tiny robin
June 28, 2015
There is a woman named Robin who comes to the Gallery looking for namesake treasures. It is my personal pleasure to keep her mission accomplished.
‘N. American Robin‘, 4cm x 6cm, (1.5″ x 2.5″), watercolour miniature, sold
I have a niece named Robin. What’s cool about her is that she is married to Peregrin. And the relieving detail is that they chose not to name any of their three children after birds.
I went to school with a girl named Candi Barr. When I was a kid, our next door neighbour’s maiden name was Olivia Greene. Fortunately, none of my (known) relatives ever named their son Bud.
Please provide some examples of your own known ‘unfortunate’ names. We could all do with a smile.
twilight time
June 26, 2015
DUSK HAS ALWAYS BEEN a magical time for photographers and painters alike. Exemplifying this is John Singer Sargents’ famous work, ‘Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose’ . . .
He would work on the piece by running outside every evening at that magical time to take in the effects the setting sun created in his garden, and add more detail to this wonderful painting–and did this over an entire year, between 1885 and 1886.
It borders on fatuous to have a Singer Sargent and something of mine on the same page, so please refrain from making a comparison. Rather, note along with me that regardless of who is photographing, painting in oils, watercolour, or pastel, trying to gain an understanding of the effects of the setting sun continues to be a worthy and challenging pursuit, no matter which century we happen to find ourselves living in.
“Winter Sun”, watercolour, 20cm x 30.5cm (8″ x 10″), art board, unsold
chestnut chickadee miniature
June 16, 2015
The Chestnut-backed Chickadee uses lots of fur in making its nest, with fur or hair accounting for up to half the material in the hole.
nwnature.net
Rabbit, coyote, and deer hair are most common, but hair from skunks, cats, horses, or cows appears in nests as well. The adults make a layer of fur about a half-inch thick that they use to cover the eggs when they leave the nest. (source: allaboutbirds.org)
© René Corado / WFVZ
What’s not to like about these chittery, agile, and nimble bits of joy–so accommodating, they’re willing to eat out of an uplifted palm. At feeders, they flit in, impetuously seize a seed, cock their heads and in a mercurial moment are pounding the life out of their shell-encased prize, hammering against a solid branch.
“Chestnut Chickadee”, 2.54cm x 2.54cm (1″ x 1″), watercolour on Arches Hot Press Paper, sold
When annoyed, they chee-chee-chee-chee at any feeder chaos, curtly muscle back in, and sprightly dart back up to pummel their sunflower seed in privacy.
Northern Mockingbird
June 12, 2015
TODAY MY BLOGGING COMRADE, H.J. Ruiz of ‘Avian101’ ( https://avian101.wordpress.com/2015/06/12/law-and-order-2/) features his stories and photographs of The Northern Mockingbird, a bird I was asked to do a miniature of, but not a bird which we (to my knowledge) have populating the Interior of British Columbia (it is probably just too cold here).
The Northern Mockingbird, 2″ x 3″, watercolour, L. Rice-Sosne Collection
I HAD TO RELY ON REFERENCE PHOTOS and see from H. J.s photos that its feet are quite a distinctive size relative to the body. And it seems from photos to be a very sharp-eyed, inquisitive, decisive–almost wary–garden ‘defender’, as H.J. declares the Mockingbird to be. I’d perhaps have made its wings a degree darker had I had his photos before me, but I’m okay with the results.
OF COURSE, BOOMERS LIKE ME grew up hearing Patti Page singing ‘Mockingbird Hill’, as well as Inez and Charlie Foxx’s ‘Mockingbird’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g47_NI1CWNQ — which my parents hated and I loved ). It was, to me anyhow, later perfected by James Taylor and Carly Simon — watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmnTcBdpbHI . So all I really knew was the lore, rather than the bird.
