The month of August was full of hummingbirds, raccoons, great blue herons and generally, birds! Despite a very hot & humid month, I still managed to get outside with my camera and simply enjoy being outdoors.

On my easel during the month of August…

Great Blue Heron – casein on Fabriano Artistic h/p paper

close-up

Barred Owl, casein & silverpoint on Fabriano Artistico h/p paper

close-up (you can just see the ‘shine’ on the silverpoint)

Osprey – casein and watercolor on Fabriano artistico hot press paper
(smoothing out the background with dry brush watercolor)

working on the osprey in casein

Silvestre & Culta ( wild & cultivated)

I have started a new series called ‘silvestre & culta’ which is latin for wild & cultivated. First in the series – Sylvester & Culta – Gooseberry and Black Raspberries
watercolor on calfskin vellum

a sampling of studies and sketches

[easy-image-collage id=3035]

Hummingbirds and Raccoons

The month of August gifted me with a family of raccoons taking up residence in a very large oak tree on the edge of my pasture – every few days they would spend the day lounging, playing and just being cute before descending down the tree at dusk to do whatever raccoons do during the night!

The other dominating theme of August is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. They were feverishly feeding, fighting, feeding, fighting, you get the picture. By mid-month the adults all seemed to have departed leaving us with a gang of juveniles to do the honors. Take a moment and enjoy the month of August ‘through my lens’.