Birds in Art/Art in Birds Entries, 171-180
171. Mariah Abbott,
Robbinsdale, Minnesota
172. Robert DePriest, Waynesboro, Virginia
My name is Robert DePriest and I am 13 years old. I’m from a small town in Virginia where I’m surrounded by natural beauty and wildlife all the time. I sometimes see egrets like this one in the river near my house. I submitted my entry to the Art in Birds/Art in Birds Challenge because I want to share the beauty of birds with other people and drawing is one of my favorite things to do.
173. Janice Janis and Charlie Boggs, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Below are 3 versions of our friend the Pelican…a member of the Pelecanidae family.
1. An original photograph taken by Janice Janis.
2. An acrylic painting - 18” x 36” canvas by Charlie Boggs
3. A tile/grout project. The image was painted (using acrylic paints) onto 24 - 2” tiles which were glued onto a plywood backing, after painting, the tiles were grouted and lastly covered with polyethylene.
The photograph was taken at Port Canaveral, FL behind the local fish market.
Is there any doubt why these majestic Pelicans were caught “resting” on nearby pier posts next to the “Miss Anne” the market’s fishing boat.
To speculate, perhaps waiting for handouts from a kindly fisherman or perhaps they were resting after making spectacular dives in the Atlantic Ocean shopping for their own evening meal….Janice believes the former…as she has come to this dock many times to watch these pelicans while they wait with such patience…with such knowing….demonstrating there artful skill of manifestation to “hunter/ gather” their meal from the hands of us human fisherman.
There is something so quite and graceful about Pelicans…Watching, you observe their ability to fly in unison over the ocean waters in search of a tasty fish meal, then, with prey in sight, olympic dive to scoop up an unsuspecting school of fish, emerging from their quest with head lifted, bill open wide and swallowing with what almost looks like a smile of satisfaction.
No wonder, child to grandparent stop to observe what these Pelicans perched on the old worn pier posts will do. Hmmm, take off with their enormous wing span flapping toward the sky for us to watch in awe or catch a fisherman’s offering as we laugh with glee and comment on its wide bill.
Joyful laughter and stillness, we hope you will observe in, Janice’s photograph and Charlie’s painting and tile work.
174. Dr. David Hertzler, Mexico, New York
Snow Bird
While growing up in Bucks County, Pa, my mother always delighted in seeing Junco’s visiting the feeder.
She called them “Snow Birds” in belief that they were messengers of a coming
snowfall.
As such, this Junco “Snow Bird” has done its job well!
Three Snowy Doves
These Mourning Doves settled in to sit out a recent lake effect snow storm which dropped over a foot of snow on us and them. We have several hundreds of inches of snow each year here in New Haven which is located just southeast of Lake Ontario in the path of the lake effect snows. We maintain feeders throughout the winter and marvel at the birds ability to survive our harsh weather.
175. Sara Bohack, Douglaston, New York
I chose to submit these pictures because I believe that birds are truly beautiful creatures, what with the grace of their movements and their gift of flight (the envy of humans since we were avian-aware). These four pictures are the favorites of my steadily growing array of bird photos. I could not choose which is the best, though it is most likely the photograph of the swan or the one of the goose.
176. Lauren Smilie, Duncanville, Texas
I am sending this drawing of a Peregrine falcon because it is my favorite bird. Even though I've never seen a Peregrine in real life, I've noticed how beautiful and graceful they are in photos. To me, a Peregrine is artistic because its pose while perching showcases its elegant feathers.
177. Janie L. Ferguson, Cameron Mills, New York
It felt like we had a warm spring day January 23, 2009 when I took
these photos, in the middle of winter! It was 42 degrees out and a
wonderful day to get out and take these photos. As I type this this
evening it is 11 degrees out!!
178. Grace Spencer, Ilion, New York
This photo was taken in a stone quarry a seemingly inhospitable spot for rearing young. Killdeer seem to like to lay their eggs in the open where peril for the eggs is always an issue. These eggs were laid in the middle of a road in the quarry. That each and every hatchling survived (with a little help from watchful humans) was an exciting finale to this developing event. This hatchling is only minutes old.
179. Ina Boda, Lansing, New York
I made this quilt of 20 different hand appliqued birds, each feather sewn separately in very true colors of the species.
One morning in January, hundreds of red heads were flying by and each time they landed they made beautiful ribbon patterns.
We have never seen swans in the winter at our place on Cayuga Lake before. There were 2 pair and they were beautiful. They stayed around for about 2 days.
180. Harrison Wilde, Oswego, New York
On a very cold day in Oswego, driving to the Oswego Harbor I spotted a lot of gulls just hanging out almost like they were posing for a photo, they lined up perfectly on a snow bank with the Lighthouse in the background. The lighthouse has protected the Oswego Harbor since the 20’s.
