This is cool, check it out!

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I always enjoy looking at the work of other artists.  Sometimes it gives me ideas, and sometimes it's just awe inspiring.  I'm attracted to a lot of different types of art, even though the art I do has a much narrower focus. 

Elza Kolesnikova is a watercolor artist, painting landscapes on glass. They're quite beautifully done!

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Drawing - American Avocet

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American Avocet - Graphite on Paper
Copyright 2010, Nicole MacPherson

Well, it's sure been a long time coming!

He looks a bit fuzzy-edged, truth be told, he's been sitting on my desk for some six weeks, begging and pleading to be finished!  Not entirely sure if it's a he.  American Avocet males have straighter bills than females, but it's not always easy to judge on a single bird!

Avocets are so beautiful, and often fairly confiding - they seem to have a much smaller zone of comfort.  This, combined with their larger size, makes them fun to photograph!  I love Avocets.  Ed calls 'em Flamingos. 

Next step?  Learn to draw water! 

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Baltimore Oriole in color!

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Well, this is surprising!  I painted something!

Yes, it is a shock to me...  I haven't done a flat painting in years.  I used to paint model horses, but hadn't even done any of that in at least a year.  I got a beginners kit of Gouache paints a few months ago, but was too chicken to try them out.  On a whim the other day, I printed off a copy of my Baltimore Oriole, and proceeded to paint on it.  This is the result.  I started with the orange breast, and ended up with a more "abstract" look than I expected, but I find I rather like it!

I'm not sure what this would be considered, the drawing was originally mine, but I painted over a copy of it, but whatever it's to be called, it was FUN!

Hmm...  Should have added more orange on the bottom of the belly...  Maybe I'll do that later...

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Somehow or another

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Well, not quite sure how it happened, but I managed to coax a bird off of the paper yesterday!

American White Pelican - Graphite on Paper

Copyright 2010, Nicole MacPherson

The American White Pelican is hard to miss, and quite conspicuous in this area from spring to fall.  We live in the middle of the city, but have Pelicans on our yard list - returning from a trip a couple of years back, a group of them flew overhead while we were unloading the car.  How cool is that?  They are often tolerant of a human presence, and are fun to photograph!  They make the funniest faces...  I spied this individual at Whitemouth Falls, one of a large group (maybe about 30) in June of 2006. 

I didn't have a clear enough photo to do a really detailed drawing, this is more of a sketch.  I was thinking about the oil spill while I was drawing, and had trouble with the shadows on this bird.  Maybe it was the oil on my mind, but my bird seemed more "dirty" than white. 

For some reason, I had assumed the oiled birds I'd seen pictures of were all Brown Pelicans.  Not sure why I thought that, it's not like the identifying features were visible. 

Took a quick trip to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Blog to see what they had to say.  They mention that the photos making the rounds online of birds "mired in oil" are Brown Pelicans, but the first bird in the slideshow is an American White Pelican with a good deal of oil on its feathers. 

In my reference photo, the pelican was resting, and probably had his head cocked that way to keep an eye on the water, in case any juicy fishies swam up.  But in my drawing, he looks to be casting a jaundiced eye to the viewer.  But maybe that's just me. 

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Happy Earth Day!

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Yes, I'm posting this to my art blog and my nature blog!  If you haven't already, please check out the gorgeous images collected on The Conversation Report's blog in honor of earth day.

Happy Earth Day!
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