Joe "Hollywood" Cooper

This juvenile Cooper's Hawk is so pretty he must be a bird actor...

...show me........Dejection!

...show me.......Regal like an Eagle!

...show me.......Anticipation!

...okay, okay...you've shown me enough...I'll move on.

(I don't know why these hawks never want me to stick around and always end up giving me the stink eye!)

I found this juvenile Cooper's Hawk sitting on our deck. Walking up on him and seeing him so close took me by surprise, and I sort of did that jumpy second-look move, which unfortunately frightened him off, but he didn't go far. He perched in the Ash Tree about 20 feet away and surveyed the offerings for a while--enough time for me to get the camera and snap off a few shots before he grew bored with the clicking and took to the wing...with a flourish, of course!

A Study of a Black-bellied Plover

I loved watching this Black-bellied Plover probe the sand looking for food. More often than not he would spot something and run to pick it up, but sometimes he would dig into the sand to find something to eat. I saw this guy on Longboat Key in Florida last March. He was foraging with a small flock of Willets. He was mostly on his own, but he would move with the flock, so he seemed to be a part of it. Since it was March, he was still in his non-breeding plumage. You can tell I've warmed his colors up a bit in this painting too (just like I did with the Sedge Wren). He's really a bit blander...a lighter brown/gray. (For the post with the reference photo I used, click here.) This was a fun bird to paint. I enjoyed stylizing the feathers on his back and adding in the sand.

Painting 111 - Black-bellied Plover Digging in the Sand

Watercolor, 12x16 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

Sketch of a Black-bellied Plover

I sketched him while sitting in the car waiting for Matty to get out of school (as usual). It was a quick sketch to help me get a handle on his shape. I didn't go into much detail.

p.s. This is the first bird in the 100 Paintings Challenge that Rick has flipped for. He wants a print for his office! Cool...

"A small, 5 inch, mouse-like bird..."

...so starts the description of the sweet little Brown Creeper in my "Teach -Me About Birds Flash Cards, in full color (by Renwal Products, Inc.)." I remember the words "mouse-like bird" from the first time I read them in 1968, the year my mom and dad gave me the flash cards, but I wouldn't see the bird on a tree for years to come...not until I was an adult and learned how to narrow in on it by listening to its soft, seeping call.

I always hear Brown Creepers before I see them...and I always get happy when I hear them because they are just so darn cute!

It really is a mouse-like bird the way it creeps and crawls as it spirals up the tree looking under bark for insects to eat.

This is one of four Brown Creepers I found the Sunday before last along the Little Miami River. I was almost at the end of my walk and very close to the Kings Powder Factory when I heard that tiny, tiny call and soon four came into view.

...what are you doing in this batch of photos nuthatch? Trying to act like a Brown Creeper? You're supposed to go down the tree while the creepers go up!

...the description on the flash cards for the Brown Creeper really should have read, "a small, 5 inch, BARK-like bird," because that's what it is--a moving piece of bark that's hard to see!

Study of a Sedge Wren in the High Meadow

Painting 110 - Sedge Wren in the High Meadow

Watercolor, 12x16 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

You can't help but be held captive when watching this little bird. He sings and dives and then flies for a short burst...then dives again, then sings again just to let you know he's there, all the while making sure he stays well hidden among the tall grasses and stalks of meadow flowers! The first time I saw this fellow I definitely was riding a birding high. My adrenalin shot up so fast (I'm sure you know that birdie feeling!), and I was so excited. We are on the eastern-most range of this bird, which means we don't get to see him very often. If you look on our Cincinnati Bird List he's a "EEEE," which of course means he's hard to find; and "may not be present at all at this time in some years, but has occurred often enough to form a pattern." I was lucky enough to find him twice. Once on August 2, 2009 (post is here) and again on August 7, 2009. I got a few photos from both visits, but they were not great, so I decided to bring him to life with watercolor. During this summer and early fall I watched and listened for him every time I was in the High Meadow at VOA Park, but he never returned, which is predictable because that's his nomadic little modus operandi...

p.s. While painting this little guy I warmed the colors in his plumage up just a bit because he holds a warm spot in my heart (and that's how I see him in my mind's eye). He's a little more faded in reality (you can see that in the photos I posted here).

Painting a juvenile Tricolored "Hair Nation" Heron

Painting 109 - Tricolored Heron in Profile; the Beat Goes On...

Watercolor, 12x16 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

I knew when I saw this juvenile Tricolored Heron through my camera lens he would someday end up in a painting. The image of his profile and incredible tufts of downy feathers bubbled around in my brain for a long time. At first I saw him as a crazy acrylic...something with lots of energy to match that crazy "head of hair," but slowly it morphed into a detailed watercolor. The downy stray baby feathers on the top of his head were so airy and breezy and soft. I could see them in my mind's eye floating with the gentle puffs of sea air on that very hot day, and watercolor seemed the only way to capture that feel. This was the first baby heron I saw on Pinckney Island this summer (the post is here), so he was special. There were lots of other juveniles with cool hairdos, but this guy stood out. You can just tell he's a Rock 'n' Roller!

