Red-footed Booby

I have recently become slightly obsessed with vintage paint by numbers artwork. They have the feel of the first color photographs. The colors are a tad beyond realistic. They are simplistic and easy to take in.

I think that is the inspiration for this sketch. This is a pastel and charcoal rendering of a Red-footed Booby chick.

Baby Lenny

This little guy was laying on my backporch. Call me morbid, but I had to sketch him. He spent the night in my freezer which caused some conern with my husband. I am not sure exactly what kind of bird he was but I named him Lenny.

Texas Visit

I just got back from visiting family in Texas. I brought my sketchbook and sketched this little Winter Wren while sitting with my dad. The picture above is me and my Meemaw. I am happy to say that she has been a dedicated patron of my artwork. Behind us is a painting I did in 2008 called Dinner Guest, which paved the way for my bird obsession. Meemaw bought it as a gift for my dad and stepmom.

I took several photos of family and friends that I plan to use as references for paintings. As always, I can never think of just painting one individual piece but instead have to envision a series. Any who, I have an idea for a family tree inspired series. I am kicking around Rotten Roots as the title.

Greater Adjutant and Barcelona Chair In-progress

This is the latest in-progress. It is large and in charge, measuring 64"x36". It is one of my favorite birds, the Greater Adjutant, on one of my favorite pieces of furniture, the Barcelona chair. I enjoyed pairing an endangered scavenger that is commonly found rummaging in garbage dumps atop one of the most iconic designs of the 20th century.

Dad #2

This image came from a picture of Dad at my wedding. I think he looks like a cross between a young Castro and Santa Claus.

My Dad

My dad is not doing so hot so I thought it would make me feel better to paint a picture of him. The bottom photograph is of my dad and mom in 1974, the year before I was born. I haven't seen Dad in almost 2 years, and oddly enough the painting looks a little more like the last time I saw him rather than the 34 year old picture.

Shrimp Cocktail

This is a study for a painting that I am about to begin of a life-size Caribbean Flamingo. Flamingos get their pink coloring from the shrimp in their diet.

I would only serve my flamingo the best so I was going to incorporate this shrimp cocktail entree into the painting but I am not 100% sold on the idea.

Robbie #1

God love his patience. Thank you Robbie for sitting so still. Dare I suggest a Robbie sketch series...

Bird Studies

This is a mixed media piece of nesting Black Phoebe chicks. I used gouache, pastels, charcoal, graphite, and water color pencils on watercolor paper. It makes me feel uneasy to not have at least one painting in progress but I feel I should take a break for a few days until I start something major. I can't stop with the sketches though, I am having so much fun experimenting with mixed media. I just want to get better.

Bashful

I've been working on this painting for a little while now and happy to say that I just put the finishing touches on this afternoon. Not a bad way to spend July 4th!

This is a Sumatran Rhino calf with a Whooping Crane chick atop his head. I placed them where any self-respecting rhino and chick would be found...the bathtub. At 44"x30", this is larger than

most of the pieces that I've working on lately. This painting is part of the endangered species series. To learn more about the Sumatran Rhino and Whooping Crane visit The Nest Egg Art Project. I always find myself thinking the same thing when I get close to finishing a painting. You spend so much time and effort in the process of a painting. You encounter and try to tackle challenges and continually learn. There is always some point in the painting (usually several) when I feel like I've never picked up a paintbrush before and I have no idea what I am doing. Having felt all of these feelings within the course of a painting, I always have to laugh that I am being so serious on a painting that is so ridiculous.

Help, I Can't Stop!

Help, I need an intervention! I can't stop with the mixed media on watercolor paper bird studies. This is a White-bellied Sea Eagle. Ahhhh, I think I am going in for more, I found an incredibly wonderful picture of a Greater Adjutant...

Dalmatian Pelican

Even though the 30 Sketches Project II is over I think I am still in the habit of sketching everyday. Not a bad thing, it keeps me off the streets.

I would like to continue to experiment with mixed media pieces. This Dalmatian Pelican is on a sheet of 20"x15" watercolor paper. I first used watercolor pencils, then went in with a sparse amount of charcoal and pastels. I really enjoyed working on it.

Southern Dracula

This baby is ready to be shipped to the ole Lone Star State! You can see its progress in an earlier post. I will say that this was the most challenging bird painting to date. The feathers were wicked complicated. It was easy to get lost.

