Merry Christmas and the end of 2020!

 As we approach the end of 2020, I hope that we are truly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in this  unprecedented year. We're still slogging through the pandemic, but feeling some optimism with the release of the vaccines. I am personally looking forward to being able to visit my mother, in person, in her nursing home. We had a couple outdoor, distanced visits, before the virus closed the door on physically present meeting-ups in September. Fortunately, the residents and staff will be getting their first shots in the next couple of weeks. That's definitely is something to be thankful for in 2021!

One of the pleasant activities that we are enjoying at my house, is watching and feeding the birds. The regulars are here (blue jays, cardinals, gold finches, juncoes, titmice, mourning doves, english sparrows, house finches, downy and hairy woodpeckers, red-breasted woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, nuthatches, starlings, and crows). The bluebirds we had earlier have returned, and we had a visit from a small flock of pine grosbeaks, which are uncommon to us.

Bluebirds love dried mealworms!

We had a heavy snowfall one week ago, but heavy rain and mild temperatures on Christmas day melted most of it. Fortunately, I had a chance to do a little snowshoeing on the coast of Maine before that.

The Bridle Path in Wells, Maine

                                                           

Buoy tree in Wells, Maine

Lobster trap tree in Cape Porpoise, Maine

The harbor in Wells, Maine

I finished up a new print last week of a cheery red cardinal. Some I made into cards, and others I printed on Rives Light paper. I'll be posting those in my Etsy shop in 8" x 10" white mats.

The finished prints of the chickadee, junco, and titmouse are also in my shop.

Now that Christmas is over, it's time to get back into my studio, and start working on something new.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!

Little Bird Prints

 I've been working on some new projects in my studio this month. Currently, I am printing a series of three popular birds that are frequent visitors to the yard and feeders. I chose a black-capped chickadee, a tufted titmouse, and a slate-colored junco as my subjects. They have similar colors, and are about the same size in real life. I started with the chickadee print, then realized I should have worked on them all simultaneously, so the the color layers would be better matched. For the other two I'm doing it that way.

Above are the three plates lined up together.

These are the chickadee prints. I still have one more darker layer to add to this print.

Junco stage 1

Junco stage 2

Titmouse stage 2

I'm ready to add the red to the berries next. I'll use a small roller, and try to keep the ink only on the berries, as the red is hard to cover up if I inked the whole plate.

The foliage has been beautiful this Fall, and has lasted longer than usual, I think. The intense reds have faded away but the oranges and golds have been stunning! I can't resist taking pictures when I've been out walking around town.

With all the restrictions around Covid19, It is such a pleasure to get out and enjoy nature! 

Best wishes!

Jane