Pencil sketch of a juvenile Tricolored Heron

Now that I'm not afraid to sketch and paint in public, a whole new world has opened for me. I sketched this guy during an hour and half hockey practice...then again the next day during an hour and half tennis clinic--that's three hours of drawing time previously I would have spent reading. During that time I probably erased and redrew him 4 or 5 times. I was aiming for accuracy and wanted to get the angle of the head and bill just right. Drawing and redrawing helps me get familiar with the subject of the watercolor painting, and I found I use the sketches to solve problems I anticipate while painting. When I first started drawing this guy, I had no idea how to render the feathers on top of his head without making them look like brush bristles. Playing with the graphite, erasing, darkening, etc., allowed me to see the subtle shading that was there and helped me learn how to bring dimension to the painting. I only use sketches for detailed watercolors...my acrylic paintings are spur of the moment and fast.

p.s. I did get a new scanner, so it can handle the 12x16 format, but I'm still struggling with an exact scan using the scanning software. The original of this guy is nicer...the baby down is finer and not quite as yellow... Matty just walked in and saw the scan and said, "That's no where near as good as the original..." Well, I'll keep working on it!

This painting is part of the 100 Painting Challenge. I'm doing it for my second year. If you're an artist and want to join, visit the 100 Paintings Challenge Blog.

...more paintings for the challenge

Painting 108 - Northern Cardinal at Dusk

Watercolor, 12x16 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

I saw this male cardinal at our local park. It was very cold and evening was starting to close in. He had puffed his feathers up for warmth and was strikingly beautiful against the dark winter sky. He is the same bird that shows up in painting three (Radioactive Cardinal) and in this post, but I painted him in a much looser style (I also darkened the sky...).

Painting 107 - Chiggy by Starlight

Watercolor, 7x10 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

One evening a week or so ago I stocked the feeders around 9:00 p.m. anticipating a very cold morning with a covering of snow. It was so cold, and I was thinking about the little birds and how they were going to survive the long, cold night ahead. Birds have so many adaptations that help them foil the coldest of colds, but I still wondered if everyone was tucked in tight and ready to wait it out. It was nearly a full moon and the moon's light reflected off the snow in that quiet blue way that only happens deep in winter when the snow is thick on the ground. Stars swept across the sky and the immensity caused me to linger. Beauty is soft at night so it's always good to pause to take it all in, but my fingers were starting to protest so I had to move on, but before I went in "Chiggy by Starlight" popped into my head. I went inside and painted him, going over his white feathers with a fine-tipped white marker, hoping to capture the feel of the moon's glow...and the cold of the night.

Painting 106 - Green Topiary With One Red Bird Above and One Below

Watercolor, 9x12 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

Summer heat was in mind as I painted this fun and quick painting (lots and lots of green to counteract the gray that descends in our area midwinter). It's a strange style for me, and it might be more art therapy than anything. The painting started as a watercolor and morphed into a watery acrylic. Along the way I carved a leaf stamp in an eraser (idea from Laure's blog) and stamped it all over using green acrylic paint. I then ran water over it to spread everything out. It makes me think of art I remember seeing as a child in the Swinging 60s, baby.

Painting 105 - Hummer Light

Watercolor, 6x8 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

"Hummer Light" makes me happy--it's quick and sloppy with a feel of the moment. It's all watercolor--no sketching and probably created in under a minute. I really miss our hummers...they are nothing but watery memories right now...

Painting 104 - Sedgie in the High Meadow

Watercolor, 6x12 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

I almost called this painting "Bad Sedgie" because of the Sedge Wren's annoying habit of diving into the cover of grass instead of sitting out in the open to be photographed. If you look in the bottom-right corner of the painting you can see a tiny Sedge Wren perched where he most often perches--nearly out of sight. I conjured this painting out of a memory from a sunny day in August of 2009 when a Sedge Wren visited VOA Park (he's never been back--post is here). Can you tell I'm missing the sun...and the green...and the flowers? Painting is an easy way to bring it back. Right now I'm working on a more detailed portrait of this little Sedge Wren. It should be finished soon.

Tufted Titmouse sitting pretty...

Sunday afternoon the snow was fresh along the Little Miami River and covered the hillsides and paths along the way. Winter birds were all around, their calls softly filtering through the branches, muffled as they carried across the snow. At one point, I looked up and saw this lone Tufted Titmouse perched on the end of a small branch. He was tucked in among lacy shadows, catching a sun ray every now and then...perfectly mirroring the beauty and stillness of winter.

A Tufted Titmouse along the Little Miami River shows a touch of winter's magic.