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You'll know the Carolina Wren by it's rich cinnamon plumage, white eyebrow stripe, long and thin beak, and upward-cocked tail. And as you may have noticed, I've painted these cuties a lot! [...]

You know it, and I know it. So what are we going to do about it? (Of course, I'm talking about painting, but these principles can apply to any type of failure.) [...]

Painting small is a great way to practice, experiment and improve your skills. [...]

This beautiful Mourning Dove caught my eye as it strolled down the sidewalk outside my kitchen window after dinner one evening. It was a subject that begged to be painted - the evening light was perfect: it cast a lovely warm glow on the bird with long cool shadows. I thought a step-by-step bird tutorial was in order! [...]

Birds are source of joy and inspiration for my watercolors all year round - they cheerfully go about their business regardless of the weather. Simply provide food, water and shelter in your yard, and you can enjoy the antics of our feathered friends from the comfort of your own home. [...]

I titled this article "Backyard Musings", but maybe "Backyard Drama" would have been more apt. Let's begin with the Mockingbird madness I witnessed this past winter right outside my kitchen window. [...]

In recent days, a flock of eight Wild Turkeys has been visiting our backyard to glean underneath the bird feeders. Of course I had to paint them! [...]

Does anyone else enjoy watching birds nesting around their home? I was fortunate to watch a pair of American Robins build their nest on a downspout just outside my laundry room window, incubate three eggs, and care for the chicks until they fledged. All within a one month period! I have lots of pictures and a video of the robins! [...]

My yard was inundated by Robins this past winter — the American Robins became so numerous on our property that I began calling my backyard "Robin Hood!" (as in neighborhood). [...]

So many baby robins passed through my yard this summer. I just had to paint one! [...]

My husband and I headed down to the Branson area in mid-May to see how the eagles were faring, and to take the boat out on the lake since good weather was expected. Our first stop upon arrival was the original bald eagle nest we had discovered on March 31: the nest of couple #1, the fourth-year eagle parents that had refurbished an existing heron nest out on a limb. [...]

Just as we have for the past three years, my husband and I headed down to Southwest Missouri to visit the heron rookery to photograph the Great Blue Herons. Boy, were we in for a surprise! [...]

Are you a bird watcher?   When we owned a condo in Southwest Missouri, I would look forward to being greeted by Eastern Bluebirds whenever we arrived. It seemed as though regardless of the time of year, I'd always see those beauties during our visit: perching on posts or telephone wires, swooping down to catch an insect, even sitting in the branches feeding their young. They always made me smile.   A strange coincidence? I'd seen bluebirds in the St. Louis area, but never in my backyard. Over the past year or so, however (since we sold our condo), I've begun seeing a pair of bluebirds [...]

Ever since I began painting birds (my very first painting was of a bird, so...), I've wanted to paint a group of all my favorites. Twelve years later, I'm finally doing it!   A dose of procrastination. This was supposed to be about birds, but then I began asking myself questions, like "why did I wait so long to paint a collection of birds?"   Do you have goals that you have put off for way too long? When I searched the web I found out that "procrastination psychology" is actually a thing. Who knew?   My own reasons may have been fear of failure, feeling overwhelmed at [...]

How do you decide what to do with the backgrounds of your paintings? Continuing the Backgrounds Should Never Be an Afterthought theme, today I will take you through my intuitive process.   Intuitive Backgrounds.* My reference photo was very good, and though I thought I would do something similar with the background, I wanted to allow it to evolve, rather than force it.   Underpainting. On this piece, I knew I wanted a soft, ethereal background, so I began laying in Quinacridone Gold wet-on-dry. The gold would establish the warm areas on the bird and the rooftop. I also painted outside of the lines to begin to establish the composition. [...]

As promised in my previous blog, Backgrounds Should Never Be an Afterthought, I’d like to illustrate one of several ways that I go about handling backgrounds in my paintings.   Today I will address Planned Backgrounds. Keep in mind that the background is the space around the subject that should support and enhance the subject, not detract or distract from it. Planning from the start is probably the most straightforward way to accomplish a harmonious background for your painting.   Underpainting. On 300lb cold-pressed paper, I drew almost everything that I wanted to include in the final painting. Then I applied masking fluid on tiny areas where [...]

A September trip to our condo on Table Rock Lake was spent boating and paddleboarding. The weather was perfect, the scenery beautiful, and the lake fairly quiet since Labor Day had passed. Our final day was spent exploring a winding creek in Arkansas, which turned out to be a bird watcher's dream!     As we slowly traversed the creek, Mike pointed out a couple of Great Egrets flying around a bend in the distance. I got my camera ready as we followed the egrets around the curve. As we drew closer, we saw a congregation of these large white herons: some wading in [...]

I knew I'd have some time to myself (for bird watching) when I visited my son and his wife in Las Vegas this past May, so I brought along my Nikon P900. I'm glad I did; I was pretty excited about my discoveries! Come along with me as I take you through my desert bird encounters.   Western Wood-Pewee This smart little flycatcher put on quite a show for me as he flew to-and-fro, snatching flying insects in midair.   Great-tailed Grackle These big, beautiful, iridescent black birds are not shy in the least, and they made their presence known to me immediately. My son dislikes them [...]

I've looked forward to my trips down to southwest Missouri to see "my" Great Blue Heron families...Watching these beautiful birds with their huge wingspans and long legs maneuver in and out of the nests, as well as seeing the youngsters' comical expressions as they practice flapping their wings in their sometimes overcrowded nests has been a joy to behold! Read on for the final part of my spring discovery story. [...]

