New Exhibit at Starbucks

AvesInArt has just put up a new show!  Birds of Uruguay, in paintings and photographs, is now on view at the Starbucks in Storrs-Mansfield, Connecticut.

Interior view to the gallery wall.

After closing time, Sue making final preparations.

Some of the colorful birds of Uruguay.

Come to see the show and let us know what you think.  And, if you're interested in seeing these birds in person, check the Southern Screamer Birding Tours website, and consider a trip to Uruguay!

Bird Portraits?

This spring I'm trying something new.
I've painted a few bird portraits in a new medium - acrylic on canvas board.

Green Jay (Cyanocorax luxuosus) from the Rio Grande Valley of southeastern Texas

I love the classic side-view portrait, but have always been intrigued by some of Jorge's photos which capture a front view.  Just about the only birds that actually have binocular vision (where they see what's in front of them using both eyes to create a forward-facing field of view) are the OWLS.  The rest of the birds have a wide field of view primarily to the side of the head, which is useful for detecting predators.  So, while a photograph may capture an instant where the bird is facing the camera - it is not actually focusing on you at that moment.

My choice of these two species was due to the intriguing patterns on the faces. The Green Jay is a bird of subtropical to tropical forests, where sun-dappled shade is common.  These colors and patterns work well to confuse and conceal the bird's actual features.  The pale blue feathers above and below the eye stand out from the black mask, and appear to be distinct feather tracts that at can be manipulated, perhaps in display.  

Jocotoco Antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi) from the Andes of southern Ecuador

The pattern of light and dark on this antpitta's face is unique in the genus Grallaria - which is why it immediately caught the attention of ornithologists Robert Ridgely and John Moore, who discovered it very recently in the tropical humid Andes of southern Ecuador - in 1997!

I have often wanted to do a series of these photos (or paintings!) entitled "Here's looking at you" - but of course they aren't really looking at us at all.

National Juried Show!!

Common Potoo, Nyctibeus griseus

My watercolor painting of the Common Potoo (Nyctibeus griseus) was just accepted to the member's exhibit at the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI) annual meeting.

Last summer I completed the painting for our Greater New York GNSI chapter's fall exhibit entitled Nature's Camouflage.  This small exhibit has gone on to several different local venues since the September 2013 opening at Highstead Arboretum in Redding, Connecticut.  (see previous post!)

Now my painting will hang at the Museum of Natural History in Boulder Colorado from April through September 2014.  The 2014 conference and annual meeting will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, nestled at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

A full week of classes, technique workshops, demonstrations and field trips to the nearby mountains and museums, the annual meeting is always a great way to learn - both from experienced instructors and fellow artists.

I attended several days of the conference last summer - at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine - and came away inspired to try out some new painting techniques.

Detail of notched eyelid, Nyctibeus griseus.

This watercolor of the Common Potoo was done before that experience, so it's my standard combination of wash and dry-brush with finishing touches of gouache to highlight the white feathers.  I really enjoyed working on this piece, and used museum study skins, photographs and videos as reference material.

Detail of chick, Nyctibeus griseus.

Well, if you find yourself in Boulder, Colorado this summer, stop by the Natural History Museum and check out the Guild of Natural Science Illustrator's Member Show - my potoos will be there!

Nature's Camouflage - a new GNSI show!!

Artists and guests at the Exhibit Opening, September 15, 2013.

My local chapter of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, "The Greater New York Chapter - GNSI" has opened yet another beautiful exhibit.  Again, the Highstead Arboretum hosted - and I learned today that this is the fifteenth anniversary of this GNSI - Highstead collaboration.  With a theme like "Nature's Camouflage", the range of subjects was bound to be diverse, and it is.  In watercolor, pencil, pen-and-ink and other media, the twenty or so exhibitors have depicted varied interpretations of the theme.

Most of the artists were on hand to talk - it's my turn.

 There were cryptically colored moths, a mantid and a katydid, frogs, birds, mammals small and large, an octopus and one plant - of the genus Lithops, a type of succulent called Living Stones because they look just like little pebbles on the ground.  Some subjects were depicted in full camouflage against a detailed background such as a host plant, leaf litter, or in snow - while others were simply studies of the subject with a description of the camouflage mechanism.