AND I HAVE OVER THE YEARS, come to associate The Northern Mockingbird with The Old South, whether warranted or not, I just don’t really know.
barn swallow
June 9, 2015
A FEW INTRIGUING FACTS about Barn Swallows:
(source: allaboutbirds.org)
- Although the killing of egrets is often cited for inspiring the U.S. conservation movement, it was the millinery (hat-making) trade’s impact on Barn Swallows that prompted naturalist George Bird Grinnell’s 1886 Forest & Stream editorial decrying the waste of bird life. His essay led to the founding of the first Audubon Society.
- According to legend, the Barn Swallow got its forked tail because it stole fire from the gods to bring to people. An angry deity hurled a firebrand at the swallow, singeing away its middle tail feathers.
- The oldest known Barn Swallow in North America was 8 years, 1 month old.
‘Male Barn Swallow‘, watercolour, 7.5cm x 12.5cm, 3″ x 5″, Arches Hot Press 140# Paper, L. Rice-Sosne Collection
Barn Swallows don’t come to seed or suet feeders, but they may take ground-up eggshells or oyster shells placed on an open platform feeder. If you have a suitable outbuilding, leaving a door or window open can encourage Barn Swallows to build a nest inside. Providing a source of mud will also help with nest building. Barn Swallows may use artificial nest cups attached to an appropriate surface.
Barn Swallows also drink and even bathe on the wing, dipping down to take a mouthful of water or touch their belly to the surface for a quick rinse. Males defend a small territory around the nest site and aggressively chase away other males, even grabbing them with their feet and tumbling to the ground. Individuals or groups of Barn Swallows mob predators such as hawks, gulls, or grackles that approach nests.
finch miniature
May 28, 2015
THE HOUSE FINCH IS A RECENT INTRODUCTION from Western into Eastern North America (and Hawaii), but it has received a warmer reception than other arrivals like the European Starling and House Sparrow. That’s partly due to the cheerful red head and breast of males, and to the bird’s long, twittering song, which can now be heard in most of the neighborhoods of the continent. If you haven’t seen one recently, chances are you can find one at the next bird feeder you come across. (source: Cornell Ornithology)
‘House Finch’ 7.6cm x 11.4cm, (3″x 4.5″), watercolour on Arches Hot Press 140 lb. Paper
WHEN WE LIVED IN QUEBEC it was easy to tell the difference between a House Finch and a Purple Finch, simply because one was red and the other was the shade of pickled beets. Truly, to me at least, the Purple Finch was the more impressive, whereas a House Finch sort of came across as a Sparrow who’d fallen into some cherry koolaid.
IN WESTERN CANADA we do not have Purple Finches. The House Finch has become a delight in its own right, particularly because it is indeed attractive, and has truly a most melodious and lovely song. They are not overly aggressive and take turns at the feeders with their usual companions, the Goldfinches.
showstoppers
May 22, 2015
SOME BIRDS ARE JUST LOOKERS. Here in the Southern Interior of British Columbia we have a few worthy of stopping traffic.
NOT BEING MUCH OF A PHOTOGRAPHER–a person who snaps pictures, really–I can only share my photos of some of our local showstoppers, the first being a …..
Western Tanager in the front garden
Tanagers come here to nest, as do many songbirds
Spring, 2011
ANOTHER LOOKER OF A BIRD is the …..
Pileated Woodpecker, January, 2011
AND A GREAT FAVOURITE OF MINE IS a. . . .
Mountain Bluebird, Summer, 2012
THE MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD is found here in our abundant grasslands, and are encouraged to remain by our local people building and mounting birdhouses meant especially for them. And truly there are no blues quite as brilliantly displayed as on a male Mountain Bluebird, who, while I was snapping away and adjusting my lense, remained surprisingly still and unperturbed, as though enjoying (and deserving) the attention.
Male Mountain Bluebird, Kamloops, B. C., 2012
RECENTLY I WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE A MINIATURE of a Male Northern Cardinal, a bird not found in Western Canada. Having to rely on images not my own, and hoping the result would do justice to the actual bird itself . . . .
