WIP Eagle Owl

Oops, I forgot to take a photo of last week’s update, so you get this week instead…..it is a busy week! The Day at The Oasis is this Sat, I will be attending and having a table for “meet the Artist”, LOL! Will be face and hand painting, so if you are going, please stop by my table! We went to Sierra Vista, took some bird photos, which I have posted on my Facebook Artist Page, please feel free to peruse at your pleasure! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Arlene-Powers-Art/23414012357  It was nice to get out of the heat, had a little rain, and greatly enjoyed all the beautiful birds in the area. So without further ado, here is the update…..catch ya next week!

Eagle Owl WIP

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Time out for Photos

Eagle Owl

So many projects…..so little time….we recently visited Bearizona, watched the flight show, and got a photograph of this beauty(Eurasian Eagle Owl) who is the subject of the current WIP. There should be an update soon, as the background is in, but I have to find a few spare moments to get some current pictures.

Those of you on Facebook probably saw photos of the Feathered Friends Festival at the Gilbert Riparian institute. For those of you who did not catch it, here is a photo of a couple of the celebrity parrots who attended the event. A good time was had by all!

Celebrity Parrots

Then it was on to “Wishes For Wildlife”, the annual Liberty Wildlife fundraiser. It was a fabulous event, ending the night with a Great Horned Owl being released. The owl flew like a champ, never looking back, and we all wiped a little tear from our eye and sighed, thinking, “This is what makes it all worth it!”

The next event, which was also chronicled on Facebook was the lunar eclipse and “Blood Moon”, which involved staying up into the wee hours of the morning with camera on tripod, remote switch in hand, and LOTS of caffeine on hand. It was definitely worth being physically trashed for a couple of days after and trying to catch up on all that lost sleep. Weeeeellllll…..see for yourself…here is my favorite from that night.

Blood Moon

There are supposed to be three “Blood Moons” over the next 18 months, so I may get a lot of practice staying up ’til the wee hours of the morning with the company of the camera. It is interesting being surrounded by all the snoring while gazing upon such a dramatic scene. The parrots were producing some beak grinding noises and I think I even heard some cat purring in all that cacaphony.

Several spring projects are underway, but I think they will be good for a blog all of their own, so more about those in a future post!!!

This weekend, my son and daughter get to care for the zoo here, while hubby and I take a little time out for photos. As an artist I prefer to use my own photos for reference material, so we are heading to Southern Arizona to see what birds we can find with our cameras. I am hoping for nesting birds and babies, but who knows what we will find!!!!!

Happy Easter, hope you are able to take some time out for photos!

2012 in review – Thanks everyone!!!!!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 10 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Ready or Not………!

The last few months have ZOOMED by. Maybe it was being so busy that made it seem so. A new piece is started, but that is not the focus of the blog today.  Just had to post a few photos of what has kept me so consumed over the last few months. The mat cutter is getting a rest, the packaging and labeling are all done, and the finished pieces are all framed, Audubon Gifts From nature….ready or not, here I come!

Audubon Show 3

Audubon Show 2

Audubon Show 1

 

 

 

Burrowing Owl Finished!

So today, you get ……..Two……TWO BLOGS IN ONE!!! Took an “almost done” and a “FINISHED!” photo. I have been remiss in introducing the model for this painting,Frodo, the resident Education Burrowing Owl at Liberty Wildlife. Frodo is very imprinted and very beloved by all of the volunteers at Liberty Wildlife. She has outdoor and indoor enclosures and spends time indoors when it is too hot or too cold. She is aging (14 years old I think) and so is treated very gently.  You could even say Frodo is just a little spoiled by all of the love and attention given her. Believed to be a male until “she” laid eggs a few years ago, LOL, Frodo always has her little “happy sounds” ready to make when given attention. She is a delight to know and has graced thousands of children(Ok, and adults too!) with her wisdom and charm during her stint as an Education Representative from Liberty Wildlife.

