Category: Birds
Hunger
Baryshnikov Crane
Red Crowned Cranes II
I’m in love with these sacred birds of Japan…
Dancing for love…
Red-Crowned Cranes
These winter-y red-crested cranes, a sacred bird of Japan, are subdued after yesterday’s peacock, but I love their dignity and peacefulness.
The 100th bird…
100 birds in 100 days. I’m loving this practice, which feels very free, very experimental. I never know what a particular bird will ask for. I started this peacock today (it just seemed the right bird for Day 100) and something about the initial drawing in turquoise pencil took me back to my grandmother’s apartment with her cloisonné ashtrays. Cloisonné was the last thing on my mind when I woke up this morning …
Plumpster II
I’m so in love with this little guy that I simply had to do a second version. He was such a little fellow in such a big storm, plumped against the cold but unruffled — intrepid, birdly, brave. So here is Plumpster II …
Plumpster
As a rule, I don’t draw from other people’s photographs (though I shamelessly plunder wildlife videos). But when my friend Andrea Carlisle posted a photograph of a varied thrush that had landed on her deck after the recent snowstorm in Portland, I fell in love and couldn’t help myself. This one’s for you, dear friend. (Plumpster is Andrea’s word, and I love that, too.)
Loon
This bird is a birthday wish for my beloved sister-in-law Carolyn, who we all call Loon…
Landing…
Splashdown
Weather Coming In
Bird’s Eye View II
Whooper Swan
Bird’s Eye View
Heron in a Dream
Blue
Overhead
Walking home from the studio tonight a flock of Canadian geese flew overhead so low I could see the buff of their bellies and hear the synchronous swoosh of their wings. Such things make me happy to be alive…
It Ain’t Over ’til the Fat Robin Sings
Settling In
Robin V
Robin IV
Robin II
Robin
The robin was the first bird I knew to name … and probably just as I was learning to talk. I imagine that is true for many of us.
Pigeon-toed Goose
Angel Goose
Today I graduated from the two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program offered through the Awareness Training Institute and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, led by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. It has been rich, deep, rigorous – and I am grateful beyond words for the depth of practice and growth it has offered. Don’t know exactly how this quirky goose fits into it all – but she seems celebratory, so here she is!
Deceased
I’m not done with geese quite yet, but this sweet sparrow/spirit lay dead outside my studio door this morning and I owed her this note of respect…
More Goose-y Shadow Play
Shadow Play
Goose shadows are so fun…
Take a Gander
Goose of the day…
What You Lookin’ At?
Big Girl
Under a Blue Moon
Sister Act
I just love their big bulbous downy bodies!
Scribble Bird
Little Blue
Night Flight of the Imaginary Bird
Swallow Color Study
Imaginary Chick
I came out of silence at midday and made this a couple of hours later … feeling newborn.
Imaginary Bird in Blue
Yes, the weather changes in silence. This bird is maybe just a little pissed off…
Imaginary Bird in Red
From the third day of silence. I’ve been drawing from Audobon’s prints but decided I didn’t want to open the book. Entering silence for several days is to enter an ever-changing weather system… joy, sorrow, endless busy monkey-mind, great space. This came in a playful moment.
From Audobon’s Columbia Jay
From the second day of silence …
From Audobon’s Snow Bird
I entered a silent retreat from January 13-17. I didn’t go online during those days to post, but I did keep up my daily drawing practice, and I’ll post-date those pieces now. I took along my book of Audobon prints. I like to study his work and adapt it to my style. I learn so much from his observations and also from his compositions. For the retreat, I wanted to draw without spending a lot of time thinking about what to draw, so I opened the book of prints randomly and focused on what what I found.
Pelican break…
Last of the pelicans…for awhile. Tomorrow I am entering a five-day silent retreat…a blessed respite from news and technology. It will be nice to be truly quiet and Hal will let me know if we need to run for our lives. I wish that were a joke. Sending love and prayers for all of us…
Pelican Landing IV
Pelican Landing III
Pelican Landing II
Pelican Landing
