To Sea

To Sea                       16x12 oil for SEWE

Do you follow me on Instagram? @vvaughan8

If you do, then you saw this already....I wish Instagram did not make EVERYTHING square!

I posted the "start" of mr. seagull the other day...went home and finished the background but hated it, so I "knifed it off" and slashed in...THIS....

I kinda like!

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A story today: I got a call from "Rex". A fine older gentleman who I befriended at my mom's nursing home. It has been MANY MONTHS since I went back. I have WANTED to go see old friends there, but was fearing the sadness, so kept avoiding it. Then REX called. He wanted me to come see some new artwork in his room....It was a GREAT excuse to FINALLY go back. So I bought a big bag of birdseed and drove over!

We had a very nice visit, and Rex had collected a coffee can full of Padre Island beach sand that he had saved for me all this time! He wanted me to put it at the bird feeders for the birds! That made this a PERFECT DAY to post this new Birdseed Project Painting!!! 
Also, Rex wants to sell some of his prized western art collection. Has anyone heard of Don Bowlin and David A. Carver?

#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



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!

 

 

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!

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"  :)

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

32-Soft in White

Soft in White___10x10 watercolor, framed__$350
#32 in the Birdseed Project
Here is another part of my Birdseed Project. It constitutes about 1 pound of the 241 pounds of art I shipped to Charleston, SC for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition!
Hope to see you there!!!

31 - LOL

LOL__6x6 oil on canvas panel for SEWE
#31 in the Birdseed Project
Another little laughing gull painting that I shipped to the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. The show opens Thursday night in Charleston, SC...These three gulls are laughing out loud...LOL...kind of silly, but it is a small little canvas I wanted to have some fun with...see you at SEWE!

30- A Good Laugh

A Good Laugh

#30 in the Birdseed Project

 It feels great to have shipped all my artwork off to Charleston for next weekend's Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

WHEW!

I extremely do not like framing, packing, cataloging, and shipping artwork...I only like DOING artwork. But, yesterday I had to ship 241 pounds of paintings...not fun.

I titled the one above A Good Laugh, because I NEED a good laugh, and this breed of seagull is called a "laughing gull"...PLEASE tell all your friends near Charleston to COME MEET ME at the art show! If they (or you!) buy a little bird work from me, I will apply over 10% to the Birdseed Project

...and I will tell how to make a tax deductible donation!

Have a great laugh this weekend! See you at SEWE!



27 - Pelican Place

Pelican Place__8x6 oil on linen panel__for SEWE

#27 in the Birdseed Project: More Than Many Sparrows

 

I dedicate this one to my Father-in-law, RV.

He lovingly pointed out to me that even though these little bird works have been created to benefit a birdseed fund for a nursing home, MOST of the birds I have painted lately do not eat seed! I told RV that I would like this project to inspire volunteers to ALSO feed birds at other nursing homes. NOW I also hope that JUST MAYBE some smart person might create a bird feeder that dispenses little fish instead of seed!

That would be PERFECT!

 __________________
Tonight is the opening of "Twilight" at Act I Gallery in Taos, NM
I wish I could be there and enjoy the great gallery artists and patrons. Below is "my wall" there for this show! Please go by and see the show if you are nearby...it will be up for a while!
Read about it in Southwest Art Magazine...and see some of my paintings here

 

25-Egret Eye

Egret Eye__6x8 oil on linen panel__$190 at SEWE

 

#25 in the Birdseed Project

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I painted this little Great Egret while visiting  mom the other day...she always enjoyed watching me draw as a little kid, and STILL gets into it! She was the perfect mom to a kid who did WAY TOO MANY THINGS at a time...she never coached me, or gave advice about my stuff...she just watched and enjoyed, and told me how I was the greatest at EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME! hahaha

Today is my mom's 89th birthday! We celebrated at her nursing home with some shrimp for lunch and she got her hair done! I topped it off by filling her bird feeders. See my favorite feeder, below. If anyone knows where I can get a feeder like this LET ME KNOW! (it is a metal plate that sticks in the ground and has branches with little birds on it...see?) I got it at Hobby Lobby and wish I had bought more!

Who can identify the 4 birds feeding?

The one at very top is the "decoy" :)

 

 

22 - Proud As....

 

Proud As...  ___8x6 oil on linen__$190 unframed

#22 in the Birdseed Project

 

Yesterday I met up with an artist friend and while we chatted over coffee, I painted this little rooster from a photo I have. I was biding time before a special reception for some of my high school art students. They had been working for weeks on special works for the Austin Rodeo Youth Western Art Competition. Students from all over Texas compete to get into the top 24. The judges were BIG TIME artists, Kyle Polzin, Dalhart Windberg and Sam Hurt.

Student art works will be auctioned off on March 22. 100% of the auction funds go to the artist for college. It also qualifies them for other scholarships.

So Here is the artwork that won GRAND CHAMPION...

I am so proud of my freshman art student Max Haager, and his great painting,

Papa Louie's Ranch!

I wish you could see the TEXTURE on this one!

 

CONGRATULATIONS, MAX!

 

 Papa Louie's Ranch_18x24 acrylic on board__by Max Haager

 

V....with Max and Papa Louie's Ranch

21-Magpie Fly

Magpie Fly___8 x 6 oil on linen panel___$350 framed at Act I Gallery

#21 in my Birdseed Project

 

This little magpie painting would make a nice pair with yesterday's post.

