"Bohemian Waxwings" oil 9"x12" $390

At the same time that I  recognized the Cedar Waxwings, I noticed these Bohemians interspersed in the tops of the leaf-less cottonwoods. It was a cerulean blue Colorado January day and I was gliding on skinny skis through the trackless powder. It had snowed. In the crystalline air, the flock of birds gave themselves away as waxwings. These birds gathered on thin ice banks looking for berries and when I saw them, they were rising off the open water like steam from a teakettle. Memorizing and memorable, I brought home their flocking image and painted in the studio what I recalled.

"Cardinals" oil 9"x12" $390

I'm definitely east of the Rocky Mountains when I see cardinals. Unless it is on Mexico's Coronado Island in the Sea of Cortes where I spotted a pair nesting in a Palo Verde tree. But here in Vermont the snowy evergreens try to disguise these brilliant red heartbeats and I think my radar picks up the red vibrations before my eyes zero in and catch the color flitting through the needles. I saw these at Vermont Audubon offices near their sunny porch's bird feeders. 

"Burlington" (Vermont) oil 9"x12" $550

The snow is white, fresh and deep on the banks of Lake Champlain. The changing daylight makes for spectacular views, changing colors and silver clouds. The tiny light house blinks red at sunset for the ferry. I watch this from my window perch or walking or from the coffee shop windows. I wanted to put the weight of the crystalline air, the temperature and the heavy snow blanketing the trees in this oil, so that I can feel the melancholy pace of winter.

"Comb Ridge" oil 24"x36" $2200

"Comb Ridge" is the oil pictured above and it depicts a geologic formation that is a hundred miles long from north to south, but only 10 miles wide or so east to west. It is where I like to retreat to paint every spring or fall. The hiking is wonderful on the dry sandstone although I have been caught in a thundershower and then its slickrock and wildflowers. This escarpment is adjacent to Bluff, Utah and Cedar Mesa and Monument Valley, which are all special places culturally. Today's multi-culture is thriving: new old-pueblo sites are still being found and contemporary artists exhibit new works. But I enjoy Comb Ridge for its ever changing weather and wild lands, which remain unprotected. see <suwa.org> for more info on Federal management.  

"Blackcapped Chickadees" oil 9"x12" $390

I am skiing through some of the best birding country in Colorado at The Nature Conservancy's Carpenter Ranch. As I floated through the fluffy powder on skinny skis, these chickadees were flying and floating in the snow covered aspens.

My bird landscapes reflect the temperature and textures that I see in the fleeting moment that this four inch long bulk of feathers skims through my view. Binoculars and bird books are for the avid birders which like more details than one can see with the naked eye. I, however, like to paint the moment that I spotted these snow white and black hatted bumps on the branches. If they didn't like to fly so much and chatter so much, I could ski right by them and not notice their energy. The energy I take home and paint.

"Cedar Waxwings" oil 9"x12" $380

This January, I was x-country skiing in Hayden, Colorado and a huge flock of birds soared overhead. They all came to rest in the leafless cottonwood in front of me. These cedar chested birds puffed their bodies to insulate the zero degree temperature while they rested.
What a surprise to see so many birds on a crisp, clear, mid-winter day.