Most of my friends consider grackles a nuisance bird. And of course, in a way, they are - emptying feeders, frightening song birds away, noise, etc. But this "black" bird is truly beautiful up close, reflecting all sorts of iridescent colors which remind me of raku pottery. I snapped this photo through my living room window one morning as the bird arrived to raid the feeder.
I was afraid my Lenten Roses wouldn't bloom well this year due to last summer's drought. Apparently they are quite tolerant of those conditions and are blooming beautifully. This little bloom was from a new variety which I bought last year; of course I can't remember the name! It's a small plant and seems to like growing in a pot rather than the ground.
Since I haven't had time to paint recently, I decided to post his loggerhead turtle I painted a few weeks ago for my great-niece. She's very interested in and concerned about them and asked that I paint one for her. I hope her interest in the wonders of our world continues to grow with her.
We played with paint and papers like pre-schoolers, having so much fun and learning lots of new techniques. The only element missing was our VIP partner, Karen! These are the 3 collages which I finished; now that I have had some practice and inspiration, I will be completing more, hopefully using the little bits of paper, flotsam and jetsom I've been hoarding over the years.
This mother-daughter duo seemed to pose for a photo together; they were a handsome pair. Both have unruly hair, and I'm going to tell my brother (who owns them) that he has to comb their hair before the next photo session! I plan to repaint them again in the future and try to use a looser approach.
I've been working on this study of donkies for a couple of weeks now; for some reason, they're more challenging than cows. And I even know the donkey personally! Changing the backgrounds to a complementary color seemed to help. They will be picked up tonight for donation to the Cobb County Democratic Party where they will be part of a fund-raising auction. I hope someone wants them!
Yesterday I drove a friend to a medical appointment. While waiting, I sketched this ACEO with pastel pencils. I really like using the pencils but find the colors rather flat and dull and without a good variety of values, so I did add a couple of accents with Giraults.