“Winter Berries”: an original bird painting

"Winter Berries"

I’m walking through the neighborhood today, on Berger Street near Boerum, right in front of Vinnie’s Iron Works. The snow crunches and squeaks under my feet as I walk. The sky is light grey, almost white. I look up. There are birds in the tree, eating berries. They’re back-lit by the sky, and I see them and the tree as a silhouette.

I’m doing 30 original works and the theme is birds. All kinds of birds.

30 original pieces, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Last month’s theme was food and drink, this month it’s birds. Any other themes you’d suggest?

“Four Calling Birds”: a Nod to “Bye Bye Birdie”

"Four Calling Birds"

Four calling birds, another favorite from that dynamite carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” I took it literally, and placed these four on the set of the “Telephone Hour” number in “Bye Bye Birdie”. (“What’s the word, humingbird?” “What’s the tale, nightingale?”, etc.) They’re birds. And they’re CALLING. BAAHHH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAA!

I’m doing 30 original works this month. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.

30 original pieces, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Last month’s theme was food and drink, this month it’s birds. Any other themes you’d suggest?

“Six Geese a-Laying”, another installment of 30 Birds

"Six (Canada) Geese a-Laying"

The Giant Canada (not Canadian) Goose was considered endangered not too long ago. True. Now you see them everywhere, and they love to winter in the south. These six are in Dunedin, Florida. Snowbirds.

I’m doing 30 original works this month. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.

30 original pieces, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Last month’s theme was food and drink, this month it’s birds. Any other themes you’d suggest?

Number 18 of 30 Birds: “Seven Swans A-Swimming”

The run-up to Christmas, beginning with those seven famous swans.

That song, “The 12 Days of Christmas”…. Man, that song can get annoying REALLY quickly, especially when performed in a way you can’t stand, like a children’s choir or a crappy, jokey style from the ‘eighties. And it just goes on and on, like a fever dream. And you KNOW that it’s got to go all the way up to TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING and you’re doomed to hear “fiiiiiive gol-den riiiiiings” EIGHT TIMES. At least they speed through the calling birds, French hens and turtle doves (sort of like “lmnop” in the ABC song), but man…. “Five golden rings” gets old at about eight maids a-milking.

But I digress.

I’m doing 30 original works this month. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.

30 original pieces, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Any birds you’d like to see painted? Let me know. Suggestions include an the dodo, a jive turkey, a blue-footed boobie, terns, herons and egrets.

“2009 Phoenix”: Bird 14 of 30

"The 2009 Phoenix"

The Phoenix, according to Wikipedia, is

“a mythical bird with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends). It has a 500 to 1,000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self.”

As we near the end of 2009, it dawned on me that this image is relevant as an old man passing a scythe on to a baby. Maybe even more so.

I’m doing 30 original works this month. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.

30 original pieces, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Last month’s theme was food and drink, this month it’s birds. Any other themes you’d suggest?

Number 13 of 30 Birds: “Badass Osprey” (SOLD)

"Badass Osprey"

The Osprey, is, according to Wikibirdia, “badass”. This one goes out to Pixie Prankster of Portland, Oregon.

A proper scan is coming. I’m having issues right now. I’m on the road, and am still doing these birds, but let’s just say that I’m having technological difficulties, so we’re making due with digital photos right now.

I’m doing 30 original works this month. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.

An original piece every day, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Any birds you’d like to see painted? Let me know. Recent suggestions include an the first robin of spring, a the American Kestrel, a blue-footed boobie, and all the feathered denizens of “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

Day 12 of 30 Birds: “Robin: the Bird Wonder.”

"Robin: the Bird Wonder!"

In honor of my home state, Michigan, I give you (drum roll) “Robin: The Bird Wonder.”

A proper scan is coming. I’m having issues right now. I’m on the road, and am still doing these birds, but let’s just say that I’m having technological difficulties, so we’re making due with digital photos right now.

I’m doing 30 original works this month. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.

An original piece every day, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Any birds you’d like to see painted? Let me know. Recent suggestions include an the first robin of spring, a the American Kestrel, a blue-footed boobie, and all the feathered denizens of “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

“Big Boid on Brooklyn Bridge”, day 11 of 30 Birds

"Big Boid on Brooklyn Bridge"

The Brooklyn Bridge: a poetic marvel of brawny architecture, engineering, and ingenuity. And perched on it: a bird of vague pedigree, that would be roughly the size of a townhouse. Like the title says, he’s big. He’s bad. He’s Brooklyny. Let’s not think about the size thing too much, though. Let’s think about the sandhogs, those men who helped build this bridge. And let’s have a moment of silence for the Sweathogs, too. Brooklyn’s own Sweathogs.

I’m doing an original work [almost] every day this month. 30 of ‘em in 31 days. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.

An original piece every day, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Any birds you’d like to see painted? Let me know. Recent suggestions include an the first robin of spring, a the American Kestrel, a blue-footed boobie, and all the feathered denizens of “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

Yesterday’s bird: “Drink, Flamingo”

“Drink, Flamingo”. Day 10 of 30 Birds.

"Drink, Flamingo"

Flamingos. Why in the world would they be pink?? I mean, it doesn’t seem to me that such… flamboyant coloring would give much reproductive advantage. If anything, it seems like it would make the bird more visible to predators, considering they live among swamps and saw grass and whatnot. It’s not like they live in a land of cotton candy in Lollipop Village, or whatever. So what gives? People say their pinkness results from a diet high in beta carotene and shrimp. Plus, the vibrant color attracts mates. But what about predators, dammit? And if, say, a swan’s diet were high in beta carotene and shrimp, would it turn pink? I don’t think so.

An original piece every day, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Any birds you’d like to see painted? Let me know with a comment. Recent suggestions include birds of a feather, ducks on the pond, a bird in the hand and a Saint Louis cardinal. And of course, my take on all the birds from “The 12 Days of Xmas” (swans a-swimming, calling birds, French hens, etc.) are on their way, too.

Yesterday’s bird: “Java Drinkin’ Bird”

“Java Drinkin’ Bird”, # 9 of 30 Birds

"Java Drinkin' Bird"

The infamous toy “drinking bird” and coffee: two favorites, together again. The drinking bird, according to Wikipedia “is a heat engine that exploits a temperature differential to convert heat energy to a pressure differential within the device, and perform mechanical work. Like all heat engines, the drinking bird works through a thermodynamic cycle. The initial state of the system is a bird with a wet head oriented vertically with an initial oscillation on its pivot.” Well, whattaya know. I thought it was magic.

An original piece every day, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.

Any birds you’d like to see painted? Let me know! Recent suggestions include an the dodo, a jive turkey, a blue-footed boobie, terns, herons and egrets.

Yesterday’s bird: “Triple Kiwi”