SPARROW

I love painting birds, and drawing them.  This little sparrow caught my eye one day in late fall.  He was fluffed out to keep warm, and hopping from branch to branch in a joyful way.  On the days when I let stress get to me, I find that watching the birds makes me peaceful and gives me perspective.  They seem to have that minute-to-minute love of life that I want to adopt.  One of my favorite art exercises is to sit outside with my sketchbook and do 20 second speed sketches of the birds, trying to get a feel for their movement and capture the attitude.  You really get to know the shape of a variety of backyard birds that way, and spending time with nature is always healing and calming.  I do tend to take my love of birds a bit over the top, however.  I collect porcelain birds, and they are everywhere I can find to put them.  I have a duck planter that holds pencils by the phone, and an odd looking turkey that guards my toothbrushes.  At least 70% of the paintings and prints in the house are birds.  I have an Audobon bird clock in my studio that does bird calls at the top of the hour.  It drives my cats and husband NUTS!  Especially that owl hooting at midnight....really LOUD.  I just remind them that it would be a lot more difficult around here if I collected elephants.  Can you imagine what the clock would sound like then?!

"The truth is that life is delicious, horrible, charming, frightful, sweet, bitter, and that is everything."                  ---Anatole France