk which I painted for myself.....
(Along with an angel....)

Here you can see a little closer......

And a Yellow Warbler......

And in the hallway of my former house I painted birds in the wall murals........ a nuthatch......

And a sparrow....

And on a chair I painted on commission.... a woodpecker........

And a heron on the side of my large kitchen cabinet or hutch........

And another hummingbird on the other side...... not to mention the Faun.....

And on the walls of the bedroom in my former house.... a pair of Bluejays.......

And in the Medieval Miniature inspired border of a tiny painting....... sorry it is so blurry.... the picture is behind glass and is only about 3 inches by 4 inches altogether.....

And the beautiful woodblock prints of the Japanese........

And I am still painting them.....this time on the walls of my current bedroom in my smaller house..... Here you can see the North American Bluebird and his mate.....

These are painted life size.... here is a closer view...... the male.....

And the female with her softer coloring.....

And the North American Robin..... our harbinger of spring with his cheery song......

And the female of the Redwing Blackbird..... another early Spring arrival.....

With her mate who sings his Spring song...... (or so I imagine as I fall asleep at night.....)

So you can see how I am inspired by the birds!

4 comments:

  1. Oh Wow! Your house and your work in your house is, simply, Divine! I love how you finished your post with a red wing black bird, I finish my day walking past a red wing who has set up her nest in a palm tree near my house. She's tough on us, by I can't blame her-that's one good Mom.

    Now let me ask, is the floor under your blue desk painted too, or is that the lid of the desk? It's amazing! Your whole home, and former home, is a work of art. I understand your love of birds very well, I've taken warblers on in my work as a sort of mascot and metaphor, those tiny things you hardly notice until you do notice. And then you see them everywhere.

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  2. Hi Amy, That's the lid of the desk.... it's a drop front secretary style desk. I will probably do a post on the painted furniture just to show some of the details..... I tend to cover the entire surface with flora and fauna.... even the magical kind!
    I had to leave the murals in my old house behind... (and they weren't even complete!)but I took lots of photos. Now I am gradually painting my new house.... so it's a work in progress.... and one thing that's certain is that I'm not quick!
    The red wing blackbird is such a lovely bird and one of the earliest Spring birds up here so he's always extra welcome!

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  3. Betsy, what an incredible portfolio! What you have done is amazing and I love them ALL! The work you did on that desk blew my mind. I want to SEE them up close and feel every bump and line of your acrylic. May I? I mean those that are in your current house of course :). And that Faun..ooooh! Like Amy said :DIVINE!

    When (and I say when , not if ) you are in Singapore, our bird park is a must for you. The largest in the world in terms of species and the 2nd largest in terms of land area, even I , a jaded Singaporean was impressed :). And that invitation goes out to you too, Amy :).

    This blog of yours is so special. I always feel like I am having a private conversation with nobody else in the room :)

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  4. Hi Sans! I really enjoy your comments... especially the one that says "When I am in Singapore!" I am sure that is how some things happen.... people just believe in them til they do! So I AM putting it on my Someday list..... and we both know someday will come! :) And like I said to Amy, I will probably do a post (or more than one!) on the painted furniture... I could do TONS of photos and close-ups... its what I adore about digital cameras... because my painting is quite detailed and LUSH! There is SO much to look at... on that desk I have just counted eight flower species, two insects and one bird.... just on ONE of the side panels! I LOVE the complexity of Nature and strive to put just a little taste of it in my painted work.
    And yes, so far this blog is quieter... sshhh! I like to show people around my world one by one! :):)

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