Whooooo Dat Trio

Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! 

On wild turkey tail feathers. 

Length: about 12"

Whooo Loves You?

I know who loves me! 

Happy Valentine's Day. 

Painted on domestic turkey feather. 

Length: 2.5"

Whooooo's That Tiny Owl?

Hoot! 

Day 49: Mini Me

This is a commission for a baby shower on Monday. People seem to be just crazy about owls. I get so many owl requests. Part of me gets it. Owls are cool. Part of me finds the owl craze a little strange, because when I go to the zoo so many of the animals, like the monkeys and meerkats and lizards and lions, are friendly and make a connection. But of all the animals, owls are the ones that look at you like you're a filthy rotten nuisance. Maybe that just means owls shouldn't be in zoos.

Length of feather: 1/4"
SOLD

Day 31: Up All Night

I’ve been sleeping well lately, but I’ve also been able to keep the sort of schedule I like: up until 1AM painting, then sleep until about 9AM. I’ve never enjoyed teaching morning classes, which involve waking at 6AM, being on campus by 7AM and being ready to speak comprehensible English in front of 70 sleepy people by 8AM. I partially compensate by turning the volume up on the stereo. Stravinsky and Beethoven should be loud (though the math professor in the classroom next door begs to differ). 

Length of Feather: 1”

Price: SOLD

Day 25: Blue Haiku

Spring raindrops appear

Yellow umbrella opens

Sleepy owl stays put

Length of Feather: 4”                      

Day 24: Who You Lookin’ At? You Lookin’ At Me?

These are owl eyes. It’s one of my most popular feather designs even though it’s one of the simplest things I do. I think people are drawn to the feathers with eyes because it turns the whole feather into a creature and the piece is about the personality of the feather rather than about painting. I like that. No matter what I’m painting, I take time to contemplate what is best for each particular feather that fits its natural features. That’s one of the things I like best about painting feathers: Each one is unique and demands a slightly different approach, forcing me to be more creative and flexible. Limits are what allow creativity to come through. The more limits you have, the more creative you have to be. In college, I loved the challenge of recreating master paintings by artists such as Van Gogue and Rembrandt, but being limited to only two colors on my palette. I learned so much about color through those assignments.

Length of Feather:  5”              

Day 22: Mother Owl

For my mom.

This is a portrait of the owl living in my parents’ yard in Montrose, Alabama.  They live right on Mobile bay and there are several wonderful old live oaks on the property (photo below). The owl sometimes swoops through the trees in the evenings. Mom and dad have collected and enjoyed owl art since they married in 1969, making the resident owl even more appreciated. When I was very young and we lived in Ohio, we once came back from vacation to find a baby owl perched on a curtain rod in the living room. Birds and bats would occasionally find their way down the chimney and into the house. We always did well to open the front door, turn off the lights in the house, turn on the porch light and encouraged our guests out with brooms (with a bit of squealing and giggling when our winged visitors came swooping towards us). Those evenings of bird and bat corralling are such great childhood memories. I’ve got so many rich and wonderful memories from my childhood that I could fill pages with them, but because I’m keeping each blog post to a paragraph, I’ll save them for later. Even though I’m sometimes impatient and angry, I am so grateful and proud of you for how I was raised. Mom and dad, thank you. 

Length of feather:  2 1/2”

SOLD