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Ever Watchful – Cardinal painting
When you are this bright and this handsome you have to be Ever Watchful. Northern Cardinals stand out in so many ways. Caught in action When observing cardinals you can’t help but notice how shy and elusive they are. They are constantly surveying their surroundings for signs of danger. I think that when you stand out as much as they do that you have to always be on high alert. This fellow no doubt caught me taking his photo. I have a really good zoom lens so I was respectful of his space. Besides, they would never let anyone get too close. Decked out The deck where we feed the…
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Snack Attack
While sitting on the beach with my daughter and two grandsons, patiently waiting for the arrival of baby boy #3, we were entertained by crows swiping food from the strollers and picnic basket of unsuspecting beaching people. A Tale Unfolds – Snack Attack Sneak thieves What was most interesting with their behaviour is that they watched the people to ensure they were distracted and not watching their stuff. I had my camera trained on them for a long time happily taking photos. One crow in particular perched on the back of a stroller and picked it’s way through the treasure in the back. Only after taking many photos and marvelling…
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Striking Visitor
Almost always when I am working on a painting the title just comes to me. They literally name themselves. This painting was no exception however, I did’t feel right about using it as it was on the naughty side. It took me a long the time to come up with the alternative Striking Visitor. Yet, that is exactly the type of title I wanted. Draws attention to the pileated woodpecker and sound a bit regal or impressive. When you are fortunate enough to see one – it is is a big deal. They stop you in your tracks. The winding painting process This painting was a long time in the…
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Nut Case
Once upon a rainy day this Eastern Grey Squirrel was perched on our deck railing under our bird feeders. Happy and proud. Perching just for me waiting to be photographed. Earlier we had decided we wanted to feed the blue jays…but the squirrels had a different idea. Omigoodness the melie Blue jays tend to loudly announce their arrival. Shrieking in their arrival. The squirrels are aggressively willing to defend their stash. There were a number of interesting clashes of wit and will of feathers VS fur that provided us with endless hours of entertainment. It may be a rather selfish thing to feed the birds. This fella was perched just…
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On Watch
It is that time of year when I feel like I disappear. I have secret commissions that I am working on and of course, am unable to share. I can share my most recent acrylic painting of a crow – On Watch From how do I do this – to I got this When exploring in Rockwood Park in Saint John, NB last year, I happened upon this crow perched on a rock framed by two tree trunks. I knew instantly that I planned on painting this scene. I took a few reference photos… until my subject flew away. Only the tree trunks that drew me in felt like brackets…
