Annual Draw A Bird Day, April 2016

Even though many of us bloggers celebrate Draw A Bird Day monthly on the 8th, today is the originally recognized Draw A Bird Day, April 8.  Personally, I like celebrating it each month because I enjoy using birds for subjects in my work, and now because they are abundantly hopping around in the back yard, I present an American Robin, based on a beautiful photograph taken by Jennifer Livick’s American Robin Photo at Paint My Photo.

American Robin

This robin was painted perched on dead tree branches with a soft blue background in order to show off the bird’s distinctive coloring.  We have had buckets of rain lately, so I am sure there are plenty of worms in the yard for them to hunt.  Many years in a row Robins have built a nest on our downspout, but we must keep our distance!  Grownup Robins aren’t fond of anyone getting too near the nest – they will chatter angrily and dive bomb, so we observe behind the safety of our screened-in porch.  Hubby has to be on alert when going past the nest while cutting the grass!  Spring is finally here in all its glory; the weather can’t make up its mind if it wants to be warm or cold and we have experienced high winds, rain, and even snowflakes, but we’ve also had warm sunshine, blue skies, gentle breezes, and robins!  Now to take a walk before the rain rolls in . . .

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Draw a Bird Day – March 2016

Today’s Blue Jay is in honor of Draw a Bird Day for March. It is based on a photo taken by Robin (how ironic!) on Paint My Photo, and I thank her for sharing this great picture. Not only was I drawn in by this grand bird, but I liked the background transition of the mud into the snow.

Blue Jay

We have a lot of Blue Jays around here and although they are usually thought of as noisy, messy bullies at the bird feeder, they have some good qualities, too. They are known for their intelligence and complex social systems. The black band across the head and neck varies from bird to bird and help Blue Jays recognize each other. Also, they create close-knit families and often mate for life. Kinda cool. Thanks for visiting!

Birthday Chipmunk

No, I didn’t get a chipmunk for my birthday, but I sort of gave one.  My sister-in-law, Julie, loves these little critters so I thought I’d try to paint one for her birthday.  I painted one last year but it was a little scrawny; however, it was the best I could do at that time as a new watercolorist.

Thanks to Lindsay Weirich, aka The Frugal Crafter, I’ve been introduced to a website called Paint My Photo.  Generous photographers upload their photos to the site, thereby giving permission to others to use their images as reference photos for artwork, royalty and copyright free.  Thank you, Joan, at PMP for allowing me to use your photo!

Birthday Chipmunk

I hope the Joan feels this painting did justice to her chipmunk.  During the painting process I learned that there are a zillion shades of brown that can be mixed (or so it seems), so I must mix an adequate amount the first time so as to not run out (actually, that is watercolor 101 – it’s hard to remember everything!).  Hope you had a great birthday, Julie!