I am  pleased to announce that my painting entitled “Humble Abode” was awarded Best of Show at the Artistic Designs Gallery’s annual miniature invitational.    This was a fun little painting to create and any artist is most pleased to know that others enjoy and appreciate their work.

(Above) “Humble Abode”     8 ” x 10″        Acrylic on masonite

Although exotic travel is one way many artists including myself gather experiences from which to paint, we are also often inspired by  nature that is right outside of our own windows.  This painting features a Carolina Wren who is returning to her nest inside of whats left of  an old shed that once stood on a relative’s farm. She has brought a meal back for her babies.  Carolina Wrens are very common here at our house and nest in a variety of places, from planted pots, to our gas grill (it’s a good thing we prefer to cook in our charcoal grill instead!).

This little Wren sings just outside our window.  Carolina Wrens are very gregarious and noisy, singing all throughout the day.   They have become very numerous in woodland areas in this part of the country.

Another comical and noisy neighbor is this little family of Tufted Titmice.   This was a large brood and they all successfully fledged.  Their raspy cheerful calls could be heard all throughout the day.

A less numerous visitor, but one who arrives here to nest each summer is the Great Crested Flycatcher (below).  These birds have a very unusual song and their enormous size makes them quite noticeable in the woods.   Roger Tory Peterson best describes this bird’s call in his book as “a loud, whistled wheeeeep!   Also a rolling prrrrrrrreeet.”    Like many songbirds, the Great Crested Flycatcher sings less often when the summer temperatures get very hot.

For those who are interested in stories, photographs and field sketches from far away places, I have just added two new segments to my “Adventures” link on this website.   You will see them at the top entitled “Yukon” and “Canadian Rockies”.

These are a few images from the Yukon entry.  This entry includes interesting history of the area and many images of summer in the far north including a close up look at some of the most famous animals of the vast Yukon territory.

Below are a few images from the Canadian Rockies entry.   This entry takes you through one of the most scenic places in North America and gives you a glimpse into the lives of the fascinating animals who call the Canadian Rockies home.

For much more, be sure to check it out! 

I adore birds.   All birds.  There is something about them that simply fascinates me.   My mother instilled this love in me from early childhood.    Although not at all outdoorsy, my mom did enjoy watching the birds in our back yard from the glass sun room (no BUGS!).   We had a Peterson field guide on the table  in that room accompanied by binoculars .   Although the birds we saw  mostly were common back yard birds found in the eastern U.S. we enjoyed watching them just the same.

When I moved from Ohio to the Kansas City area, the birds that I saw each day were many of the same species that I watched while growing up.   Once we moved to wooded acreage however, bird watching took on a whole new dimension!     Many of the familiar birds are here in the woods (although I have not seen a single Sparrow since our arrival here).    But we are now able to attract colorful canopy birds too, my two favorites of which are sharing a feeder below.

(Below) A mature Baltimore Oriole shares “his” jelly feeder with a male Indigo Bunting.   Size is everything in the bird world…usually.    Ordinarily, a larger bird would nearly always dominate a feeder.   But Buntings are very laid back and tame by nature.   They are birds of little conflict that are amiable and seemingly unflappable.    This tiny fellow was not deterred by the larger more flamboyant Oriole.    They were somehow able to work out an agreement with each other and dined together.    This is unusual, as birds of different species typically don’t eat at a feeder at the same time.

Like any busy airport, one must occasionally wait in line to get onto the tarmac.    Here the Bunting is trying to decide whether or not to hop down onto the jelly feeder.    Buntings are very adaptable birds, getting along well with others and eating virtually anything that is available to them from small insects, to jelly, to small seeds.   This is a delightful and beautiful species.

We are nearly overrun by Orioles this year.  Adult males are the only ones that have a solid black head.   Juvenile males are speckled where they will later be black.   This mature male poses within the Clematis on our trellis.   The purple and orange are a beautiful sight.

My acrylic painting entitled “Vibrant Garden” was inspired by sights just outside our windows.