Cerulean Warbler

The Cerulean Warbler is a bird of the high treetops of a deciduous forest. I've pictured this warbler in one of the aspen trees which grow abundantly in the woods surrounding my studio. It's not easy to spot a cerulean warbler since they nest and forage up near the top of the canopy. Their soft cerulean blue color is the color of the sky - it's one of my favorite colors in my palette which made it more of a pleasure to paint this bird.
Here are some facts about the Cerulean Warbler:
It breeds from central Minnesota east and south to North Carolina and Arkansas
It winters in the western mountain ranges of northern South America in broadleaved evergreen trees.
It binds its cuplike nest together with spider webs. If a nest fails, the female will start a new one with new materials, but reuses the spider web from the old nest.
It has a small population in North America and is declining throughout its range, prompting consideration for inclusion on the Endangered Species list.
Unlike the male's sky blue, the female is a blue-green color. She leaves the nest in an unusual manner, jumping off with her wings folded to plummet down for a bit before spreading her wings to fly. Some have referred to it as "bungee jumping!"

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Red Sunflower

There's something very cheery about sunflowers. They can put a smile on your face or brighten your mood on a cloudy day. When I do art shows, I usually have one or two large sunflower paintings in my booth. People walk in and smile. Many will tell me that the paintings cheer them up especially the sunflowers!

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Pink Hydrangea Blossoms

Four of my tall hydrangeas start out white and turn pink as fall approaches. I don't know which is prettier, the white or pink phase, but this cluster of blossoms sparkling in the sunlight is a delight!

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Tri-colored Heron

There is a lot of soft mauve color in this painting. The sun is setting, coloring the water on the marsh a rosy hue. The Tricolor heron, formerly known as the Louisiana heron, inhabits marshlands, swamps and shore along the eastern coast of the US from breeding grounds in New England, southward to Florida and the Gulf Coast, all the way to Brazil. In the painting, you can just see a glimpse of the white belly that identifies this dark heron
It was fun to paint the water and the reflection of the heron. I think you can really feel the quiet of evening when you look at this painting - the soft plop of the heron's bill as it dips in the water, the stillness all around...

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Black-capped Chickadee

Even though autumn has bared most of the trees here, my viburnum shrubs that form a natural border at the edge of the property still have their leaves along with some bright red berries that the birds have not eaten. The shrubs are situated close to the bird feeders and are a convenient place for birds to sit between trips to snatch a seed.
What can I say about chickadees? It's difficult to take them very seriously. In fact, every time I do a chickadee painting, I have to smile at it. They are so darn cute that, hard as I try to paint a serious painting, it just ends up an adorable one.
These little birds are so friendly and unafraid of people (at least the people who fill the birdfeeders) that several times I've grabbed a feeder to open the top and put seed in it only to have a chickadee fly from the other side just millimeters from my fingers. It happened the other day. But I'm not worried about accidentally grabbing one. They're much too quick for that!

Northern Mockingbird

We don't get many mockingbirds here lately and I wonder if it's because the gray catbird has taken over my garden. They are of the same family and perhaps they'd be competing for food. At any rate, when I do see or hear one, it's a treat these days! I've painted this bird with maple leaves turned autumn-orange in front of a pine tree's branches.
Here are some interesting facts about the northern mockingbird:

It sings a varied song with much imitation of other birds repeated again and again in a succession.

The male mockingbird sings throughout the year and will change its repertoire to fit the spring or fall season.

It often sings at night especially when there is a full moon.

The mockingbird will add new songs to its repertoire throughout its life.

This bird has large white wing patches which it will flash by opening and closing its wings. It also has white bars at the edges of its tail. You can recognize a mockingbird in flight by these white patches.

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Stargazer Lilies Watercolor Painting

I came across a photo I'd taken of these lilies recently and just couldn't put it away without painting them. Stargazers are so called because many of the blooms look upward to the sky. They are gorgeous large lilies with thick, waxy petals and a lovely fragrance. Mmmmm...brings me back to summer.

Great Blue Heron in Autumn

Driving past a series of reservoirs this past weekend on my way home from an art festival, I just had to stop and take some photos. The colors of the autumn foliage reflected in the water was breathtaking! As I walked along the narrow road between two reservoirs, all of a sudden a heron rose up near me and, with its wings in a wide arc, slowly glided to a safe place near the shoreline. I took some pictures of the scene and couldn't wait to do a painting! So, here it is, our heron surrounded by the beauty of a New England autumn.

