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.

• This painting has been sold.
  

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.

• This painting has been sold.

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.