a review of the paintings one at a time

one of the nest series

i thought it might be nice, in no particular order, to review the paintings in this series. for me it's meeting old friends in a sense, for some of you, it's meeting new friends. for others it's a refresh the memory. 

now a lot of folks who know me watched these paintings come to life, almost one wash at a time. 

i posted them in progress on my friend list on facebook.

i was so very scared to show people what i did -  see i am a commercial artist, i went to art school but switched early to commercial art as i knew i needed to earn a living.

i did layout/pasteup early on, typesetting, graphic design, logos, illustration.

at one point i did a lot of packaging design as i ran my own toiletries company (sounds bigger then it was) 

when we moved here to pa, i was making original from scratch porcelain dolls... a lot of work but rewarding. 

now i've moved full circle.

i started painting nests because i just love birds. 

and bird's nests fascinate me as do eggs.

i think it's a combination of what they are and what they represent.

home, love, family, shelter, safety, hope for the future, freedom - they are cozy and yet not restricting.

i know a lot of people watch birds build their nests and raise the babies with a sense of awe and wonder.

i am no exception.

here where we live in pa, we are in or very near the 'eastern flyway,' a migratory route for birds. we are close to the river and so we get a LOT of birds here.

of course bernie and i help them along by keeping a lot of natural wild plantings so they have food and shelter. 

there is also a seasonal stream out back.

then if that isn't enough

our beloved pet ducks and chickens provide extra food and water for the wild birds.

it's gotten so that the wild birds go into the duck pens to eat next to the ducks and drink out of the duck ponds!

so you can imagine we have a LOT of wild birds here, winter and summer.

and in fall we see a LOT of bird nests

i really should start to save them in the house but mostly i leave them out there

so the cycle of nature can continue

til next time