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White-breasted Nuthatch

This common little bird frequents my birdfeeder. It has colors similar to a chickadee but a longer beak and a habit of marching up and down the trunks of trees often head-down searching for insects.
Here are some interesting facts about this bird:
When a nuthatch visits your feeder and grabs a sunflower seed, it will bring the seed to the trunk of a tree, jam the seed into a crevice to hold it in place, and then hammer at it with its bill to open it. Nice trick!
During wintertime, nuthatches don't migrate, but they gather together in flocks as many birds do. The interesting thing is that they flock together with chickadees and tufted titmice. The vigilance of the other birds give added protection from hawks, cats and other predators. If one of the other species is not present, say the titmice are not in the group, nuthatches are far more reluctant to visit birdfeeders. So much for "birds of a feather flock together!"

Pink Chrysanthemums & Sulphur Butterfly

Yesterday in the late morning sun while I was on my way back from the mailbox, I saw a tiny lemon yellow butterfly fluttering about the chrysanthemums. Looking it up, I found it's called an Orange Sulfur. Some have more orange coloring in the wings than others, hence the name. The pink mums are pretty on their own, but this sweet little butterfly added the perfect touch! So here is the scene for you.

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Monarch on Butterfly Bush

Don't you love the airy lightness of this painting? Here a beautiful monarch butterfly visits one of its favorite flowers - a butterfly bush, or Buddleia. These deciduous shrubs are wonderful for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. In fact, while mine were blooming, I saw a hummingbird "bump" a monarch butterfly off one of the blooms and claim it for itself! But normally, the butterflies are left undisturbed to enjoy the flowers. The butterfly bush blooms during the monarch's late summer migration and provides a welcome feeding and resting place for these lovely butterflies on their long journey south.

Bermuda Longtails & Coral Cliffs

Here is a sunset scene on Bermuda's south shore. To the right are coral cliffs filled with crevices. In these crevices, the Bermuda Longtails make their nests in spring. This is a springtime painting. I was fortunate to be in Bermuda when the longtails were nesting in April. At this time of year - October - the longtails are far out at sea. They will not come back to shore in Bermuda until next March.
In this painting, a pair of longtails swoop and glide as the sun sets before they retire for the night in their nesting spots somewhere among the coral cliffs of Bermuda.

THIS PAINTING IS #59 OF THE ZEH BERMUDA COLLECTION

Pink Hydrangea

Some of my favorite hydrangeas are the big-leaved French hydrangeas like this one which bloom in a range of colors - pink, blue, purple. Depending on the soil ph, you can change the color of the bloom. This is a particularly lovely deep pink with touches of yellow near the center.

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Spicebush Swallowtail & Hydrangea

This black butterfly with the bright red, white and blue spots is so lovely, I had to paint it again - on my hydrangeas. It seemed to love these flowers when they were in full bloom. Now, with autumn here, the hydrangea flowers have turned dark pink, and the swallowtails are. But I will look forward to seeing them again next year!

Wood Thrush

It's early October before the first frost. The wood thrushes, which are one of the most common woodland birds of the eastern US, will soon be on their way to Panama if they have not already started. Because there has not been a frost yet the woodland scene is still green with ferns even as the maples turn golden and red. I have recently seen Indian Pipes, an interesting white plant with no chlorophyll. They are a rare sight found in the moist, dark undergrowth of the forest. In this painting, a wood thrush searches the forest floor for insects on a warm day in early autumn as Indian Pipes bloom nearby.
Here are some interesting facts about this bird:
This is a large thrush just a bit smaller than the American Robin.
It has a beautiful haunting yodeling song that rings through the woodlands with a flutelike sound. In fact, their vocal song box allows them to sing more than one note at once making it possible for them to harmonize with their own song! This is perhaps the reason the song is so hauntingly lovely.
This bird is seldom seen outside the deep woods. I do not see them much, but I hear their song at times coming from the woodlands surrounding my home.
Sadly, their populations are declining possibly due to deforestation in their winter habitat in Central America.
Cowbirds often lay eggs in wood thrushes nests which also keeps their population down as the baby cowbirds will sometimes push the thrushlings out of the nest.
Wood thrushes have been seen to practice "anting" which means they pick up an ant and rub it on their feathers. It is guessed that the ants secrete an oil that is useful for the birds.

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Great Blue Heron in Flight

Nothing gives me a thrill quite like the sight of a Great Blue Heron suddenly rising up nearby from where it's been hiding in the tall grasses. Slowly it flaps its enormous wings and takes to the air. In this painting, I've shown a pond full of waterlilies at the nearby Nature Preserve where I've seen this often. Whenever I go there for the mile walk around the pond, I have a sharp eye out for one of these magnificent birds. If I'm lucky, I'll see one across the pond or even close by. I hear that in Florida, by the fishing docks, these birds are quite accustomed to people, but up here in New England, they are wild. They never let anyone get too close!

• This painting has been sold.