Source: You Tube
This week I am joining in with Rain *here* for a spot of painting... the theme is Birds and the Sky and immediately I thought of the murmurations we see when birds migrate - I had seen one on our local tv news the other night that was unusually large. The one above I found on You Tube, it's of budgerigars in Australia - things always seem more exciting when they are on the other side of the World -I didn't know budgies murmurated - just imagine the swirl of blue and green those little birds created.
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| Watercolour pencil budgies by me |
Inspired by the murmuration I found a You Tube tutorial and painted the little budgies above.
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| watercolour coal tit by me |
We have a few colourful birds in the UK but most of the ones I see in the woods are black or brown, like this little coal tit I painted some long time ago.
I think the most intriguing flower is a Bird of Paradise - it is just so much like a tropical bird and the colours are so beautiful. I painted you one.
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| watercolour pencil bird of paradise by me |
On the theme of birds and the sky, I can't help thinking of my favourite book ... Aesops Fables: the story I am thinking of is about the vain peacock who wanted to fly like the eagle, but when the peacock tried he found the object of his vanity, his beautiful feathered tail, weighed him down and he could not fly. The moral - which of course there always is with Aesops Fables - was 'do not sacrifice your freedom for the sake of vanity'.
I love colourful peacock feathers and mentioned on a day out with one of my brothers that I would like to find one, he drove to a farm where he knew there were peacocks and picked it up from the ground for me! I have kept it for several years as, for me, it's treasure and holds a happy memory too.
I will leave you with this little robin who I saw in the woods last week, he was so tame he hopped all around me as I wandered along the riverside, I think if I had brought food he might have taken it from my hand. I will be better prepared next time I walk his way as I felt sad to leave him without a little treat.
These are all beautiful drawings and with the pen, I'm thrilled. The video is great too.
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful day, take care of yourself, hugs Elke
thankyou Elkes - I am really enjoying Rain's art challenges - I have been over to see yours x
DeleteWhat a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteI love birds and have just filmed six videos for my children's yoga series all related to birds.
Your picture is amazing - you are so talented.
And the story of your peacock feather is beautiful.
We live by the coast and I have been lucky enough to see a few murmurations - they are so lovely.
One of my favourite UK birds is a Stonechat not just for its colour but for its call which reminds me of aa typerwriter.
I googled Stonechat, I haven't seen one, ever, they look pretty and dainty. How lovely to film videos for yoga, that is very tranquil :)
DeleteBetty, you are SO clever. You showed and painted Australian budgies, and I may have shown some, too. You paint so beautifully. I'm so impressed. I have never seen a coal tit, and our robins are SO different from yours.
ReplyDeleteWhat really impressed me was your Bird of Paradise. I haven't seen one of those since I was in California. It's too cold for them to grow where I live. However, I love the out of the box use of the prompt. These are all beautiful and your paintings are out of this world, dear.
Thank you for being so complimentary, I really enjoyed painting these little birds and the paint challenge was a good project for us all as we had to do a little bit of research - it's good for the mind during lockdown to have something like this - for me anyway! I have seen some amazing Birds of Paradise on tropical holidays, they are quite incredible.
DeleteBirds of paradise are one of my most favourite flowers -- how clever of you to paint one for this Art Date! They always make me think fondly of Maui, because that's where I first saw one growing naturally. And I love your little watercolour pencil art of the two budgies -- I must learn how to use watercolour pencils sometime. I babysat a budgie once for a friend. It was The Budgie From Hell. It kept letting itself out of its cage, flying around my apartment and pooping down my curtains.
ReplyDeleteThe budgie from hell made me laugh! Watercolour pencils don't get the fine detail (for me anyway) that brushes achieve, but you just draw away with them and then go over gently with a wet brush and you're done - handy when in a hurry or when out and about.
DeleteHi Betty! I do love your English robins! I agree about brown birds! Our birds are brown for the most part. Every now and then I'll see a vibrant woodpecker by the suet.
ReplyDeleteYour paintings are lovely! I used to show my students a
murmuration (sp?) video. Amazing!
Take care, sweet friend!
I think it is a natural wonder that is overlooked - I don't think we know much about how they do it without crashing into each other, just imagine the determination of those little things to fly to warmer climes like that... we have so few brightly coloured birds in the UK although of course the kingfisher is quite beautiful - one landed on my glass garden table once as he thought it was water - that was a magic moment for me!
DeleteTerrific post! I turned up the sound on my computer to hear the sounds as well as watch the flight. Wonderful art too! My daughters favorite flower is the bird of paradise because it's so unique and colorful. Your little robin is so cute, and I hope you can find her again on your outings. Enjoy the weekend ahead ~ Love, Karen
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, I have a background of birdsong on this blog which I got from Wikplayer I think you could find one and add to your blog for fun :)
DeleteWhat a lovely collection of images. My favourite here has to be the coal tit.
ReplyDeletexx
Thanks for stopping by - there's a link on the post somewhere for the paint challenge and a lot of other people joined in and painted birds.
DeleteI absolutely loved my Aesop's Fables book. I also love your paintings and the budgies look so happy and cheery. The Coal Tit has a bit of an attitude, methinks!!Good shout in joining in with the art date, Betty. They'll love your paintings too. I always thought it was bad luck to have peacock feathers indoors??I'm making banana loaf today, just to add another couple of inches to my already burgeoning child-bearing hips!!!xxx
ReplyDeletedidn't know about that superstition ref peacock feathers. Oh yes Aesop's Fables (and Grimms Fairy Tales) I do love a story with a sinister twist and those fables never disapoint!
