|
This is a bit of a mystery bird. When I originally sketched it (see link below) I identified it as a killdeer. After painting it, however, it struck me that the forehead of the bird wasn't that of a killdeer's. At first I thought I might have been too rushed in my observation, but I recall taking time to place the bands and rings. It may be a plover, or I just observed the head angle this way from my close position to the bird.
I was going to acknowledge that this was a plover of some sort, but then a trip to the Bell Museum last week brought a new wrinkle in attribution. I was walking past the Lake Pepin diorama and saw a bird I would have taken for a killdeer. It had the same head as the bird I observed. Their legend called it a "semipalmated Plover." I'll have to appeal to one of my ornithologically aware friends. This painting is on an 8 x 10 inch Fredrix Watercolor Canvas Board. I was using the board to try out a variety of paints and effects while working on another, larger painting. I decided that if I simply put a unifying glaze over the background it would become a fun surface to paint on. The earth color visible at the bottom portion of the board is the overall background color, along with some metallic gold. The bird and its shadow are painted in gouache. See the journal page on which I based this painting. (Use your browser commands to return to this page as there is no return link.) |
|
< LAST ARTWORK GALLERY THREE NEXT >
Painting © 2005 Roz Stendahl; All Rights Reserved |