Hummers & Hostas

This sweet little painting brings two of my favorite things together.  

First, hummingbirds... well, of course, who doesn't love seeing a hummingbird?

We had so many visiting our feeders this year. It's always a treat to be sitting in my spot on the back porch, hearing that familiar little bzzz, then spying the tiny little green thing flitting around. Sometimes one will land for a sip and stay until the bossy one comes to shoo them back into their tree. I don't know why they can't just relax and share.  There's always plenty of their red juice to go around. 

Second, hostas...

My front flower beds are so shaded that nothing I'd tried really thrived. When my dad moved from his home into a senior living place, we dug up a few of the hostas from his flower bed and gave them a try around our porch.  They not only survived, they did thrive!!

And they kept on thriving! Growing bigger and thicker!

And they kept on thriving!  Filling the bed and flowering at the end of summers.

This year was the first time I'd seen hummingbirds stopping by the hosta flowers for a drink.  

I tried to snap a photo.  Ha! How does anyone ever catch a photo of a hummingbird?!  They're so fast! Bzzz... Zip... Zip... Sip... Zip... Gone!

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 6"x 2" Canvas.

And If you'd like this painting for yourself, click Hummers & Hostas.  It's on a chunky little thick canvas. The sides are painted, so it could be displayed just sitting on a shelf.

Hummingbird & Maltese Cross (mini)

 

It's been such a long time since I've sat in front of the easel holding a brush... about three months.  Why? Oh, this and that... Sometimes life stuff simply doesn't leave time or energy for creativity.  I believe I've come through though and am emerging on the other side of one of life's difficult seasons. 

I've never taken such a long break and was oddly nervous to paint again. But, paint again, I did.  And, paint again, I will... soon!

Thanks @saraharley.studio for creating an image that just begged to be painted.

Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Canvas Board

[ART EXCHANGE]

Signs of Summer

One of my favorite signs of summer is seeing the little hummingbirds show up at our feeders.

I know there are many different kinds, but we only have the little green ruby-throated hummingbirds here in Northwest Arkansas. I love hearing their little hmmmmm and seeing them dart in for drinks. 

Our particular little guys are an opinionated bunch.  We have four feeders... all just alike... all hanging in a row on the back porch... all containing the exact same nectar water stuff... And, do they visit them all equally? No, they do not.  They like the third one.  What's up with that?  Oh, they visit the other three, but the third one is always the cool hangout spot.  It's like the restaurant with Coke while the other three have Pepsi.

Even if we switch them around, the third one empties out first. Go figure...

I did this painting for this month's Inspiration Collaboration submission.  Signs of Summer was my response to Sara's photograph Signs of Spring.

Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Ruby Throated Hummingbird V

 

This little hummingbird is a good friend.  He's visited my painting canvas a few times.  I have a few go-to images that are perfect for a one-day-art-with-a-friend painting.  He's one of them.

If you look it up, you'll find that the hummingbird is symbol of joy and happiness.  It's said if you see one it gives positive energy and good luck.

I think we could all use some joy and happiness, some positive energy, and a bit of good luck these days.

Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Wrapped Canvas

Click Ruby Throated Hummingbird V if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Purple Hummer - for Jolene

Jolene loved sunsets. 

She loved hot air balloons.  

She loved her cats.  

She loved flowering plants and had a gift for knowing how to make them flourish.  

She loved beautiful special rocks and displayed them in her office space, in her home, and in her yard. 

She loved hummingbirds and had so many that she had to refill the feeders on her porch every day in the summer.  

She loved the color purple. 

She was clever and crafty and creative and artistic. 

Five years ago we started painting together on Tuesday evenings. She was a lefty and had an odd way of holding her brush, but it worked for her. She was determined to learn, to get it right.  We’d paint on a piece for a few hours on Tuesday then she’d go home and work on it some more.  So often I’d get a text late at night with a picture of what she’d done.  “What do you think?  What do I need to do now?”  Usually the answer was, “Absolutely nothing. It’s perfect. Sign your name.” 

A special friendship bond is created when you paint together.  You are in a small room for an extended time, your hands are busy, and you are facing your canvas instead of each other.  All those factors lead to real conversation.  Of course we griped about whatever needed to be complained about (school stuff, politics, news, etc.) and talked about the art we were working on. But, eventually we settled into real talk. Jolene talked about her daughter, husband, her mom, her sisters, her cats, her home – what she’d been doing to decorate or what plants she’d been setting out.  Jolene also loved to talk about things that made us groan… having her aura read and psychic shows and haunted places and UFOs; she loved her paranormal.   And, she sometimes brought a copy of the Eureka newspaper so she could read the police reports to us. (They’re pretty funny… “Officer was called to a residence on Maple to check on cat that wouldn’t stop yowling.  Officer asked the owner of the cat to put it in the house.”) She’d talk about whatever other craft she’d been working on.  And, Jolene talked about the future.  She loved making predictions about what might happen.  Her predictions were always positive. 

