Pink Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel is a native evergreen shrub in this part of the US. and can be found growing throughout the woodlands. When in deep shade, it doesn't bloom much, but those growing in clearings can be magnificent. The woods around my house are full of laurel. They unfortunately get trimmed of all foliage below five feet during winter. That's how high a hungry deer can reach. But luckily, the laurel grows much taller than five feet!
This painting was both fun and a challenge. I think you'll appreciate the detail in the flowers, leaves and background.
This painting has been sold.

Kiskadee Watercolor Painting

The large, yellow-breasted flycatcher, the Great Kiskadee is seen on tree limbs, electric wires and flying overhead throughout Bermuda. You hear its call, 'KISS-ka-DEE" from morning until night. In the very early morning I heard other birds - mourning doves, sparrows, cardinals, a parrot. But when the sun was high, the Kiskadees started. They drowned out the sound of the other birds. They drowned out the traffic. They drowned out the neighbors. I did not see them at the beach, so at least they did not drown out the ocean!
The flamboyant Kiskadees are native to southern Texas and Louisiana and further south to Argentina. Introduced from Trinidad in 1957 to control the Anolis lizard, they feel exceptionally at home in Bermuda. They did not control the lizard, although they do eat lizards along with seeds, fruit, small fish and mainly insects. Both males and females aggressively defend their nests from predators and competing birds.
The morning glories in this painting are the deeper blue flowers that I saw in Bermuda vining and twining along the roadsides on walls, fences, shrubs and trees. They make a nice contrast with the bright orange nasturtiums. I saw this Kiskadee in my Bermuda sister's garden where the morning glories and nasturtium were blooming so prettily.

This painting is #19 of a series of original Zeh paintings called the BERMUDA COLLECTION. 

Bermuda Longtails Watercolor Painting

These beautiful sea birds are found only on Bermuda, I'm told. They come to land only in spring nesting season, spending the rest of the year out on the open water mainly in the Sargasso Sea.

They were nesting while I was recently there, soaring and swooping over the water and toward the coral cliffs lining the beaches. They make their nests in crevices in the cliffs. Once the young are fledged in June, they are ready to fly back out to sea.

In this painting you see the turquoise water near the shore, the breakers in the distance as the sea crashes onto the coral reef, and farther out, the deep violet water of the ocean past the reef. The colors of the water are always changing depending on the time of day and whether the sun is out. But the turquoise is always startling in its beauty - the postcards do not lie about that!

This painting is #16 in a series of original Zeh paintings called the BERMUDA COLLECTION.

Narcissus Flowers

These narcissus are just opening up to the spring sunshine.

I had some fun with a new color for this painting. All the Bermuda paintings have inspired me to invest in a turquoise pigment when I stopped at the art store the other day. I found a Winsor & Newton (my favorite brand) turquoise that is permanent - actually they have several. If you paint with watercolors, you want to check the charts to make sure the colors you are choosing are permanent, which means they won't fade under ordinary conditions. Certain pigments are "renegade." They fade eventually to a brownish or yellowish color. I only use permanent pigments. After all that work, why use anything else? Permanent colors will last a very, very long time. Longer than any of us will be around.
When I went to check out my items, the clerk, who must be a watercolorist, looked at my turquoise and said, "This is a GREAT color. I love this one! It's fantastic for seascapes." To be sure, that's what I bought it for. However, I couldn't wait to do a seascape in order to use it. It's wonderful in the whites of flowers too...and in backgrounds...and leaves....

On another note, we've had a run of beautiful weather here, sunny in the 70's. Yesterday it seemed as if Spring had really SPRUNG! All at once, everything is in bloom: the magnolias, the forsythia, the azaleas, the daffodils, the tulips; the trees are loaded with red buds or yellow-green, the ornamental pear trees are white as snow. All the while, newly arrived song birds are sweetly singing throughout the day. What beauty. It's almost overwhelming. Ah, Spring!

Eastern Bluebird & Hibiscus

This painting is #13 in a series of original Zeh paintings called the BERMUDA COLLECTION.

Eastern bluebirds are indigenous to Bermuda and at one time flew in flocks of 50 or more throughout the islands. When the House sparrow was introduced to Bermuda in the late 1800's, it competed with the bluebird for nesting sites in tree and cliff hollows and under the eaves of houses. Bluebirds were no match for the more competitive sparrow, and the Bermuda cedar tree became the last refuge for its habitat. But when the cedars were decimated by scale in the 1940's, most of the dead trees which provided the appropriate nesting hollows were taken down, further hampering the bluebird's ability to thrive.
Today, the bluebird is completely dependant on nesting boxes erected by concerned bird-lovers of Bermuda. You will see bluebird boxes lined up in rows in parks, golf courses and private homes. Bermudians are determined to save their beloved bluebird!

• The original painting is sold, but contact me if you would like a print or a painting done just for you.

Bermuda Sails

The constant breeze off the island of Bermuda makes for great sailing. In the background you can see the white roofs of the cottages and the tropical vegetation silhouetted against the sunset.

One of the days I spent with my sisters in Bermuda, we went for a ride on a glass-bottomed boat. First we took the ferry to Hamilton, the main town. Since we'd arrived early for our boat excursion, we went to see the boat Bermuda Sister had hired. Even though she's lived there a year, Bermuda Sister had not seen some of the attractions until her two sisters arrived. I guess it's like that with most people - when you live in a place, you're not a tourist.

Palmetto Palms

Ah, can you just hear the rustling of the palm leaves in the ocean breeze? These Palmettos were in Bermuda which I just recently visited. The moist soft air flowed with a constant breeze by the white sandy shoreline.

In Bermuda, you are never farther than 1/2 mile from the ocean as the main island is only 1 mile across at its widest point. So, if you like the salt water, it's a good place to visit. These palms are salt tolerant and they grow right along the shoreline even up to the water's edge.

This painting is #4 of the BERMUDA COLLECTION.

Day's Catch

On my last visit to the ocean, I saw this scene just about at sunset. The sky is softly tinged with pink, the beach empty save for a fisherman coming in with his catch. It was a good-sized bluefish and he seemed satisfied with his catch.

Bluefish is delicious, I think, but you can't just buy it at the store. The only way is if you personally know a fisherman. Otherwise, you can go down to the docks when the fishing boats come in and sometimes they'll sell you some. Bring a large cooler, those fish can be pretty big!

• This painting has been sold.