Yellow Horse Study

Yellow Horse Study__watercolor__available

 

I am catching my breath after a month of sadness.

THANK YOU, my friends for your continuing "hello, how are you" notes.

One thing I realized through losing my mom and then a brother-in-law, and then ONE MORE setback, is that it HELPS to spend some of the grief-time doing something that is enjoyable. For me that meant long visits with those closest to my heart. Yet, USUALLY I was not the one reaching out...You who came alongside KNOW WHO YOU ARE, and I WILL NEVER FORGET...

 

Doing artwork has also helped get me back to "life".

I gathered my works from the last month, and had to chuckle over what variety can spill out of a grieving, creative mind! From sensitive watercolors to irreverent tee shirt art!

The sketch above is a nice outcome from teaching a class...an upside-down watercolor demo like what I used to do for mom.

 

It has been YEARS since I designed a tee shirt! The shirt below is an idea I had after recently taking my usual walk in the neighborhood, getting LOST, somehow, then making the mistake of sharing my confusion with a dear old pal who still makes fun of me for it!

Ah, what are friends for, if not to cry with you, laugh with you and laugh AT you!

 

 

To Order this fun shirt click here or contact

 http://wwwshirtaday.com/shirt./missing-elderly/2118

55 - Great Blue

 

Great Blue__7.5x11 watercolor pencil study

#55 in the Birdseed Project

 

I had a sweet visit with some family tonight and then ART making broke out!!!

Our cousin Kirsten and her beautiful family just moved to town and invited me over to see their new home! That makes the kids my first cousins once removed!

Few things are more fun than hanging out with 3 youngsters, loaded with colors and paper! WOOHOO!!!....We painted some trees, and bull dozers and then I had to try my hand at a bird! This one is #55 in my birdseed project!

I think I will OFFICIALLY DOT my little "cuzz-es". The younger two are now "I...." and "N"....Below, posing with the painting is

"lower case v...." !

Thanks "K" and "E"!!

54-Ouzel...aka American Dipper

Ouzel__8x10 oil

#54 in the Birdseed Project

 

Slowly, my birdseed project is "catching on". Please read the link if you forget what it is all about. As school starts up, please remember this would make a great service project for students, youth groups, fraternities or ANYONE! If you start a project in your area, I am happy to provide materials for your use!

 

Really this bird is an American Dipper. A fun companion on the rivers and streams of Colorado...they are not shy, but walk alongside and dip their whole body under water looking for food!  I am sure it does NOT eat seeds, but bugs and worms!...I had fun photographing this little guy on the Conejos River and Rough Creek.

"OOzle" is how we pronounce it, and I had a heck of a time finding it in my bird guides (Sibley's and Peterson's were no help for my bad spelling!)...So once again I sing the praises of the world's greatest bird identifying place.  The Cornell  Lab of Ornithology's web site "All About Birds".Even if you don't think you are interested in birds, go look at it!...really cool!

 



53 - Flamingo

Flamingo ___12 x 9 watercolor pencil

#53 in The Birdseed Project

 

Click the blog image, to see some detail on this, and how the watercolor pencils work...I enjoy the drawing aspect...just LOVE scribbling...then finishing it off with the unpredictability of WATER!...add to that, the component of doing this "live" for my mom, while she sits by...watching quietly....

It brought back many memories... painting with mom watching. Almost ALL of my art memories as a child include mom there.

I was the youngest of seven kids, so there was never a "secluded" place to be doing my art. I often sat at the kitchen counter, with family coming and going...ALWAYS taking a chance that something would spill on my masterpiece...sometimes it was mom's coffee!

Mom chose this flamingo from a stack of my photos that I brought to the nursing home...it reminds her of her long legged daughter, and reminds ME of MY longER legged daughter!So, we sat on the hot patio, while other residents smoked nearby. Mom prefers to sit alone with me in the gazebo, but the sun was beating down at an angle, and the roof of the gazebo provided no shade, so we sat on the smoking patio.

Mom was especially quiet and several times I stopped to ask if she was OK?...bored?...hot?...she assured me that she was LOVING to watch....just like mom...