She was such an encourager.  She’d say specific things she liked about people. She’d give specific praise about paintings.  She’d predict exact positive things that she just knew were going to happen.  I am personally holding on to a couple of those predictions that she made. The last text I got from her was one of encouragement and prediction.  How perfect.

Losing Jolene makes me sad. She wouldn’t like that, but it does.  

In memory of Jolene, I want to create beautiful things.  
I want to be encouraging. 
I want to be available.  
I want to be kind.

Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Canvas

[SOLD]

Ruby Throated Hummingbird IV

What a pleasure when someone asks, "I love this one. Can you paint another one for me?"  I love it especially if I get to paint with my favorite color combination, purple and green.
I hope that the person who receives this as a Christmas present loves it.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas.
[SOLD]

Hmmmmm.....

I think this is the hummingbird version of "a kid in a candy shop!"  She's probably thinking... "Hmmmmm... They all look so good!  Hmmmm... Where do I begin? Hmmmmm... Maybe I'll just cruise around... Hmmmmm..."

I love to read.
I love to read excellent literature... trashy novels... children's books... and blogs. I love to discover a blog that feels real... like the the author is just talking in his/her own voice without concern for who is/isn't reading it. Usually it's one that doesn't have sponsors or hundreds of followers; it's just someone writing about whatever it is they're passionate about.  Whenever I stumble across one like that, I like to go all the way back to the beginning of it and read it through. It's like a novel (only better).  It's the oddest thing to do that because a blog is written in present tense, so it feels like it's happening now even though it might have been written 6 years ago.  It's funny how invested I find myself becoming in this stranger's life. Occasionally I can't help myself and leave a comment (even though my present is the author's past... let that sink in a minute...) then worry the author wonders what this random stranger is doing in his/her past.

I discovered one of these blogs during Christmas break. (It's always in a really random way that this happens... long story short... I'm fascinated by high and low tides.  I learned that Nova Scotia has the highest tides in the world. Visiting there was added to my bucket list. The author of this blog is from there.) After reading a few posts of SharleyStudio, I knew I wanted to start at the beginning; I think the first post was done in 2007. It became my winter reading choice.  
Then one day in late January I got to the post written on July 19, 2012 and stopped. All of Sara's photographs are wonderful, but the hummingbirds and those spiky pink flowers on this post and a few more on the post on August 1, 2012, just captured my heart.

I gathered the courage to ask permission to use one as a reference for a painting, and Sara graciously said yes.

So...
I'm often asked, "Where do you get your ideas for paintings?"  
Well, sometimes an image just finds me.

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 8" Wrapped Canvas.
[SOLD]

Ruby Throated Hummingbird III

We have three hummingbird feeders on our back porch.  The hummingbirds love one of them.  I don't understand that. I put the same sugar water in all three of them.  They're literally within 2-3 feet of each other.  They're all shaped the same too.  I just can't figure out why they like one better than the other two. Any ideas?









Original Oil Painting on 6"x 6"x 2 1/2"
[GIFT]

Hummingbird

What do you get someone who has everything he needs?

My sister and I each got my dad a hummingbird feeder for Father's Day this year. They were very simple and inexpensive... and the best few dollars we could have spent.

I'm sure there is a correct way to feed these little guys, but we mixed their food a little extra strong the first time - just to let them know where the new restaurant in the neighborhood was located. Within hours they were hovering around and sipping that syrupy nectar. Yes, they are elusive. No, they don't have names. But, they have become pets all the same.

This particular little bird grabbed my attention at the bus stop outside the airport in San Diego. He and his many brothers and sisters were the exact color and shape of the leaves growing on the wall. At first, they were completely camouflaged to me. But as soon as I spotted the first one, I realized they were everywhere! These little Dr. Suess-looking puff balls seemed to be their dinner tables.

Have a look at these artsy hummingbirds that I found on Etsy - very different, but I love both of them!

For a lovely little stained glass hummingbird to put in your window, click this link.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/53002091/stained-glass-3-d-greenbrown-hummingbird

For a way cool (kind of funky) mosaic mirror with a hummingbird inspiration, click this link. http://www.etsy.com/listing/39284921/humminggbird-in-light-green-mosaic