My Art Journey

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

I've always enjoyed drawing since I was a child but I haven't drawn as much as an adult now. Occasionally I would draw a doodle or two. 

Kiwi

I really enjoy drawing birds, this Kiwi was a request from Justin. 

Barn Owl

I did try to get back into drawing in 2017, but after a few drawings I lost interest. 

Brown Pelican

I unfortunately have strong perfectionist tendency.

 If my drawings weren't "perfect" I would give up.

Parakeet

In 2019 my mother-in-law randomly gave me some Crayola water color pallets to mess around with. I decided to try to paint a Budgie. I kinda liked how it turned out and so I kept drawing and painting. 

Wood Duck

I had recently discovered some art centered You Tube channels and was feeling inspired to keep trying to improve and paint for the fun of it. 

Toco Toucan

I unfortunately have a hand tremor so my lines are often shaky.

 I have learned to work around that problem now. I find a lot of inspiration from watching videos of birds. This Toco Toucan was based on the late Ripley of 2CAN.tv

World on Fire

This water color painting is very different from what I was used to drawing, it was inspired by the wildfires in California. One of my siblings lives in California and I was worried about them. He was nowhere near he fires thankfully. 

Green-headed Tanager

With this bird I tried using Sharpie markers instead of paint. 

Again you can see my very shaky lines

Pink Moth

I took a break for a bit and came back to drawing again by doodling a moth. 

White-tail fawn

This fawn was a turning point for me. I had made a very rough sketch in 2017, but I was frustrated and abandoned it. I finally finished it at the end of 2019. My initial sketch wasn't bad at all, frustration just got in the way.

White-bellied Caique

This drawing of two birds together was a challenge for me. I  had never drawn two birds together, or done "poses". I was very proud when I finished this drawing.

Faunus

I tried my hand at a profile. I wasn't basing my drawing on my husband but I cant deny it really looks like him in many ways! 

Bouquet

I tried out acrylic paints for a bit. I had fun painting these flowers.

Hoarfrost Dragon

This was supposed to be a betta fish, but somewhere a long the way it turned into a dragon. I used to draw dragons obsessively as a tween.

New Zealand Kea

This painting is my official "quarantine" piece. In my lowest moments during this pandemic I find comfort in watching nature documentaries. I stumbled upon one about a fascinating parrot known as the Kea. I enjoyed these guys so much I decided to paint them! 

Kitty plushie

A still life sketch of one of my favorite plushies from my husband. Its a very small plushie which makes it perfect to carry in my purse. My kitty has been with me during some scary dental procedures. Its dumb but having this tiny cat makes me feel braver 😅

Ostrich chick

Here's a baby ostrich! They are incredibly cute. 

Kookaburra

A very badly proportioned Kookaburra. Their heads are much larger than their bodies.

Mallard Duckling

Obligatory Duckling cuteness!

Rainbow Lorikeet

This drawing is inspired by Elvis the Rainbow Lorikeet, sadly he passed away the day after I had finished this painting. 

Pesquet's Parrot

This parrot is cool simply because the second name its known by is Dracula Parrot. 

I of course HAD to paint it 

Nothern Lights

A little Bob Ross inspired landscape.

Roseate Spoonbill

I had fun painting this bird. I liked doing a bird that isn't considered cute or pretty. 

Tufted Titmouse

I of course had to paint my childhood favorite, the Tufted Titmouse!

Helmeted Hornbill

Another "ugly" bird. Sadly these birds will likely go extinct due to poaching. The crest on the bird's beak is considered "red ivory". They have been hunted mercilessly to make random jewelry or carvings. Males are most often the victims and due to their nest habits, if a male is killed his mate and their chicks starve to death. 

Atoll Fruit Dove

One of my favorite Fruit Doves is the Atoll Fruit Dove. They are gorgeous birds!

Skip the Earless Bunny

My first "fan art". This bunny unfortunately lost his ears after his mom chewed them off. Apparently mother rabbits have been known to kill their kits due to stress. Skip was rescued, but his injuries left him deaf. Skip is very cute though! 

Here's a little drawing of my rabbit. I'm way more comfortable with birds but this was fun!

Anna's Hummingbird

My last completed painting so far is a beautiful little hummingbird. I feel like I have come a long way in my art journey and I plan to keep drawing and painting! 

What's your favorite bird?

Love Rebecca

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Butterfly Days Supports The Black Lives Matter Protests

Dear readers, this is my 700th post on this blog. Instead of celebrating this milestone for myself I wanted to make this post in support of our fellow Americans who have been mistreated for far too long, simply because of the color of their skin. 

What happened to George Floyd and countless other Black Americans at the hands of American police is simply disgusting and horrifying.

  Enough is enough. 

I stand with Black Lives Matter. ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

With hope for a better future, Rebecca 

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It's June

With the end of May and the beginning of June we start to see fledglings about. If you pay close attention you might catch the sight of these large baby birds still following their parent for food

I was very surprised to see a large amount of fledglings in our yard over the weekend. I'd normally see only one or two. We had at least 3 birdie families visiting!

So, let me introduce you to the European Starling. These birds are unfortunately an invasive species in the USA. 

Originally from Europe, these birds were brought to the states in the 19th century by Shakespeare lovers who desired to see the birds from his plays in America. 

All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds set loose in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s. 

The reason these birds are a problem is due to them pushing out native birds and consuming resources.

A lot of people hate these birds understandably. They want to see our native blue birds and Orioles, not just another Starling.

Obviously though, this isn't the birds' faults. They are just doing what their little birdie instincts tell them to. 

All that being said, I absolutely adored watching our little visitors struggle to figure out how the bird feeder works. The adults are so elegant but the fledglings are not!

Also they are still working on the whole "sharing is caring,"

.... that might need more work though.

Read more about European Starlings at the Cornell Lab! 

Love, Rebecca

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