Birds and Flora: Seasonal Garden Visitors is available November 29 on this website, finally all 36 small original paintings, some with collage, will be seen together and ready in time for the holidays. I’ll be notifying everyone by email about it. It’s going to be interesting to see how this unfolds. I’ve been writing stories about how they came to be joined into a series on Instagram and Facebook. In case you don’t read there, here’s a few highlights.
05 Solstice Oak, © Kathleen O’Brien
Solstice Oak is number 5 for the small works event starting in 4 Days! An oak leaf from one of our trees was painted last summer solstice as a way to commemorate the Irish Tree Calendar which honors the oak tree that “opens the year”. Literally oak translates as duir, meaning door and druid at the same time. At the height of day’s light, the garden brims with the blooms and birds at summer’s beginning.
04 Brown Betty, Framed panel, © Kathleen O’Brien
Brown Betty is number 4 in the small works online event, see it soon! Brown Betty is the name we have been giving to a wee house wren or is it a Carolina wren? Since she always nested in the cornucopia basket on top of our porch garden closet next to the kitchen door, we assumed she was a house wren but looks like the other. Over the years if we can watch the fledge of 3-4, we are thrilled. She’s been the subject of many artworks for years, she’s a welcome melodious neighbor starting in early spring. That’s why she was one of the first birds I painted for the “Birds and Flora: Seasonal Garden Visitors”, this time in gouache and collaged onto a painted 8×8″ panel and varnished.
09 First Daffodil, ©Kathleen O’Brien
First Daffodil is number 9 for small works. It was the very first flower to show in the garden, it gave me the idea (flowers talk to me) for this small art series of visitors to the garden. + it was the first gouache painting ever, so you could call it a collector’s piece. I have been painting since I was 12, so that helped. A new medium sparked a new level of enthusiasm.
22 Sunwise Mockingbird, ©Kathleen O’Brien
Sunwise Mockingbird is number 13 in my new series for small works. Mockingbirds are always among the early arrivals to the farm. In fact when we first arrived to our overgrazed land 20 years ago, nothing was here. No birds or wild animals, no trees or worms, no driveway or buildings. Husband and son started building our home. Soon after the power poll was in place we heard a song husband identified as Mockingbird. Sure enough there he was, claiming his territory on the tiny platform on the top. He sang day and night for his mate. She heard, soon there were more. More stories to come about who else took the invitation once we planted trees and amended the soil. We adore these virtuosos.
look for this tile for upcoming announcements in your emails and around the web