I
recall that the business of art gave a little sigh and became very quiet once
the Festive Season was over, and we slid into the long winter. With the quiet there
came a time for reflection.
Making
art is a difficult business that requires commitment, and dedication beyond belief.
There are difficult years, years with few sales, years that cause artists to
question the merit of continuing to pursue the dream. But, somehow through the
long winters one would renew the challenge and explore new ideas, and hope for
growth that would lead to success.
I
had this thing for birds way back when. Come winter we’d put out a number of
bird feeders attracting a number of different species including woodpeckers,
nuthatches, blue jays, and chickadees.
Several feeders were close to the studio, and through the window I’d
watch their comings and goings, and was often inspired to make drawings and
paintings. Watching and drawing birds would help me to move beyond the funk of
the past season,
As
the years came and went, who knows to where, I moved away from drawing and
painting birds and now find solace in painting the Canadian landscape. Still,
come the long winter I’m reminded of different times and find myself searching out the old drawings and
wondering..........
 |
Hairy Woodpecker clinging to suet ball. Graphite Drawing |
 |
Hairy Woodpecker taking flight from Maple Tree Graphite Drawing |
 |
White-breasted Nuthatch on winter American Beech Graphite Drawing |
 |
Downy Woodpecker on winter Cattail Graphite Drawing |
 |
Black-capped Chickadee on Birch stump. Graphite Drawing |
 |
American Kestrel (Graphite Study) Interesting about this drawing. You'll notice that it's not finished. I recall that at this point I decided that rather than continue on, knowing that I'd probably find no market for the finished piece, I used the study to help to make a large watercolour painting, that did sell. |
 |
Heading South Canada Geese Graphite Study This detailed drawing, or study, was used in the making of a aquatint (etching) the edition of which was used to fund raise for the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ontario, Canada |
No comments:
Post a Comment