‘Northern Cardinal’ watercolour, arches hot press paper 9cm x 6cm (2.5″ x 3.5″)
IT IS BEING SENT OFF TO a patron in New York City, where I believe a Northern Cardinal might be seen gracing the beautiful environs of New York’s Central Park.
raven moon
May 20, 2015
PAINTING NIGHT has become something of a preoccupation. On a very bald and pedestrian level, one could simply say that ‘night sells’. However, it is the ‘why’ which is intriguing–why do scenes of watercolour-rendered night have an appeal.
‘Raven Moon’, watercolour, 35cm x 25cm (14″x10″), Art Board, (sold)
THERE IS A FASCINATION over what goes on in nature while we are sleeping. When walking the dog at 4 a.m., there are owls hooting, deer eating in people’s yards, the occasional cries of coyotes, and the enduring scent of lilac.
HEARING, TOUCHING, SMELLING all come alive, while seeing is at the pleasure of the muted moon–at once reassuring and mysterious.
The Gleaners
April 30, 2015
THE GLEANERS is a renowned painting by Jean-Francois Millet, finished in 1857.
It was controversial in France for its depiction of the lowest classes of society, picking from the fields what little was left after harvest. Prior to this, paintings of people were usually paintings of people who were rich enough to have their portraits done.
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE GLEANERS, as we know. And each of us, in our own way, were often taught by our parents to make good use of every last bit of something, including the meal(s) in front of us.
IN THE ANIMAL WORLD, Ravens are gleaners supreme, going after what little remains of just about anything left behind, tossed aside, or just there for the taking. Yesterday I encountered one in the parking lot of our local Mall, hopping about a garbage can with a broken wing, waiting for someone to provide some slim pickings. Its noble bearing and size–the gloss of its plumage, the inherent dignity–only added to the poignancy of its situation. And yet, it wasn’t exhibiting signs of pain or discomfort, just a keen willingness to take what it could get and survive. And glean.
Silt Bluffs
April 26, 2015
THE KAMLOOPS REGION is a geological wonder. 50 million years ago, volcanoes erupted and volcanic ash and lava covered the land, and their record is preserved in fossil beds throughout the area. Ancient rivers carved the landscape, forming the modern valleys of the Thompson Rivers and, during the Ice Ages, ice sheets carved the valleys and rounded the plateaus and mountains in the Kamloops area. (sourced from ‘Tourism Kamloops’ website)
THIS PAINTING is of a local geological formation called The Silt Bluffs. In the height of summer they are baked by a 40C sun, and are the home of rattlesnakes and cacti . . . and Ravens.
“The Silt Bluffs”
23cm x 30.5cm (9″ x 12″), watercolour, 140 lb. Arches Hot Press Paper, sold
name that bird . . .
April 25, 2015
SOME LONG WHILE AGO now (years)–through this blog–I received a request by email from a blogger to complete a miniature of a bird, which I did, and sent off to his/her satisfaction, receiving back in the mail remuneration.
THE DIFFICULTY FOR ME in this moment is that I still have the image of that little bird painting the way it looked when I was working on it . . . here it is . . . not a very sharp photo. .
. . . BUT MY PROBLEM in displaying it here, is that I no longer have a clue what kind of bird it is. All I can recall is that it is a species from a tropical region, and probably in the Central Americas. It is not a bird I have myself ever seen with my own eyes, so it lacks my personal experience, and therefore lacks a place in my memory bank . . . so . . . I’m asking . . .
DO YOU KNOW THE NAME of this bird?
a constable of ravens
April 24, 2015
YOU’VE HEARD OF ‘a murder of crows’, a ‘volery of birds’, a ‘brood of chickens’. The term for the groupings of Ravens is less fixed. Ravens were/are often seen gathering about The Tower of London, and in meaner times, The Tower was a Royal place of execution (Anne Boleyn, et al) .
AN UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS is what a grouping of them was called when a Royal was awaiting death–as though their presence was a foreboding, a cruel anticipating, a sign of ill will.
