One of the first things that I noticed visiting Hawaii were the birds. Everywhere we looked were beautiful colorful birds. In the morning when you awaken, you can hear them, they are on the beach, in the trees, waiting for you underfoot while you sit at a restaurant outside in the evening breeze.
The Zebra dove, much smaller than the doves and pigeons I have seen on the mainland, is one of the more ubiquitous species. I saw them everywhere. They have a wonderful voice and in Thailand and Indonesia, there are competitions as to which bird has the best call. Zebra doves are omnivorous, and will eat seeds, bugs, and crumbs around outside tables.
The reality of birds in Hawaii is this: most tourists never see a native bird. Almost all the birds that you might see on any given day are non-native, having been introduced to the island by people who thought they were pretty. Sadly there are only 4 native bird varieties that are still flourishing. At least this little dove is native to nearby places, perhaps they might have settled here eventually.
This little watercolor painting would fit perfectly in a 6″ x 6″ standard frame, and is sold!
Thank you for reading my previous posts about endangered and threatened small wild cats (the letters B, F, I, K, L, M, O, P, and R). Together, with a little knowledge, we are taking the first steps to help them to continue to exist. But this time we’ll talk about a domestic cat.
What can really make a black cat striking are its eyes. In the right light, all you can see are eyes. They might be reflecting light, and then they can actually be spooky. But here’s a cat hugging a person. He has brilliant yellow eyes and hopes to be adopted by that person.
This is a painting I did for a teeshirt contest for Animal Talk Rescue. They catch, neuter and spay hundreds of feral cats every year and then find homes for them. Two of my beloved cats are from their rescue.
If you like this painting, please go to Animal Talk Rescue’s facebook page and vote for it! THANKS
This painting is SOLD!, all proceeds go to Animal Talk Rescue
The Heliconius Xenoclea is one of 39 varieties of Heliconius butterflies, popularly known as Longwings, and are found only in the neotropics. They are easily recognised by their distinctive patterns, elongated forewings and characteristic delicate fluttering flight. Most species produce a variety of different colour forms or morphs, which are often mimetic of unpalatable Danaines, or of other Heliconius species occuring in the same vicinity.
They get their nickname from how they learn home ranges, memorizing choice nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”.
This painting is for sale for $35.00 send me an email if you want to buy it.
When I started painting watercolors I hit on a theme, “whimsy cats” and painted dozens of them. Based on my patient and wise cat, Enza, I painted them all from the rear view, looking immense from an ant’s eye view in the tall grass.
All of them are small, postcard sized or a little larger, and I practiced my techniques on them, learning gobs about watercolor, composition, and color theory. I sold some of them, and gave a lot of them away to charity auctions. Here is one of the very few I have left that I painted in 2008. This painting is SOLD. It comes matted ready to be slid into an 8″ x 10″ frame.
I can remember the first time I was given a cheap set of pastels, one of the colors was Vermillion. My favorite color, it sent me in rhapsodies to swish it around on my paper. This love affair with the hues between orange and red continues with me to this day. It surprises me how infrequently I paint with this color; but I went all out for this painting.
This is a combination of two Valentines, the parrot tulips my husband gave me, and the Valentine painting (demurely hiding behind the flowers) that I made for him.
Happy V day, not quite St. V’s day, but why not!
What’s the best Valentine you ever gave or got?
This painting, measuring 10″ x 14″ is for sale, $175.00 this includes postage!