Burrowing Owl WIP cont…….again

A TALE OF TWO CATS……or……..WHO SAYS CATS HAVE NO SENSE OF HUMOR

Rusty, a Red Tabby, a street kitty rescued from starvation, fleas and homelessness; Dante, a long haired Tuxedo Cat, shy, raised indoors from a kitten. These guys are best buds, opposites attracted, only having a residence in common. Rusty naps outside on a beautiful fall day in a sunny spot in the back yard. Rusty grins as Dante begs him to come back inside where it is safe and warm. Dante frantically scratches at the patio door, meowing to get the human’s attention to bring Rusty in from the dangerous wild area outside. Rusty stands, stretches walks a few steps closer to the house and settles back down for a nap. Dante calms down, thinking Rusty has come to his senses and is coming in to safety, then gets frantic again for his friend. The human hears the noise and opens the door to let Rusty in…….Rusty rolls over on his back and laughs at Dante and the foolish human. It is not anywhere near mealtime……………..This scene is a common one around our house. It only serves to reinforce my theory that animals have a sense of humor, especially cats, parrots and ravens. We are still trying to answer the age old riddle, why is a raven like a writing desk??????? Not being really good at riddles, think I will just laugh and go on.

As you can see the Burrowing Owl painting is advancing, it may even be finished in the next week. Oh… I hear some scratching at the door and Dante is meowing, better go check to see if Rusty is ready to come in!

Burrowing Owl……….Cont….

Here is today’s update on the burrowing owl………I know TWO updates in one week! Just trying to get one in while there is time! Life around here is subject to immediate changes, so always be prepared. I hear splashing in the other room! That means it is bath-time for the birds! If one starts bathing, pretty soon it is a BATHFEST! So guess who gets to clean up afterwards! Sounds like I had better grab the mop! Later!

Burrowing Owl WIP

Birdie

The Burrowing Owl painting has been started. It was quite a job to dig myself out of the paper-mache this week, as the parrots continue to chew their way through any and all papers. They are also working on wood, nutshells, toys and anything in their reach. Birdie seems to think night time is a really great time to work on her nest of chewed up newspapers. I heard sounds like chicken clucking coming from her cage and looked inside to find Birdie’s head sticking through a hole she had chewed in a piece of newspaper. It was just TOO funny! Of course, the newspaper does not stay in the cage so well when it is chewed, so it falls to the floor, leaving several inches of chewed up newspaper on the floor a day. AS LONG AS they stick with newspaper and leave my art paper alone, guess I can’t complain TOO much! Hope you enjoy following along with the Burrowing Owl WIP. See you soon with the next installment!

Bald Eagle WIP – Done!

So………………. I am still waiting for some responses for the Kickstarter project, and had time to finish this eagle! Hope you enjoy! Miss Libby is such a beautiful subject! The Kickstarter Project voters have made their wishes known, and the next painting subject will be “Burrowing Owl”, so stay tuned folks! Would like to get Burrowing Owl going and completed in time to have prints and cards for the Show Nov 30 thu Dec 2, so have to get cracking!!!

This is a wonderful time of year in Arizona, the weather is cooling off, we can finally go outside without getting heatstroke! Whoooo Hooooo! Don’t have to wear oven mitts to drive…….No one is frying eggs on the sidewalk……..butterflies are making an appearance since they are not afraid of getting melted….can touch the mailbox without getting third degree burns……..

Eagle WIP…eye,eye, sir!

The ayes have it, no make it eyes…….OK….the eyes are in, so it is ALMOST done! Just still playing around with the background and touching up details, LOL. Have you heard that one before? Will probably keep touching up until Candy yells at me to step away from the drawing!

Kickstarter Fans…..am still awaiting info from a few people, as soon as I get that info, the brochure and photos can be printed. So hang in there!!!

Bet you are wondering why it is so quiet here today, LOL. I just fed the flock and everyone is too busy pigging out to make much noise…..only sounds of happy little piggies with wings! They are all starting to chew like mad right now, so I am filling their cages with toys and paper. My floor looks like a Papier-mâché factory right now. The usual 4 sweeping/vacuuming’s a day are just not working, looks like 8 to 10 until the chewing subsides. Of course then the floor will be covered with down and feathers…….or food and nut hulls………hmmmmmmmmmmmmm what ever was I thinking, guess it never stops, LOL!