It took lots of thin glazes which made me work a little differently. I usually put in a few, several hour sittings followed by a few quick sessions to work in the details. This was just the opposite. I put in many short sessions. Adios Dracula-owl!!

Delicious!!

This sketch is absolutely delicious and serves as inspiration for a lifetime! It is a piece by Vincent van Gogh that he included in a letter to his brother. His use of value and mark-making are truly remarkable (no pun intended).

I've become really excited about sketching. In the past I would do very simplistic drawings just to get the layout for a painting. But after completing my 30 Sketches Project I and now being in the the home stretch of finishing 30 S.P. numero II, I truly appreciate and enjoy drawing.

I work best with a structured plan. Commiting to sketch something for 30 days in a row is a way of forcing myself to focus and improve. Most days it is my little shining light at the end of a long work day, but there are days that I would rather have a sharp stick in the eye.

In-progress Commission For Miles

Here is the progress on a commissioned piece for my buddy Miles. It is a gift for his dad who found this little dude on his ranch. He took the most fantastic photo above in which he is posing Dracula-style.

In Yo Face!

30 Sketches Project: Numero Dos! Yeah, its back. This project is my commitment to draw, document, and post a sketch everyday for 30 days.

Robstache

Okay, so I think I want to do a non-bird series, I know....weird. I have been drinking and working with highly toxic resin but I feel confident I will remember this in the morning, especially if I document it.

Above you will see a 20X16" oval canvas decorated with the likeness of my husband. I asked him to choose an accessory (shades) and I chose to add the stache. I then coated it with a thick coat of my favorite liquid - envirotex lite.

I would adore to do a series of people that have had a positive influence on my life and frame the paintings in horribly gaudy golden frames.

Micronesian Kingfisher in Teacup

As much as I love the Micronesian Kingfisher, I am very glad to be done with this painting. I've worked on it for a couple of months which is well beyond my attention span. It boggles my mind that there are only about 100 of these beautiful creatures in captivity and zero in the wild.

The Yellow Wallpaper

The inspiration for this painting comes from one of my favorite stories of all time, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman . This is also the xArt group's 3rd project. We had to produce a work based on a song, poem, story, etc. I took artistic liscense with the bird on my shoulder. The body and pose is that of a Northern Sparrowhawk and the head is a Ferruginous Hawk.

The wallpaper is loosely based on the wallpaper that covers my grandma's kitchen. With this dude on my shoulder, I am pretty sure that you don't want to mess with me.

In The Works...

Here are a couple of paintings in-progress. The bottom image is a Micronesian Kingfisher which is one of my favorite birds. They are extinct in the wild and live only in zoos at this point. About 100 birds exist in captivity. The top image is a Whooping Crane chic atop a Sumatran rhino calf. They are wadding in what will soon be a bathtub. Both of these beautiful creatures are endangered. There are only 300 Sumatran rhinos left on the planet. In 1937, fewer than 20 Whooping Cranes existed.

Wood Chuck

Here is my latest "people" portrait. Robbie was a good sport and let me accessorize him. Painting Elvis shades is almost as theraputic as painting wood grain.

Love Me

This peregrine falcon chick is painted on a piece of the most delicious vintage wallpaper. My newest purchase and most prized possession to date is a 1961 wallpaper sample book. It is enormous and inspires by simply touching the cover.

Peregrine falcon chicks have infiltrated my subconscious, I have become obsessed with the little guys. Their cuteness is unbearable.

Together

I painted this last fall but was never fully satisfied with it. I need more pieces for my show in August, so I decided to rework this one. This little duckling will never be lonely.

The Totem of Terror

This is a commissioned piece for my pals Olivia and Mark. I call it The Totem of Terror. The only instructions they gave me was that they wanted a painting of their 3 dogs (from top to bottom) Carter, Chewy, and Coltrane. I was drunk with artistic power!

I am 100% certain that this is how they spend their time when mom and dad are not around. You can tell by the sparkle in their eyes that they are up to no good and that is why I like them so much.

This is a decent-sized piece, 28"x40". I met Carter for the first time and the portrait of him is actually larger than he is in reality. My dogs thought that we had brought a hamster into the house.

A Book So Cute, It Makes Me Feel Sick

Holy lord, I just bought the mother load of all bird books. Baby Bird Portraits by George Miksch Sutton. The cover is too much-I felt sick because of the high level of cuteness. I don't like to associate cute with art but I will make an exception this time.

