Morning Birds

Good morning! Spring is truly here now, and my Spring Sale is fast approaching.

This new painting is called “Morning Birds.”

The warmth of the sun fills the whole sky. I can feel the sunlight gently washing over the branches of the tree. Tendrils of color are rising upwards in the background–dew evaporating into trails of mist? The atmosphere is yellow, pink, happy.

The little birds perched in the tree, silhouetted by the sunshine, to me look so contented and busy. I can imagine their beaks turning from side to side as they look around at the new day, twittering to each other.

The warm tones in the sky and tree are balanced by the blue ground–deep indigo stones set into turquoise. The ground to me looks cold, fresh, mossy, soaked through by a night’s rain.

This feels like the perfect painting to welcome the re-birth of spring. The equinox and Easter having just passed, and with our first warm and sunny week upon us here in Oregon since winter broke, I am feeling the full swing of it! It is time to start planting the garden.

I painted all of this from my imagination, but it seems my eyes are constantly seeking the real thing everywhere I go. Here’s a shot I took on a trail near Breitenbush Hot Springs over the weekend. Notice the little bird perched in the tree, looking out at the morning sunshine.