Common Potoo, Nyctibeus griseus, watercolor.

For this show I painted the Common Potoo, Nyctibeus griseus, in watercolor.  Here's the text I prepared for the exhibition:

In the family Nyctibiidae and order Caprimulgiformes, the potoo is a South and Central American bird, closely related to Whippoorwills.  Many members of this large group camouflage on the ground, in leaf litter, or by aligning the body parallel to a tree limb.  The Common Potoo, however, seems to hide in plain sight, often perching on the exposed end of a broken branch.  A nocturnal flier, the potoo will remain motionless during the day, keeping watch on the observer through specially notched eyelids.  The chick learns to "freeze" at a very young age, but here has been caught peeking.  As they rest together, the silky breast feathers of the parent bird drape over the youngster, blending the two into one.

Uruguay's Vanishing Wetlands

Limnoctites rectirostris - colored pencil sketches.  The bird is taped on, so I can play with positioning for the final composition.

Jorge and I are preparing a few pieces for an AvesInArt exhibit to focus on a few range-restricted species from Uruguay's vanishing grassland-wetland habitats.  The sketches I've included here are of Limnoctites rectirostris, the Straight-billed Reedhaunter, found only in wetlands with Eryngium plants.  So much latin, but as you know, universally recognizable - Eryngium is sort of a thistle, but in the parsley family Apiacea.

My desk this afternoon.

Above, the final watercolor is coming along in the foreground, with all of the usual tools behind.  And I'll drop in one last sketch - a pencil study of the head and bill.

Limnoctites rectirostris, Straight-billed Reedhaunter.

"Habitats" Show comes to Yale University

The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI) "Habitats" show continues, and my painting of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker now hangs in the Environmental Science Center at Yale University.  The exhibit space here is completely different from the walls of the Highstead Center.  The paintings are hung along a hallway, the entire length of which students, faculty, staff and visitors will traverse many times a day.

Habitats show on the exhibit wall in Yale's Environmental Science Center.

The space is illuminated by skylights, four floors above, which cast a glow of natural light on a four-story-high wall of Italian plaster, painted in a rich yellow-ochre color.  This is the second stop for our GNSI chapter's annual show, in this completely functional, but surprisingly lovely place.  The "Habitats" show will be on view through June.  This show's opening party will be held in March - we'll keep you posted, and it would be great to see you there!

GNSI members' business cards and the exhibit booklet

And, though it's still a l-o-n-g way off, Guild members have chosen "Camouflage" for the theme of our next show - I'm working on some ideas!  (September 2013)

Birding in Uruguay

landscape, departamento Treinta y Tres

If you've been to our AvesInArt website, you've seen Jorge's photographs of the beautiful and varied birds of Uruguay - his native country.  Early next year he will be guiding a birding tour to see some of these beauties.  

dry forest, Quebrada de los Cuervos, departamento Treinta y Tres

Here, I'll digress, to some etymology.  Uruguay, in spanish is pronounced something like "oo roo wai", and in english we've learned something closer to "yu ra gway".  At any rate - the name comes from neither spanish nor english.  Uruguay is a word from the native people of the region, the Guarani.  It translates roughly to "river of the colorful birds".

magnificent Ombue tree, Estancia Guardia del Monte, departamento Rocha

What could be more appropriate than birdwatching in a country named for the river of the colorful birds?  So, come along with Jorge on what promises to be a wonderful tour of Uruguay, visiting many easily accessible birding sites, such as wetlands and the unique Atlantic coastal forest.

Atlantic coast, Cabo Polonio, departamento Rocha

For more information, go to our Southern Screamer Birding Tours page at www.southernscreamer.com or you can get to the same page through our AvesInArt website, www.avesinart.com - under the "More" heading, find the "Birding Tours" page.

Valle del Lunarejo, departamento Rivera

Contact Jorge by email if you have questions:

birdinguruguay@southernscreamer.com

or fill out the inquiry form on the website.

Mark your calendars for February 18 - 28, 2013, and make a deposit to reserve your place on this customized, personalized birding tour to see the colorful birds of Uruguay.

 

inner courtyard, Estancia Guardia del Monte

All photos are Jorge's - from a recent birding trip to Uruguay.  To see the actual birds, click here to jump to AvesInArt's Birds of Uruguay photo gallery.