I can't take it, I need to lie down.

My Grandma's Kitchen Wallpaper!

This is my Grandma's actual kitchen wallpaper!! The last time my mom visited my Grandfather she took these photos for me. The weird thing is that I never remembered birds being in the design.

I couldn't even begin to count the number of bologna sandwiches I ate sitting in front of that wallpaper. Seeing it again makes me so happy. I hope my Grandma knows how greatly she impacts the art that I do today. I love and miss you Grandma!

New Goodies for New Ideas

I had a truly great day thrifting yesterday (thanks Lani and Lindsey!!). I found the lovelies above to use as new characters to incorporate in the paintings for my project, The Nest Egg Art Project (www.nesteggartproject.blogspot.com). It is a body of work using endangered and extinct birds as my main subjects.

I want to place the birds with a domestically recognizable object. What is more "domestic" than objects from the kitchen? I selected these particular items because they come from a time period (to me) that represents the epitome of a picture perfect happy household. Whether that happiness is true or staged is another aspect that I find intriguing.

I also want to play with my usual wallpapered backgrounds by placing the design over a landscape-inspired ground. I feel this really emphasizes the conflict of indoors vs. outdoors.

Incorporating the endangered and extinct birds within this setting allows me to hint to the viewer that we are the reason for their demise. Loss of habitat is the most common reason for animal endangerment. Our "perfect" homes take the place of theirs.

Deer and Killdeer

This is a 16"x20" pastel sketch of a Killdeer atop a deer. The Killdeer is not an assassin, but rather gets its name by its call - a two-syllabled "kill-dee."

This sketch is a preliminary drawing for a painting which will be done on a most beautiful pre-made wooden panel. I usually build my own canvases but I have had some issues with warping and wanted to try something new. It is a continual experiment...

3 Baby Chicks Perched on a Hanger

Imagine waking up and finding these little guys in your closet! I keep hoping one day....

I am On a Mission!

I am on a mission to spread art to all corners of the globe, no matter what the gallery size may be! I fell in absolute love when I found this 4 1/2"x3 1/2" mini fancy frame! A mini portrait was needed immediately! So there is no excuse - art should be in your car, your cubicle, adhered to the handlebars of your bicycle!

Magical Meat Carpet

I have done a couple of sketches of this baby Barn Owl and thought it was about time to paint the little guy. As I have mentioned before, I truly enjoy painting raw cuts of meat and it only seemed fitting that the owl should be standing upon a spectacular specimen of meatiness.

Originally, I was going to place both meat and owl on a dinner table with a, you guessed it, wallpaper background but after drawing them on the canvas, the meat turned into a magical carpet that needed to be soaring over a vast stretch of farmland.

Even though the setting is outdoors, I feel that the fresh butcher-cut slab of meat and the highly manicured plots of farmed land convey the same sense of human environmental-manipulation as an intricate wallpaper design.

2 More to Add to the Flock

I have been saving this White Canary for the perfect project and I couldn't think of a better use for him than the xArt group's first project. This band of creative souls consists of myself and 4 fellow Phoenix Art Museum employees. Every month we make a piece of artwork using a common material.

The magnificent wallpaper that I used in the background is March's material. Sandra, the founder (and also the coolest librarian in town) of the xArt group, provided us each with a piece of this vintage treasure. I can't wait to see the others!

This little Red-breasted Flycatcher is a commissioned piece for my friend Bryan (who is also a proud member of the above club). I really enjoyed working on this painting. I've grown attached to this bird but I know he is going to a good home which always makes me feel better.

Micronesian Kingfisher on Gun

Kingfishers are one of my favorite birds. This Micronesian Kingfisher is especially close to my heart. It is extinct in the wild and only survives in zoos. There is a total of 58 of these amazing birds left. I would love to see one of these little guys with my own peepers!

Not a Bird!

Believe it or not, I do make non-bird artwork (although I immediately thought about putting a bird on her shoulder). I found the most beautiful photo of a Kalinga woman in an article about the more than 1,000-yr-old tattoo practice in the Philippines. In the photo she is covered from neck down in amazing tattoos. I wanted to take away what the article was focusing on and show her beauty simply as a person.

Birds for Carol

This commissioned piece called for a flock of burgundy birds. I would love to know what the second bird from the left is thinking.