Still Winter-y

I began this painting in December, finished it in January, and finally photographed it today. The White Breasted Nuthatch is often seen clinging to branches like a woodpecker, but head down. Since there is barely, if at all, any sign of spring at this time, it still looks seasonal. The red twig dogwood branches are one of the few colorful features in the landscape right now.

White Breasted Nuthatch, Original Watercolor by Anne Gilna

Oh, Why Not?

I'm posing with one of my entries at the "Drawn to Nature II" exhibit:

I'm most proud of the huge name tag.

A Grand Opening

The Reed-Turner Artists

Sunday, March 3 was the opening reception of Drawn to Nature II, an exhibition of the botanical works of the Reed-Turner Woodlands Botanical Artists' Circle, of which I'm a member. The show is currently on display at the Brushwood gallery at Ryerson Woods until April 30. A large crowd enjoyed viewing about 60 pieces, all with a botanical theme. Of the three watercolor paintings that I contributed to the exhibit, 2 of them just happened to have a bird within.

It Wouldn't Be January without a Downy

 

Nothing says "January" like a painting of a downy woodpecker on a bare tree. I love the texture of a birch tree. While the bark seems at a glance to be simply black & white, at a closer look it's a combination of many subtle shades of brown, green, and even pink. Still, it's much more contrasted than most tree bark. I usually paint a downy scene with a minimum of color variation, except for the male's red patch.

Walls Full of Birds

Recently a customer wanted to buy a large group of my prints for a newly painted sun room wall. She had them framed and sent me this photo. I'm proud to have my work displayed so prominently!

From the Archive

I painted this watercolor of a Fox Sparrow in 2007, which for whatever reason was a common visitor to my garden that year. I have only attempted to paint a snow scene with watercolor 2 times, this one and another one with juncos. The snow is difficult to accurately depict, but I was fairly satisfied with the effect. Both paintings were sold after a short time. It's also hard to reproduce the snowy scene for prints, so this is the only image I have of the original.

The Bluebird of . . .

I tromped around the grounds of the nearby forest preserve until I found an interesting tree-like shrub (or shrublike tree) with some kind of berries. I was looking for some combination of red and white to complement the bluebird that I was imaging painting. The leaves were almost completely gone, and the berries were still white, but kind of shriveled. I wanted it to look weathered. I find that plants are more interesting when they're not looking like they're at their best. I just happened to have a scissors with me in the car. With some effort, I was able to hack away at the shrub until I detached some branches.
It appears that the plant is a grey dogwood, judging from my googling.