On May 13, 2023, I came up with a new challenge for myself: the Gotta Catch ‘Em All Local Bird Painting Challenge! Here are the rules:
The subject must be a bird I have personally seen in the last day or so. I can paint from references (e.g. photos of a different instance of that bird); it’s not necessarily a plein air or photography challenge, but I do want to have a specific, recent sighting in mind when I paint.
The subject must be painted in the same landscape or environment in which I saw it. So, for example, if I see a bird in a tree, I’ll paint it in the same kind of tree, from the same time of year.
Spring Migrants
Magnolia Warbler in a hickory tree, Kingsley Park, Cambridge. May 18, 2023.Pine Warbler in a red pine at Broadmoore Audubon Sanctuary. May 21, 2023.Bay-breasted Warbler high in a maple at Kingsley Park. May 22, 2023.Prothonotary Warbler at Brewster’s Woods, Concord. May 29, 2023.
Summer Birds
Baltimore Oriole in a walnut tree, Fresh Pond. On Lanaquarelle Cold Press. May 13, 2023.Brown-headed Cowbird at Danehy Park, Cambridge. May 17, 2023.Bobolink at Danehy Park. May 16, 2023.Black-crowned Night Heron in a Dawn Redwood, Mt Auburn Cemetery. May 14, 2023.Male American Redstart in dense shrubbery in Lusitania Meadow, Fresh Pond. May 23, 2023. Tree Swallows in Lusitania Meadow, Fresh Pond, Cambridge. May 24, 2023.Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak in an oak at Lusitania Meadow, Fresh Pond, Cambridge. May 26, 2023. Female American Redstart in a tulip tree, Kingsley Park, Fresh Pond, Cambridge. May 28, 2023.
