Month: April 2015

How to carry maps in bicycle baskets.

April 28, 2015 — Leave a comment

Or better, what to do with them when you get home. (If it stayed in the basket).

I picked up this map then I learned about some new-to-me warblers from every continent (besides that super cold one). And I put them to page one after another. It was a nice Sunday afternoon of records on the old Victrola and the window open for the wind to get in and make some pages dance.

Oh and for you folks keeping score at home:

1. Asia: Lanceolated Warbler

2. Australia: Spectacled Warbler

3. North America: Yellow-Rumped Warbler

4. South America: Rufous-Capped Warbler

5. Europe: Grasshopper Warbler

6. Africa: Melodious Warbler

drawing new borders?

drawing new borders?

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Warblers in April finished.

April 25, 2015 — Leave a comment

I completed the last work tonight on my 20 warblers on 8×10 wooden pages. I left the 10th page in pencil for “artistic reasons”. I suppose I want whoever looks at these to be able to better see where they come from. People always ask my “why birds?” The best answer I can come up with is that if you walked my mile, I imagine you’d paint a lot of birds too. Maybe the pencil work will help.

Who’s next? Finches? Birds for Atticus….

bandwandprairie commonyellowthroatandredstart goldcheeckandhooded hermitandyellow kentandmag kirtlandsandyellowrump redfacedandmourning warblerstnandnash warblerswoodfinal.jpg yellowandbtblue

Between the pencil sketched branches and obscure references.

April 19, 2015 — Leave a comment

My warblers for Walt project progresses with the finishing of the pencil work for the last 8 species. The names of the species are tucked under the feathers I’m certain you can decipher my encrypted handwriting by now if you choose. Hell, I’ll help you out, my handwriting gives me a damn headache…

Red-faced and Mourning Warblers.

Red-faced and Mourning Warblers.

Yellow and Hermit Warblers.

Yellow and Hermit Warblers.

Kirtland's and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Kirtland’s and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Common Yellow-throat and American Redstart.

Common Yellow-throat and American Redstart.

His job is to shed light, not to master….

Sometimes/everytime.

April 8, 2015 — Leave a comment
Sometimes I write a letter before I know who I’m writing it to.
Sometimes I sit at a desk with a pencil in my hand and just stare at the wall for an hour, then I put the pencil down and walk out of the room while asking myself “what was I doing…?”
Sometimes I write poems about row boats and ponds in northern Illinois
Sometimes I say normal words wrong like bagel and milk.
Sometimes I untie my shoes wrong and they get all knotted up
Sometimes I untie my mind wrong and it gets knotted up too.
Every time though I get them unknotted up.
No direction home.

No direction home.

Warblers for Walt.

April 6, 2015 — Leave a comment

I like going to concerts for so many reasons. One of them is that I find ideas for art projects between the notes. At a concert in SF last week I got the idea of 10, 8×10 pieces of wood with two warblers on each. In acrylic this time versus my watercolors before. The watercolor warblers taught me so much about the medium, It is my hope this project will yield the same with my work in acrylic. I chose 20 of my favorites to paint and paired them up by color contrast and in the case of one (I’m sure you can guess which) by name. This project is dedicated to my little nephew Walt.

kentandmag

warblerstnandnash

yellowandbtblue