Towhee and Bluejay

Towhee, 10"x8", Oil on Board

This is my second session on this eastern towhee whose photograph was generously provided by Jim Sears.  Towhees are a kind of large sparrow with a chunky body and a long rounded tail.  They rummage in the undergrowth for food making more noise than expected.  This one is making his way through the snow for seeds fallen from the feeder.

Bluejay, 10"x8", Oil on Board

I've been struggling with the ground on this bluejay painting. Yesterday's work yielded a much more orange ground.  I toned that today with some naples yellow and burnt sienna.  

Chirp, Chirp

Cardinals

Cardinals, 8"x8", Oil on Board

After spending 12 days in Costa Rica, I am more intrigued than ever by our feathered friends.  The diversity of the birds in Costa Rica is phenomenal.  However, I'm sticking with birds I live with and are indigenous to New England.  These two female cardinals represent how color can vary with light and weather.  The lady on the right is sitting in rain with her crown pulled back.  The light was low and gray.  The left hand cardinal sits on a branch in a bright snowy day.  She was chirping away and proud of her crown.  

Chickadee

Three Little Birds

Mama Cardinal, 6"x6", Oil on Board

Baby Jay, 6"x6", Oil on Board

Gold Finch, 6"x6", Oil on Board

These little bird studies began through photography.  I was experimenting with a new camera's zoom and capturing birds in an almost fluid manner.  I was intrigued by both the amount of expression that was able to come through the eyes and the movement of the space.  From there I approached the idea of painting them quickly, expressively with the goal of creating a space that also appeared as fast and energetic as the photo.  I wanted the space around the birds to have an air of movement and time.  

Musings

Alberto Giacometti, “Head of Diego on ‘La Psychanalyse'” 

There is a very good online 'zine, Hyperallergic, which published a piece today on The New 

York Studio School's exhibit of Alberto Giacometti's drawings.  I've always enjoyed Giacometti's works.  They are so dense, yet clear.  Once, when touring a cave and observing the stalagmites, I commented on their Giacometti-like appearance.  A man near me misunderstood, laughed and said to his wife, "she thinks they look like chocolate bunnies."  I guess not all cave visitors are culturally literate.  Now, every time I see a Giacometti, I say, "Look. There is a chocolate bunnie."  There is a quote from Giacometti, “The more one works on a picture the more impossible it becomes to finish it.” that I relate to.  This phenomenon is becoming self evident with Lilacs. More of Giacometti's work can be seen at Artsy.

Lilacs in the Mist

Lilacs in Mist, 17" x 24.5", Oil on Board

I'm still not convinced the lilacs are prominent enough.  I added some details to the background to clarify the space.  Slow, slow, slow going.