flycatcher

There are lots of varieties of flycatchers, according to allaboutbirds.org, and I think this one might actually be a Willow Flycatchers . They are brownish-olive birds that are best known for their voice. Look for them singing their distinctive song on top of willows and other shrubs in early summer just after they arrive from Central and South America where they spend the winter. Although they’re common across the United States, the Southwestern subspecies is federally endangered.

"Flycatcher" is an original 6"x6" oil painting  on ⅛" gesso panel and is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

common yellowthroat bird painting

According to allaboutbirds.org, the common yellowthroats broad black mask lends a touch of highwayman’s mystique to the male Common Yellowthroat. Look for these furtive, yellow-and-olive warblers skulking through tangled vegetation, often at the edges of marshes and wetlands. Females lack the mask and are much browner, though they usually show a hint of warm yellow at the throat. Yellowthroats are vocal birds, and both their witchety-witchety-witchety songs and distinctive call notes help reveal the presence of this, one of our most numerous warblers.

This is a particularly handsome fella if you ask me, wonder what his witchety-witchety-witchety songs sounds like?!?

This original 6"x6" oil painting on 1 ½" raised panel with the sides painted gold, ready for display as is, is available for $130 here.

A little birdie told me...

That it's going to be a great day! Any day that I can wake up early and paint before I head off to work is a great day, or at very least a great start to my day.


This original 6"x6" oil painting is on a 1 ½" raised panel with sides painted gold. It is available for $130 here. Enjoy!

soft heart

This original 6"x6" oil painting is SOLD.

green heron

Green Heron is an original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel. It is available, unframed, for only $100 here.

some days...

Some days I am so blessed to have a painting sell before I even have time to list it for sale. This just happens to be one of them.

Here's how my day usually starts out...I do my best to get up as close to a 5:15 as I can. First, I turn on the coffee pot (so I don't have to wait for it to warm up later, because every minute counts) and then I take a quick shower.

Then I make my coffee, grab my brushes, which are hopefully clean and waiting from the evening before, and head into my studio (down the steps to my basement). I usually have at least a general idea of what I would Iike to paint. And I have my panel ready and waiting. Then I find one of many of my favorite podcasts to listen to.

Making sure my paints from the day before aren't dried out, I then replace the colors that need refreshed. Then I dive into my painting. The next hour goes by in what seems to be a heartbeat, a blink of an eye, a new york minute.

Then, at 6:45, it's time for me to drive my daughter to the bus stop. At that moment I need to either be finished, or choose to finish the following day, which isn't ideal because the paint dries too much. It's sure is a great way to not allow myself to overwork a painting,

I usually photograph the painting right before driving her to the bus. I post it on Instagram (quickest and easiest post) while we are waiting for her bus to arrive. Next I head home and get ready for work and do my best to get to the office by 7:30 for the next part of my day to begin. On this particular day I found out that this cute bird had already found a new home. A nice way to start a day, right? It really doesn't get any better than that!

Am I Crazy?

Even though there are days when I think I must be crazy to try to fit painting into an already busy schedule, I wouldn't give it up for the world. 

If you want to see more of my bird paintings, click here. 

birds of a feather

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 here.

poised

Poised, this finch is all ready to go as soon as a wonderful opportunity comes his way. And he's certain that it will. We all need that blind confidence that the next great thing is right around the corner, because it always is!

The House Finch is a recent introduction from western into eastern North America, 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.

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

sassy

This sassy bluebird is 6"x6" and painted in oil on 1/8" gesso panel, sold unframed, for $100 here.

gray catbird

How a gray catbird helped me get my day off to a great start...

I got up late today and thought I wouldn't have enough time to fit in my daily painting. Whenever that happens it makes me start my day off feeling a bit disappointed. Since one of my words this year is Yes (you can read more about that on my blog here), I decided to try to fit in a painting anyway. Well, everything worked out and I was able to see gray catbird come to life, and I must say, I am quite pleased with the colors and the brushstrokes... plus, added bonus, I got to work early to boot! It is amazing what you can accomplish when you say yes!

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is sold, unframed, for $100 here.

female eastern bluebird

Berries for breakfast! Yum!
This original 6"x6" oil painting is available, unframed, for $95 here.

red-breasted nuthatch

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $95 here.

bah humbug

So very much hoping this isn't a reflection of me during this crazy hectic season. Sadly, I think it is. I meant for him to look happy. But this is how he was feeling this morning. Bah humbug. I'm doing my best to keep and eye out for the holiday spirit sometime soon :) This could be a great holiday gift for an art lover/Christmas nay sayer in your life...

This original 6"x6" oil painting on gesso panel is available for purchase, unframed, for $95 here.

cooper's hawk

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $95 here.

eastern phoebe

This is Phoebe. A sweet and thoughtful little bird. You can just see it in her eyes. 

This morning I was listening to another Art Pro Podcast. The interview was with an artist named Bianca Bello (her website is wildhumm). Her art is super fun and she's an inspiration because she became an artist mostly by accident while getting her masters in chemistry. And she's making it work. I love hearing stories of people with a love for art actually making it in the real world, and being able to support themselves with their art. I can happen!

