Pine Tree With Flicker

"Life in the Pines"

30 x 24

Acrylic on Canvas w/ 2.5" wrapped and painted sides

This pine tree is right outside the window where I sit and have coffee in the morning. It changes all day long, in every season, as the light angles move. I'm thinking of painting it at different times of the day like Monet's haystacks.

The flickers come back in the spring and can actually be quite a nuisance. Once they start pecking on your house to try to make a hole for a nest, they're almost impossible to divert elsewhere. When they peck on our chimney it echoes through the house! But, they're beautiful when they fly and have distinctive markings. And they love digging for insects on the pine trees.

This painting is in my show at Tumalo Art Co. starting June 4!

Osprey Catching Fish

"Lunch"

12 x 24 acrylic on canvas

My nephew, David James Higdon, took these amazing photos of osprey last year while visiting us in Bend. He went down on the river trail near our home and positioned himself to where he could see the nest and capture the osprey coming and going, feeding it's young.

I wanted to keep the details of the osprey very loose and focus on the power and grace of the wings. I have a long way to go painting these dramatic, fierce birds.

Cranes in the Marsh

"Soul Mates"

Soft Pastel

22 x 26 image

Sandhill cranes are so beautiful. Their white feathers show up so gracefully against the colors of the marshlands they're found in. These two remind me of a comfortable married couple, just going about their day.

This painting will be in my show "Walk Softly" with sculptor Kim Chavez opening June 4 at Tumalo Art Co. in Bend. Kim is premiering a larger than life sculpture of two intertwined herons, so this will be a nice compliment.