A Bird Year

The coming year will be my Year of the Bird. To explain a bit, I love to illustrate, period. But I have been craving to go deeper into one topic and the birds have been on my radar for a few years now having painted many of them. I was however really only scratching the surface and now it’s time to learn more and make more. I admit I have an ulterior motive as well. My past is a bit spotty when it comes to consistency with marketing. It is all well and good to make work and keep yourself happy but it would also be great to share the work consistently and reach the people that love birds, are birders, bird watchers, nature people and city people who don’t have that much exposure to birds other than sparrows. I have sold a fair amount of paintings and prints in the last few years and It makes me very happy that people like the work and want to hang it on their walls. So my mission now is to reach more bird lovers and contribute to their happy homes. All birds are beautiful and inspiring. I am curious to see how many I can illustrate in a year. Yes I am not making paintings but working digitally. I have come to prefer that as I can work on my tablet and am totally free to create wherever I am.

The Northern Cardinal

I would like to share some information about the amazing Red Cardinal. The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They’re a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can’t take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don’t migrate and they don’t molt into a dull plumage, so they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.