This original 6"x6" eastern phoebe bird painting is available, unframed, for $95 here.

They're here! They're here!

I started my series of bird paintings quite by accident when I found a friend who was very graciously willing to share his original bird photography with me as painting reference. I paint first thing in the morning before I begin my day. It brings me so much peace and happiness in the craziness of life. Anyway, since I am a designer and have an advertising agency (tcg advertising & design) by day, what a natural fit for me to design a calendar using many of my favorite bird paintings. I couldn't be happier with the end result. Plus I am so lucky to have friends to help me with the scans, the printing, etc. Hopefully it's a first of many fun things ahead!

You can purchase a calendar in my Etsy shop here. Or message me if you live nearby and would like to pick one up from me to avoid the shipping charge.

saturday blue bird

This sweet blue bird was a fun bird to use for my painting demo this past Saturday. I've never really had people watch me paint before and I thought I might be nervous. I wasn't nervous at all. It was actually quite fun. I think the only challenge was that I am used to being by myself, completely lost in thought, when I paint. It was very different stopping to talk. But I really did enjoy it, and the painting turned out quite well, I think. Here's to new beginnings!

This original 6"x6" oil painting is available for purchase, unframed, here.

Here is a thought from Seth Godin that I thought was worth passing along...

Now is never (but here comes tomorrow) Everything you're working on is an investment in tomorrow.
While we can choose to enjoy the process, the end result is always at the end of an arc, always the result of many steps, of earning trust, of building a connection.
If you view any particular day without context, it is almost certain to be a failure. Because now never happens. The results always happen later.
Since later is just around the corner, today, right now, is the perfect time to begin.
Now is the moment we get to plant the seeds for later. 

goldfinch

What a crazy busy weekend I had with a showing of my work at First Friday in downtown Lancaster. I am so blessed to have had so many friends, old and new, stop by to see me and my work. A great big thank you to all who came! I sold several paintings and was commissioned to paint several more. I was so focused on getting ready for the show that I feel a bit behind on everything else...painting, blog posts, my calendar (which I'm happy to say was delivered on Friday! Yea!) So now it's time to get refocused, reenergized and gear up for a busy holiday season.

My show will be up through the end of November at Seasons Olive Oil & Vinegar Taproom, so stop in and see it if you are in the Lancaster area.

This cute fellow is another in my series of bird paintings called "early bird," this original 6"x6" bird painting is available for $95 here.

This is me at my painting demonstration on Saturday morning. I thought I might be nervous as it was the first time I ever did this, but I wasn't nervous at all. Maybe it's time to try my hand at some teaching, next?

big magic

Each morning choosing a title for my painting is much, much more challenging than creating the painting itself. They are usually pretty random. I actually keep a list of words and phrases that either sound fun, like I want to roll them around in my mind for a while, or else I pull them out of something inspiring that I've saved for one reason or another.

For today my title came from this quote that I found inspirational from artist Meredith Pardue.  This appeared in Elle Magazine.

"Create your work with passion, with ferocity, and do so from a place that is yours and yours alone.  Take elements that speak to you from those whose work you admire, take it from the world around you, TAKE it, and make it YOURS. Do it again. And again.  Work for it. Then work harder. Fail. Get up. Do it again. Work, work, work. It is not easy, and it is not fast. Do it anyway. Put in the thousands of hours. Put yourself at risk.  If you don’t, then you are not being innovative.  Someone will always be better than you.  That is ok. You are not here to compete or compare yourself with others. You are here to find your own way. Be innovative.  Work hard, and be relentless. Or go do something else—because forging a career as an artist is not for the faint of heart. 

Save money early on in your life, and take advantage of your youth and of compound interest.  Invest small amounts of money monthly throughout your college years and into your twenties, and you will have much more financial security later in your life without having to put out the money—freeing yourself from a stifling existence of working a job you dislike, freeing up your time to create.   Live below your means.  You do not have to live in NYC or a big city to be a successful artist.  

Do not compromise your work based upon what is trendy.  Keep your ego in check.  Travel—make it a priority, especially in your twenties.  You do not have to have a lot of money to see the world, and nothing opens your mind and enhances your perspective like traveling to new places.  Read.  Visit museums.  Educate yourself.  You will never “arrive.”  What you imagine or hope will be your greatest achievement or peak experience will probably be anticlimactic.  Most of your true successes will happen privately.  It is easy to be free in your twenties, but it gets more challenging as you get on in your life and your responsibilities increase, as you have a family—stay your course.  

So, I've got a lot of work ahead of me because I don't have the advantage of being in my 20's. But I do have plenty of perseverance, and I'm not afraid to work hard. This is great advice at any age, right?

"Big Magic" is part of my growing series of bird paintings titled "early bird." This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $95 here.

confidence

Truth be told, something that I feel I am lacking in is confidence. It's crucial to creating a happy life. It's been a lifelong challenge for me and I do think I've come a long way. But I have a long way to go. Creating artwork and showing it to the world takes confidence. Lots. Not sure where I misplaced it along the way, but hoping to find my way back to it, one painting at a time.

This original oil painting is sold.