Lesser Goldfinch

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

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

Yellow Warbler and Fennel 12” x 6” acrylic on wood panel

Yellow Warbler

In the California county in which we live, Santa Clara County, there are well known migration paths used by passerine birds. These paths are usually creeks and small rivers that provide food and water to birds as they fly from as far as Alaska heading south to their boreal winter grounds ranging from Mexico to South America. The Yellow Warbler is one such species and every fall they appear reminding us that another northern hemisphere breeding season is ending.

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

‘Black Phoebe’ 16” x 16” watercolor on canvas

Black Phoebe

The Black Phoebe is a common flycatcher on the West Coast. It is easily found in and around the San Francisco-San Jose area all year. Most of the time when we are doing local birding we will see one or two them. They tend to use low spots from which to do their fly catching, rocks, fence posts and the like, flying off a perch, grabbing an insect and then usually returning to the same perch. It’s my observation that they like green grassy areas, perhaps because of the type of insects that lawns draw. Since the drought in California and home owners have converted to xerophytic gardens I am seeing less of this species where in the past they were common.

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

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

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 Finches and Chickadee’ 22” x 28” acrylic

Green-tailed Towhee Sketch

This is the third year in a row we have found Green-tailed Towhees among the flowering manzanita shrubs in the Sierras. I love the various greens and the way the orange cap of the towhee mirrors the orange in the manzanita branches.

Towhee and manzanita sketch 2019

Towhee and manzanita sketch 2019

The Green-tailed Towhee

A strange looking bird indeed. In the summer this species is common in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range of California. It prefers relatively dry shrubby mountain slopes. Early in the breeding season they can be located by their unique song.