23- Mocking Back

Mocking Back__6x8 oil on linen panel___$390 framed for Southeastern Wildlife Exposition

#22 in the Birdseed Project

I hope you can zoom in on this one...it is one of my favorites...maybe because my favorite bird is the mocking bird. It is the state bird of the great state of Texas, and another state or two! Please click the link above if you are not familiar with my Birdseed Project! I am thrilled to see the word spread, and to see things HAPPENING!...Right now I am framing, packing and doing last minute paintings for SEWE in Charleston, SC. I ship the works next week, and then I will have some news to share about my birdseed project...including the real "official" project name!!!

#1-Bug for Breakfast

Bug for Breakfast__Texas Mockingbird___8x6 oil on linen__$190...includes shipping
SOLD

Today I begin to share a little project very near to my heart! For the past few months...to occupy my grumbling self while fuming over my lost hard drive, I began to paint little birds!...In all my travels, I have scores of great photos of all kinds of birds. Birds seem to be a constant from place to place. I have enjoyed them in the mountains and marshes, in the desert and coastal areas...but the birds that I am doing this project for are birds that bring LIFE and amusement to the friends I have made at my mom's nursing home!... I will tell more about this as I move through the "Bird Show" over the next month or so...but FIRST I want you to know that at least 10% of the price for each one sold will be used to buy seed for the feeders at the nursing home....these little birds have become spoiled and, well, they are morphing into pigs!...Maybe I will paint the "pig-birds" one day...but for now, please tell your friends to look in, and consider purchasing a little gem...The first one, here, is our beloved Texas Mocking Bird enjoying a bug for breakfast... 

I need suggestions to name this project!

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AND...

Consider a fine art print for Christmas! http://vvaughan.blogspot.com/2012/10/son-of-sun.html 

or ask Santa for the adventure of a lifetime

A Painting Holiday in New Zealand March 3-9, 2015

Mock vs. Hawk

Mock vs. Hawk__6x6 oil on linen panel__painted for Sewe
I combined a few photos I took at the farm. Hawks were always flying over the fields and I loved to watch them and hear them scream. This day, a hawk was on a fence post and the mockingbird must have had a nest nearby. She could not tolerate the big hawk, and pestered it till it flew away, giving chase and nipping at tail feathers. I saw hawks carry big field rats and rip them to shreds, but for some reason, they never took on the mockingbirds!
vvaughan8@yahoo.com