Lesser Goldfinch are common in our yard and have been the subject of many of my paintings. They almost always appear in flocks and it is fun to design a composition around a group of birds together.
Lesser Goldfinch 14” x 14” acrylic on canvas
Yellow Warbler and a Bee
I was inspired by the yellow warbers Dave and I saw a few days ago and also by the photos he took. My show titled ‘Birds and a Bee’ opens this week at Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA, and I have been experimenting adding bees to my bird paintings.
Yellow Warbler and Fennel 12” x 6” acrylic on wood panel
Hooded Orioles
Hooded Orioles have been nesting near our yard and visiting our feeders all summer. They needed to be painted.
‘Hooded Orioles’ 14” x 14” acrylic on canvas
Black Phoebe in Poetry
My painting of a Black Phoebe was included in a book of poetry with the accompanying poem by
Patricia J. Machmiller-
the solitude
of the soon-to-be groom
lingering day
‘Black Phoebe’ 16” x 16” watercolor on canvas
Dipper Painting
This was my first painting of an American Dipper which was inspired by a visit to Yosemite National Park five years ago. I’ve painted a few since then; I’m inspired every time we come across one in the Sierras.
American Dipper 6” x 6” watercolor on wood panel
Pygmy Nuthatches
It was such fun to come across a group of Pygmy Nuthatches on our trip to the Sierras last June. These tiny birds make me smile and needed to be part of a painting.
Pygmy Nuthatches 10” x 20” acrylic on wood panel
House Finches
This is a paintings I’m just finishing up. House finches are common in our area and they are fun to work with in paintings. In this piece I played with them among eucalyptus leaves which also have reddish accents.
‘House Finches and Chickadee’ 22” x 28” acrylic
House Sparrows
I don’t have many paintings of this bird and had to go back a few years to find this one. These are not my favorite bird, but it is fun to watch them in the restaurant eating area behind my gallery in Los Altos.
House Sparrows and Chair 12” x 12” watercolor
Snowy Egret
I don’t have any exotic birds to follow Dave’s post but here is a painting of a common bird I recently completed. Snowy Egrets are a great subject to work with and I had fun placing this one amid tangled splashy branches.
Snowy Egret 16” x 20” acrylic on wood panel
Great Horned Owl
We can count on finding these on our yearly winter trip to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, but this last winter we came across two together and the scene suggested this painting.
16” x 16” acrylic on canvas
Bewick's Wren II
This is another painting inspired by a Bewick’s Wren.
‘Bewick’s Wren’ 16 x 16 watercolor on wood panel
Bewick's Wren
Bewick’s Wren’s reside in our year round and I wonder how they feel when the orioles show up in the spring.
‘Spring Visitor to a Wren’s World’ 24” x 18” watercolor
Cooper's Hawk Painting
Last fall, this neighborhood raptor took to hanging out in the pomegranate tree, where he could easily keep track of birds at the feeders.
Cooper’s Hawk and Pomegranates 24” x 12” acrylic
Spoonbills and warblers
spoonbill and warbler sketch
Our recent trip to Texas was mostly about migrating warblers, but it was also interesting to see all the wading birds- herons, egrets, ibises and spoonbills. I particularly liked these tall birds perched awkwardly in branches out of the water.
Wilson's Warblers
Wilson’s Warblers 12” x 6” watercolor on wood panel 2107
Wilson’s Warblers arrive in the summer in California and it is a treat to find the first to appear.
Yellow Warblers and Cherries
Yellow Warblers and Wild Cherries 12” x 12” watercolor on wood panel
This painting was inspired by yellow warblers feasting on wild cherries here in California in the late summer.
Sandhill Cranes and Ibis
‘Sandhill Cranes and Ibis’, 16” x 16”, watermedia on wood panel
This was a painting I did last year after our trip to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge.
Yellowthroat Study
I had to go back five years to find a yellowthroat painting. This is a small study done when I was beginning to experiment painting with watercolor on canvas. I guess it’s time to try another.
Ferruginous Hawk
This is a small acrylic painting made from my hawk sketch and Dave’s photo
Western Tanagers
Dave has been posting images of the colorful tanagers we saw in Costa Rica. Our local Central California tanager is the Western Tanager. It is no longer in the Tanager family but the name survives. We see these birds in the summer, particularly in the Sierras, when the males have brilliant breeding plumage. They have inspired many paintings.