52 - Rufous Hummmmmm

Rufous Hum__8x6 oil on canvas panel__$250 framed, shipped

#52 in the Birdseed Project

Yesterday's Bear lives in the same Colorado canyon as this little hummingbird.

Our family place on the Conejos River is a secluded place with beauty and LIFE everywhere!

This time of year, the wildlife are just beginning to pack on the calories, getting themselves ready to hibernate or migrate! This Rufous Hummingbird laid claim to one of the feeders and attempted to have it to himself. He burned more energy than he ate!

I have this one and a dozen other works on sale at the Annual Fire House Fund Raiser this weekend (July 27-28)...I hope you can go see it and support the fire prevention efforts all over the Rockies.

NEXT YEAR I will teach and lead a few painters all over this area, capturing some of the diverse beauty of Southern Colorado. I have prepared a little pdf flyer with LOTS of location pictures. Let me know if you are interested!

vvaughan8@yahoo.com

51 - Dancer

 

"Dancer"

"Dancer"___8x6 oil on linen panel___$190

#51 in the Birdseed Project

My newest little bird painting is a bird that spends wintertime in Texas. Rockport, TX is home to the great flocks of Sandhill cranes that travel America's central flyway.

Rockport is also where I am for the weekend Art Festival. This is truly a terrific event. A gathering of some of the most CREATIVE art things you'll ever see! I am humble to bring "boring" paintings amidst such FUN and well crafted works. Artists here create things you'll never see anywhere else.

Please come say hello if you are nearby!

Mission Sketch and Cheery Birds

Mission San Jose Sketch

 

A few weeks ago I spent some time in San Antonio....mostly photographing, but I managed a QUICKIE sketch with a water soluble graphite stick (above)...Click image to see this one BIG...it's better bigger :)

 

Below are a couple of BIRD WORKS, by my first "guest artists" for the birdseed project!

Please let me know if you are interested in purchasing either of these! You will recognize the famous artist's name - Robin Cheers....the other artist is her mother! That explains Where R.... got her talent!!!

Please contact me if you would like to purchase one of these for the benefit of the

Birdseed Project.

 

Robin by Robin___By Robin Cheers__6 x 6 oil___available for the Birdseed Project

  

 "Sparrow" by O....Cheers__6x6___available for the Birdseed Project

 

 

 

49 - Scarlet Ibis Birdseye View

Scarlet Ibis Birdseye View___$150

#49 in the Birdseed Project

As I get ready to take works to the Rockport Art Festival early next month, I did a few little tropical birds last week at the Chocolate Sketch Class!

Join us on Saturday for the last sketch class this month... I plan to demonstrate a small one with my "palette droppings" and Robin has something fun planned with sketching. Joel's, once again, is providing the coffee and tempting us with Austin's best truffles!

Please click the Birdseed Project link and consider a small donation to help provide seed to nursing homes. Better yet, ASK ME how to do a Birdseed Project at a nursing home near you!!!

#48 Rooster Highlight

Rooster Highlight___6x6 oil on canvas panel

#48 in the Birdseed Project

 

This little rooster painting was actually painted at the nursing home while mom looked on from under the dryer! Each Wednesday she gets her hair done...the HIGHLIGHT of her whole week! When she was in the hospital a few months ago, I am petty sure it was my pep talks about going back to the salon that helped her get through!...I like sitting with her and visiting with Tina as mom gets "washed, rolled, dried and styled"...since she can't hear me while under the dryer, I painted and she watched...between dozing off sessions :)

Robin Cheers and I are sharing sketching, coffee and chocolate again Saturday, June 15th at

Joel's Coffee House. 9-noon. We supply the materials, and coffee!...you come and enjoy!

email if you are coming! $20



44 - Caracara

Caracara__10 x 8 oil on linen panel__$550

#44 in the Birdseed Project

Caracaras started showing up on our farm just a couple of years before we left. I never remembered seeing them as a kid, and I heard that they were rather "new" to central Texas. We also call them Mexican Eagles, because they come up from Mexico... BIG BIRDS that sit on fence posts and stand around in fields. They are very handsome and not too shy, so I have gotten some pretty decent photos.

