More bird paintings...and a field of tulips for good measure!

I have been painting, but I've only been posting the paintings on the 100 Paintings Challenge site because I've been trying to get the little mustards and wildflowers from the Adams County field trip and the Florida birds from the Captiva trip posted (but, if you know me, I always have a bit of Short Attention Span Theater going on, so I thought I'd pop the paintings up tonight). The paintings in this batch are all impressionistic with the emphasis on color and feeling...

Painting 137. Avis Spei

(Oil Pastel, 9x12 Sennelier Oil Pastel Paper)

"Avis Spei" is packed with hope, love, and the promise of summer. The painting is based loosely on the newly arrived Blue Gray Gnatcatchers in our area. I really didn't know what to name it, so I asked Matty if he had any ideas. He thought we should come up with a new "scientific" name based in Latin, because finding this bird in a field guide might be a bit iffy! With all the color and energy surging through it, he thought "Avis Spei" would do the trick -- Bird of Hope! :-)

Painting 136. Spring on the Little Miami with the Blue Gray Gnatcatchers

(Oil Pastel, 10x10 Sennelier Oil Pastel Paper)

"Spring on the Little Miami" honors the Blue Gray Gnatcatchers that have just descended into our woods. When spring rains come, these little imps are never far behind. Last Saturday evening after the rainfall, Rick and I headed over to the Little Miami River to see if the Gnatcatchers had arrived. We weren't on the trail very long before we heard their constant chatter and spring song. I didn't bring my camera, so I had to create this little bird from memory. I painted her a little bluer than she really is...because I was so happy to see her, and I added in lots of summer green because I always think about them gleaning insects from the green leaves (sometimes the imagination is a little more fun--and dramatic--than the camera!) If this had been a male, I would have added a black "eyebrow" stripe.

Painting 135. A Captiva Blue in Green

(Oil Pastel, 9x12 Sennelier Oil Pastel Paper)

"A Captiva Blue in Green" is a Great Blue Heron from our recent trip to Captiva Island in Florida. I love all the Florida birds...and can't get enough of them! I also can't seem to get enough of the Sennelier Oil pastels. I've noticed that I seem to have a different style with each medium I use with impressionism winning out. However, I can feel a detailed and realistic watercolor brewing in my head...

Painting 134. The Rush of Spring

(Acrylic, 16x20 Stretched Canvas)

"The Rush of Spring" is a raucous representation of spring--a field of tulips blowing in the wind and bursting with color. The image is totally made up, based on an impression left in my brain from the early 70s when my family went to Holland, Michigan. I LOVED that trip...seeing the huge fields of tulips has always stayed with me. The big windmill was pretty cool too! :-) I don't know if my brother was as impressed as I was, though. Since he checks my blog every day, I'm sure he will let me know!

Gold Daffodils in Pink...

Painting 133. Gold Daffodils in Pink

(Oil Pastel, 9x12 Sennelier Oil Pastel Paper)

Gold Daffodils in Pink was another experiment. I wanted to see how dark and rich I could take the color using the Sennelier oil pastels, and I wanted a blurry lushness I could get lost in, so I slathered the pigment on in waves and used a smudge stick to blend and blur. These daffodils are from my front yard today! I know...it's grey and cold and snowing, but these brave souls pushed through. They were working their hardest to brighten things up in the Great Grey Expanse, but their happy little faces seemed faded outside. I knew if I got them inside their gold color would glow and fill the room with spring, and I could do something fun with them using the Sennelier oil pastels...

Painting 132. Red Tulips in Blue

(Oil Pastel, 9x12 Sennelier Oil Pastel Paper)

Last year for the 100 Painting Challenge, I worked exclusively with birds, but this year I'm adding flowers and insects into the mix. Red Tulips in Blue is my first floral still life. I brought these flowers home from Whole Foods yesterday in an attempt to "buy" a little spring since Mama Nature wasn't handing it out for free. I really enjoyed using the Sennelier oil pastels. It felt so good to see those vibrant colors coming to life on the paper!

These paintings are part of the 100 Painting Challenge. If you want to make art a regular part of your life...join up!

This is my second year of the challenge. I'm working on 500 paintings in five years.