I was pretty excited when I first saw (and heard) the babies up in the treetops! Painting these Great Blue Herons and their chicks has been a lot of fun, as has watching and photographing them. Read on for the continuation of my spring discovery story. [...]

I was pretty excited when I first learned about the active heronry in southwest Missouri. Read on for the continuation of my spring discovery story featuring my favorite Great Blue Heron pair. [...]

My first glimpse of the heronry. The weather forecast looked beautiful for late March, so I was heading down to our condo on Table Rock Lake; I knew it was the time of year that Great Blue Herons begin nesting. I have occasionally visited a couple of heronries on Lake Taneycomo (the more generic term for "heronry" is "rookery"), but they were not easily accessible and have declined in recent years.   I decided to ask the "experts" on the Missouri Birders Facebook page if there were any heron colonies in the Branson area. They did not disappoint! I was thrilled to learn that [...]

If you read my previous article, Frigid Temps, Fat Robins, you may have been surprised at the odds against the American Robin successfully producing young. I know I was!   I remembered that two springs ago I had witnessed a successful American Robin's nest right in my front yard. Since the little hideaway was chest-high just outside my front door, it was easy to snap quick photos with my cell phone without disturbing the occupants too much, though I limited my intrusions for their health and privacy.   Come along with me on a photo journey from nest to fledge!   4/9/19 The day I first noticed the [...]

I've been drawn to painting birds ever since I began watercolor lessons in the fall of 2009. I already enjoyed watching and photographing my backyard birds, so painting them was a natural transition. Birds are not often still for long, so I aim to preserve those brief moments when birdsong causes my head to turn or a flash of color draws my eye. Although I've branched out into other subjects, birds are definitely my first love!     Spring Fling, original 5.5" x 8" watercolor. I remember the first White-crowned Sparrow (the subject of Spring Fling) that visited my backyard one winter. He perched only [...]

Baby, it was cold outside! I hope everyone is thawed out and back to normal after the recent deep freeze that swept across the country. I'm thinking especially of  Texas and the other southern states that were the hardest hit. Fortunately, we only had 6-8" of snow here in Missouri, although we did catch a frozen pipe before any damage was done to the inside of the house.   Fat Robin, original 5.5” x 5.5” watercolor painting  Like most birds, Robins puff up their feathers to insulate their internal organs (see Fat Robin and Fat Robin II above). The outside of the feathers are cold, like [...]

Thud. That awful sound that alerts you that a bird has struck your window. More often than not, when you look outside, there is nothing to see... the bird has flown off, uninjured. But sometimes... what you dread has come true: a bird is lying on the ground, stunned and immobile.* After hearing the dreaded "thud" on a  freezing cold day in December, I called Mike to the kitchen to see a White-throated Sparrow which lay stunned on the ground outside the window. As we stood looking at the poor little bird, I said something like "you're supposed to pick them up [...]

OK. So a camera isn't exactly a watercolor tool per se, but as an artist that works from photographs, I can tell you that a good camera is essential. I was photographing birds for my own pleasure long before I began painting them. My husband dabbled in photography in the past, so we own a couple of heavy duty (with the emphasis on heavy) Nikon cameras, including a D7100 with a very large lens. Not exactly comfortable to carry around, much less hold steady for any length of time. Besides, I'm not getting any younger!   When I attended wildlife artist Morten Solberg's [...]

I like to take my Nikon P900 camera along with me whenever I am biking at 370 Lakeside Park, where a four-mile paved bike path surrounds a large lake/wetlands area rich with birds. (I'm always searching for reference photos for my watercolor paintings.) [...]

Spring is in full swing. The days are getting longer, temperatures warmer, skies bluer and sunnier. Even as lockdown restrictions are easing, the weather is luring us out of doors to walk or tend to our yards and gardens. What's your favorite part of Spring?   Windows are opened to let in fresh air and birdsong. Dogwood blossoms are spent, and now Irises, Peonies, and Azaleas have taken center stage in my yard. Glorious Spring! There are so many things to love about this season.   Countless birds are chirping, encouraging you to stop and watch and explore. Our feathered friends are pairing up and [...]

As usual, I have several works-in-progress in my studio; and even more now after beginning several negative painting pieces during last week's watercolor workshops. I love painting Cardinals, so after starting this piece in Saturday's Negative Painting/Positive Results class, I couldn't wait to get back to work on it! [...]

During the first week of November at Aravaipa Farms, in Arizona, we enjoyed daily temperatures up to 80 degrees, plenty of sunshine, plus a day of sporadic rain showers resulting in a beautiful rainbow at breakfast. "We" included my husband and me, plus eight other watercolor artists, another spouse, and Ted Nuttall, whose watercolor workshop we were attending at this beautiful getaway.     My husband often accompanies me to watercolor workshops in different parts of the country...I have the opportunity to further my painting skills, and we both get to see a part of the country where we've never been! When I read [...]

What is it about birds that inspires me? The endless variety of birds is astonishing, even among those in my own backyard! They come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that entertain us each summer, to the large Wild Turkeys that visited our bird feeders every evening at dinnertime for a season. [...]

A couple of springs ago, I was excited to see a pair of Northern Cardinals nesting just outside my studio window. Sometimes when I peeked out I would see the female sitting on the nest and other times it was the male taking his turn. After the eggs hatched, I again saw both parents sharing the duties of feeding and caring for the babies in the nest.         One early morning I opened the blinds to see what the birds were up to and I saw this quivering fledgling being fed by its daddy. I snapped several photos. What a sweet sight! I [...]