 

43- Hawk Greens

 Hawk Greens__8x6 oil on panel__$350

#43 in the Birdseed Project

 

Yesterday's post was this same red-tailed hawk. Click to read the story and to see a BETTER IMAGE than what you saw yesterday.

Hawks are my younger son's favorite birds, and to watch them in the fields hunting is a thrill! Below is a recent video (sped up!) of me painting a hawk!

Take a look!

 

 

42 - Red Shouldered Hawk

 

Red Shouldered Hawk__8 x 6 oil on linen panel__$350

#42 in the Birdseed Project

Please read about this important project at the link above, and consider donating!

I painted this from a photo I took of this magnificent bird out in the wild!...Yes, the busy Austin intersection of Parmer Lane and McNiel Road is a VERY wild place! That's where I saw this hawk as I drove by during rush hour! I circled back and went through the intersection again, pulling onto the shoulder and parking RIGHT NEXT to the fence wire where he perched.

Usually hawks are wary and will fly away if you park too close. This one was used to traffic and stayed long enough for me to get a BUNCH of pictures. I watched him (her?) searching the small field area for mice (or something), and flying from fence post to tree and back. He (she) actually outlasted me, and was still there after my memory card filled up and I had to drive away.

41- Snowy Robin

Snowy Robin__tiny oil on canvas 3.5 x 3.5__$150 includes a little easel

#41 in my Birdseed Project

 

This is a tiny warm-up painting I did in the snow over the weekend in Nebraska. There were Robins EVERYWHERE there, ALL fluffed up in the cold. My friend, Allen said that he saw one that looked confused as if to say "where is SPRING?"

That might be a better title for this little canvas...winter seems to be hanging on tight in the Great Plains!

Please consider this painting, or a little donation to the Birdseed Project!

Your purchase will provide seed for bird feeders at a nursing home, and light to a lonely place.

NOW, you can even send a few tax deductible dollars, without having to buy art!

Contact Friends of the Forgotten and mention BIRDSEED!

40- Coots are Cute

Coots are Cute___4x6 oil study on canvas

#40 in the Birdseed Project

 

I have been in Nebraska this week, painting, and participating in plenty of things with the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art!

I'll talk about it this week after I get home tomorrow.

This is my warm up sketch on the first day!

 



39 Arizona Roadrunner

 Roadrunner__ in Arizona__10x10 watercolor pencil__$250 unframed

#39 in my Birdseed Project

 

YESTERDAY'S POST was put up hastily, because I needed to post before midnight and it was 11:58!

So I didn't identify the bird: a beautiful golden orange and black bird that I saw in Arizona. THE FIRST ONE to respond to my call for "help" was the greatest bird artist I know,
 Adele Earnshaw. www.adeleearnshaw.blogspot.com She is an active blogger and frequently paints birds...GO SEE!!!!...Adele is a real pal and lives in New Zealand, after many years in Arizona. New Zealand is her homeland and she achieved her dream to move there for good! (well, for HER OWN GOOD....I say it's BAD for the rest of us!!) In March 2015 I will teach a workshop in New Zealand, and Adele will be our host....CAN'T WAIT!

Tomorrow I will share my heart about a few recent struggles I have had, and why I have been a spotty blogger....so many of you care and ask....I just want to get my thoughts together before "sharing"  :)

#38 in the Birdseed Project - Hooded Oriole

 

NAME THIS BIRD__ in Arizona__6 x 86 oil__$250 unframed

#38 in my Birdseed Project

 

This one from Arizona is the Hooded Oriole. I saw him on a hike near Tucson with artist frind, Lydia Dillon-Sutton...She does the BEST BATIK art!

Here is the video of my Quick Draw at the recent Cowgirl Up event in Wickenburg, Arizona's Desert Caballeros Museum. 

Turn up your speakers!

37- House Finch

House Finch in Arizona__6 x 6 oil__$190 unframed

#37 in my Birdseed Project

 

This little bird brightens the trees in northern Arizona! Sorry the photo is blurry! I will replace it as soon as I remember...it was a rainy day and this photo is bad!

HEY! Did you see my Quick Draw Video? Here it is below! Thank you MIKE'S ROAD TRIP for sending the actual player !!! THE MUSIC IS SO COOL!!! Y'all tell me what you think! Be sure to watch to the end to see the world's best auctioneer, Carson Thomas. He made it a really fun event!