DeleteI love that video. Your art is lovely and the photo of the bird is so cute. Have a great day today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting. See you at the next Paint challenge over at Rain's :)
DeleteWho knew about budgies? every day is a school day!
ReplyDeleteI love your Bird of Paradise, Coal tit and budgie paintings, you are so talented.
Peacocks are my favourite birds, I squeal with excitement when I see them by the roadside in India even though they're as common as sparrows there and all the locals think I'm mad! xxx
I don't think we saw any peacocks in India, only black bristly pigs, cows and chickens! Thanks for the compliments on the paintings, I didn't know about budgies murmering until I googled for inspiration - I think murmuration is one of the most weird things we know very little about :)
DeleteLovely post, bird of paradise is a creative addition too!
ReplyDeletethanks - that was a last minute lightbulb moment lol
DeleteI love your water color birds. The budgies are sweet.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam, I didn't know if I could paint budgies so was pleased with them.
DeleteBetty,
ReplyDeleteYour paintings are delightful. Your first birds remind me of Procreate sketch I did of two parakeets nestled together. I'd love to use actual paint and brushes someday but for now I use the Procreate app that gives my art a similar feel. Thanks for joining Rain's art community. Have an excellent day!
Curious as a Cathy
I haven't tried any apps - in fact I only recently saw something on another blog using an app on an ipad and was intrigued, art comes in so many forms! It's fun to be part of Rain's community :)
DeleteI admire your talent. I have yet to try watercolors. Need a teacher!
ReplyDeleteoh rose, I didn't have a teacher either - I hope you will experiment, just a few paints is all you need - infact we can mix a lot of colours from the primary's so no big outlay ... I think you would be very good as you have such a love of flowers.
DeleteHi Betty :)) Oh that video was something else! I played it loud and all the dogs and cats had their heads tilted, listening lol...Oh the Peacock feather is beautiful and I love that fairy tale! Good message! :) Your paintings are so pretty Betty, I hope we see more of them! I love the budgies! I have some watercolour pencils that I don't use too often, you've really done a good job of it! Your watercolour coal tit is so nicely done! Very loose! I need to practice my watercolour more...I feel the need to cover every inch with colour, need to get away from that. Your beautiful painting is inspiring! And very clever to show a bird of paradise! Lovely! :) That robin looks so happy and friendly - yes! Bring bird seeds when you go walking! It's such a thrill to have a bird feed from your hand!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for doing the art challenges, Rain, I really enjoyed this one and also explored Google for inspiration, didn't know budgies did murmuration so that was fun to find out - didn't know if I could paint a budgie either so that stretched me a bit! thank you.
DeleteI have seen the starling's murmurations and they are amazing, but I agree that Budgies with their beautiful colors would be and artist's dream. Your watercolor pencil Budgies are adorable and very well done. I have never attempted the watercolor pencils ... something new to explore, right? I enjoyed your entire post, especially the story of your brother bringing you the Peacock feather ... it is no wonder you treasure it. This, I believe, is my first visit with you and it has been a pleasure, Betty. I hope we see more of you at Rain's Art Date :) As I know you are fighting the Covid 19 like we are, stay safe and be well.
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From the Sol
Hope you can try some pencils, they can be used in various ways and I find just drawing and then wetting the picture after with a gentle brush gets a nice result. Thanks for visiting, sure we will meet again via Rain's lovely paint challenges.
DeleteOooo lovely paintings!
ReplyDeleteYou have certainly brightened up a grey January day! x
Thank you Mrs B - you brightened up January quite a bit with your recent post embracing magenta!
DeleteHello Betty, what a great post! Amazing YouTube clip of budgerigars murmuration (I did not know they did that!). I used to enjoy watching the Starlings on Brighton pier. Your watercolour budgies are so lovely! My grandad had a blue one, and although I loved seeing it as a kid, I always thought it mean that it was cooped up in a house. It eventually escaped through an open window and was never seen again. This week I have been bird watching myself (pics on latest blog post). We don’t have any pets, so we have started naming the birds that visit the garden! The Bird of Paradise is an incredible plant and the peacock feather is a true treasure. Lulu xXx
ReplyDeleteOh I do agree, I dont like birds caged, we had finches when I was a child and my brothers let them free - we all celebrated - my mother found out and was very upset and told us the wild birds would now peck the finches to death - that was a sad old day!
DeleteLoved the video. I have seen flock of starlings behaving like that. But not the budgies. But I think your painting of them is gorgeous. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you - yes I had no idea budgies did that - I was exploring google for inspiration - amazing what's on there.
DeleteLovely bird paintings! I still have to paint the little coal tit I sketched out some weeks ago. Have nice day!
ReplyDeleteHope you get him finished Kokopelli :)
DeleteHi Betty! Good that you found me again, and so I found you again! Love your bird paintings! And the robin is always a wonderful friend to encounter! They look like a feathered ball, I always think.
ReplyDeleteThey are such tame little things, unfortunately my cat knows this so I can't encourage them at home :)
Deletei loved the video ,it was captivating and spoke to me for how much unity can do
ReplyDeletei loved your birds painting most ,you are gifted with amazing talent ,you paint them absorbingly beautiful !!!!!!!!!
what a nice story from your book of fables , peacock feather were common back in my village and your gorgeous reminded me those all of sudden,almost each house would have peacock feather ,my mother too had it and like all other she kept it inside the Holy book Quran .how i did not wonder where did they get them
such a pretty Robin :)
i forgot to mention how gorgeous you look in the image you shared dear Betty :)
Thank you Baili. I hope you can take a look at Aesops Fables online - there have been some amazing illustrations for the books.
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