I have shipped it off to Act I Gallery in Taos, to help spread the word about my Birdseed Project.

Magpies are lively birds that thrive out there in the mountains and they are beautiful in flight, with black and white blurring wings!

 

 

 

 

20-Magpie Stand

Magpie Stand

8x6 oil on linen panel_available FRAMED at Act I Gallery, Taos, NM

#20 in the Birdseed Project

Here is a link about the Birdseed Project. It is an exciting little thing I am doing for a great cause! I have two really cool things "cooking" with this, so PLEASE keep watching and listening for the latest!

I am stepping up "production" of the little bird works so that I can send some to my galleries and shows, and spread the word about the project!

Speaking of shows, there will be a special theme show, "Twilight" at Act I Gallery in Taos, NM, starting in a few weeks. Southwest Art Magazine did a feature on the gallery and the exhibit. The magazine used my painting "Past Their Prime" to lead off the magazine article, and another one called "Morning Star Transit" to lead off the web article!

http://www.southwestart.com/events/act-one-feb2013

Click the link and you can see many of the works in the show, including 4 of my bigger ones...of course, if you follow my blog, you have seen these already!...but now you know where to get them! :) Please tell your friends

17 - Whooping Take-off

Whooping Take-Off__6x8 oil study__$190

#17 in my BIRD SEED PROJECT

I have plenty of little bird studies ahead, to benefit my Bird Seed Peoject! Please see link! Here is another small work painted from my photos of some rare whooping Cranes. Last year in South Carolina, I spent some time at a wioldlife refuge where a pair of whoopers were wintering. The refuge Biologist, Dean took me and a couple other artists over to watch them through the trees. Pretty soon they took off and flew right over us and I got some amazing photos. This take-off was right at sunset.

16 - Mock THIS

Mock THIS

 

8x8 watercolor pencil sketch with washes__$250 includes shipping

#16 in my BIRD SEED PROJECT

click to read about it

 

Mockingbirds are the official "state bird" for several states including my Texas! This time of year they fluff themselves up to keep warm, and they are a little "quieter" than usual. I remember nights on the farm when the mockingbirds would sing ALL NIGHT LONG in the trees outside our bedroom window. NOT GOOD!

The only good thing about those serenades was that the mockingbird never seems to sing the same song twice...they are my favorite!

The bird seed project is working well! Right now we are able to put seed out several times a week! If I get a good response, I will place more feeders outside the windows, and take the idea to a local grocery store, (H.E.B) and ask for their help with seed :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, y'all!

14_Little Dove

Little Dove__8x8 watercolor sketch for BIRDSEED PROJECT

 

I posted this just before I "formalized" my little project to provide bird seed to my mom's nursing home. So I have made this the 14th bird posting (officially) with the promise to only post NEW WORKS from now on!

Over the next few weeks I will focus on "wildlife" and "farms" due to upcoming show works I need to produce, but there will still be a scattering of little bird paintings! Read about the project HERE and tell your bird loving friends! If you do a search on my blog you can see all of them at once. Search "birdseed" ...

I know holidays can be tough for many, as we remember days and years and "by gones"...Tomorrow starts a NEW DAY, a NEW YEAR, that I hope will bring encouragement to all of you, my friends. May this little dove remain a symbol of peace...

God Bless you, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!



#11 - Ibis Drip

Ibis Drip__8x8 watercolor sketch__$250  includes shipping
# 11 for my bird seed project

On a recent trip to the coast there were plenty of these pretty white ibis..."ibises"? In flight, you can see their black-tipped wings. They are not as shy as the scarlet ibises, and I wonder why?...Part of this purchase will benefit some sweet elderly citizens at the nursing home where my mom lives....they LOVE to watch the birds, and the birds LOVE to over-eat! ...a 20 pound bag is $8, and fills the feeders twice, lasting just about 3 days. We spread out the feedings so the bag lasts about a week... :)
With cold weather coming tonight, I will step up the feeding a little bit...my CHRISTmas present to the birds!
Merry!!!
 

****

 

Ask Santa for the adventure of a lifetime!

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

10 - Blue Jay Song and Dance

Blue Jay Song and Dance__8x8 watercolor sketch__$250

#10 to benefit the Bird Seed Project

at least 10% of the price buys seed for the elderly...

 

Blue Jays must have a wide range because they are all over my area of central Texas. And, my artist friend, Kelly Dodge has befriended many of them at her place in CANADA!

(click to see Kelly's blue jay in flight...wait for it to scroll by).

I have sold a number of these little bird posts, and now have a little "nest egg" to supply birdseed to the nursing home where my mom lives. The residents just LOVE watching the birds at the feeders outside. If the "nest egg" gets big enough, I will put a few more feeders out for Christmas!

 

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Ask Santa for the adventure of a lifetime!

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

#9_Whooping Crane Liftoff

Whooping Crane Liftoff__6 x 8 oil on linen panel__$190 includes shipping

Birdseed Project #9

 

Here is a rare whooping crane from the eastern flock that spends a little winter time on the Donnelley Wildlife Refufge near CHarleston, South Carolina....I photographed them there last winter, and hope to do it again in February...Please tell your birding friends about my little project...I will post more birds over the next month or so...

 

_______________________

AND...

How about ART for Christmas?

See my new fine art prints

 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