Then go LIKE MIKE on facebook! ...

 

 

ENJOY the time lapse video created by Mike's Road Trip. I told him that all my friends would watch this and LIKE HIM on facebook....PLEASE do that!!!

This painting is not available, and it is not part of my Birdseed Project. But the video is a blast!!! Watch it twice and turn up the music!

 

http://www.mikesroadtrip.com/cowgirl-up-quick-draw/

 

https://www.facebook.com/MikesRoadTrip

36- Saguaro Hawk

 

Saguaro Hawk

12 x 9 oil___$550

#36 in the Birdseed Project

 

Hi Friends...I appreciate the notes of concern about my "absence"...again...First I will talk about today's ART! It's fun when I remember to take a picture of "step 1"...see below! You artists can look at these two pictures and almost "see" how I paint! I always look at step 1 and ask myself, "why did I go past that point?"...meaning, I usually like my "start" better than my "finish"  :)  Would love to hear from my artist friends about what you think, or if you have a question about how I got from "step 1" to "step 10" ...notice I did not bore you with pics of the middle steps :)

 

I came home from South Carolina to find a VERY SICK mom. She spent 2 weeks in hospital with pneumonia, and some other serious issues. At 89, her prognosis was not good...but, as "Mama Pedro", this was just a little blip in her routine! Of course, I was holding my breath...only exhaling to PRAY, but she seems on the road to recovery and is back at her nursing home!...I am back to feeding her birds, and asking y'all to pass the word about my birdseed project!  In fact PLEASE CLICK the link to read the latest news!!!

 God Bless Mom...and you ALL, too!

 

Saguaro Hawk---State 1

the "start"

The Birdseed Project: More Than Many Sparrows

#2 Mocking Sage__for the Birdseed Project__6x8 oil __$190 includes shipping

The Birdseed Project ... "More Than Many Sparrows"

 My mom and dad always fed the backyard birds. Mom now lives in a nursing home, so for several years I have been feeding the birds there. Her room and "family room" windows have a view of a small yard which can be enjoyed by residents and guests, so I have put out bird feeders, and a bird bath.

Recently, other residents have told me that they love the birds! They ask me to sprinkle seed here and there so they can see the birds better. 

To afford more seed for the hungry birds and these precious older people, I am doing a short-term project. Since I have photographed birds all over America, I am painting small bird studies. When I sell one,10-20% of the sales price is "seed money". I hope these small art works will fund the filling of the feeders a little bit at a time. I call it
 "The Birdseed Project: More Than Many Sparrows"...
because Jesus once said that The Father even knows every sparrow that falls. He said that OUR LIFE is precious to Him and worth more than many sparrows.
I want old people to know this!

You may contribute to The Birdseed Project! 

$10 will purchase a large bag of seed that can fill 5 feeders TWICE!

TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donations can be made without having to purchase a painting!

Threefold Cord Ministries are "Friends of the Forgotten". They accept ANY donation, and will send it to the Birdseed Project. They will use 10% to administer the details. Contact Threefold Cord Ministries, and ASK!!! These are AWESOME people, and good friends of mine. If you have a loved one who is in the "Last Season" of life, I urge you to get their book:

 "Finding Life in the Last Season"....You will be encouraged!

 I will post an occasional bird painting that I hope you will like. Tell your bird-loving friends!...if you would like more info or price and cost numbers, please e-mail me.

To see all the paintings, click on my blog, and type in a search for "bird seed".

http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com

35 - Great in White

Great in __10 x 10 watercolor pencil__framed $450
#35 in the Birdseed Project
I am home after a week in South Carolina, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, and a few days at ACE Basin....Saw no Whooping Cranes this year, but plenty of these great white egret. They are so big and elegant and in HUGE numbers at ACE Basin.
I spent most of my time there shooting pictures and trying out a new camera set-up...We saw  these egrets, some little snowy egrets, blue herons, tricolors, little blue herons. Also my favorite, the Kingfisher, bald eagles, otters, a few alligators and the endangered American Wood Stork...I can't wait to paint these for the birdseed project!