A CONSTABLE OF RAVENS is what their grouping was called when The Tower was no longer sinister, but rather a symbol of The Monarchy itself. Their presence in such times meant they were keeping guard over the Royal Family. Ravens were a constance, a watchful presence–a constable.
A CONSPIRACY OF RAVENS is another label for their gatherings, stemming from their ganging together whenever there’s carrion or bodily remains to be picked apart and eaten. Ravens don’t allow other than their own to share in the find.
A WOMAN IN OUR TOWN THUMBS HER NOSE AT by-laws and ritualistically feeds Ravens all through the Winter months by pouring out cat kibble in several of her collection of decorative cement-cast bird baths around the yard of her time-worn and historic home.
‘Where The Heart Is’
watercolour, 41cm x 50cm (16″ x 20″), 140 lb. Arches Hot Press Paper, J. R. Weisser Collection
THE INTENTION of this rather busy piece of work is simply to allow the viewer entry into Joan’s world. Sometimes our hearts want to be filled–if not by another’s affections, then by the things we’ve grown fond of–and sometimes, not just filled, but rather overflowing with so much that we’ve come to take heart in, that its accumulated presence brings with it a comfort.
A CONSTABLE OF RAVENS watches over and protects and guards the fading beauty of Seasons gone by, loves had and interred, and a lasting, loving sanctuary of the heart–as yet another Autumn invites one inside to sit by the fire and grow warm, and remember.
The Common Raven (corvus corax)
April 21, 2015
THE COMMON RAVEN is amply represented in British Columbia and enjoys the distinction of co-existing with people for thousands of years, to the point where–in Haida Nation tradition–the Raven has god-like qualities. It was the Raven which released the Sun from its little box–made the stars and moon–and even brought people out of the earth in order to populate a party being thrown. But in traditional stories Raven doesn’t actually create (make things out of nothing), so much as steal, exchange, rearrange and redistribute and generally push things around into new combinations. If that isn’t humanlike, I don’t know what is, lol.
“Spring Thaw”
watercolour on art board, 20 cm x 28 cm (8″ x 11″), sold
In Kamloops it is against the law to feed them, as well as crows. A buyer of my work named Joan pours bags of cat kibble into her elaborate and large cement bird baths in the Winter and revels in their continuous, noisy presence. The neighbours? not so much. When they report her, she just pays the fine and keeps at it.
New bird miniatures
April 6, 2015
The image sizes here are approximately 5cm x 8cm (2″ x 3″). I use a pair of rather strong magnifying glasses when working this small–the kind you find on display at pharmacies (around here they’re referred to as ‘cheaters’). So when working on a tiny miniature they are an enormous help, until I turn to go check on something in the kitchen and walk into the wall, lol.
Moral: don’t mess with Mother Nature (or the Ocean Man).
~~~~~
Aneleise (Ane) at her Grandparents’, age 8. . .
. . .’why the moon glows’ by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 31, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 30, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 29, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 28, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 27, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 26, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 25, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 24, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 23, 2015
Miniatures
March 20, 2015
THE DARK-EYED JUNCO ignores the feeders hanging in the red maple just beyond the front window, shunning the bossy finch rabble bumping one another off the perches. A Junco will head below, delighting in the shower of sunflower crumbs spit from Goldfinch beaks, already shelled, served on a bed of fresh snow.
STELLAR JAYS have the tact and grace of a sociopath. Self-absorbed to the point of being incognizant there even are other lifeforms, they bray and scatter seed as though perpetually going through puberty. Once chaos has been accomplished, they go over to our neighbour, Brenda, and do the same with her feeder.
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES dart in to claim a single seed, flit to a branch, hammer the shell apart, then dart in again–chee-cheeing a mantra as though making merry to themselves alone.
2″ x 2″, and 1/2″x 3/4″ , watercolour on Arches 140 lb. Hot Press Paper
weisserwatercolours 