Did you know: I fall in love with every painting that I make. It sounds totally full of myself as I read it back, but I don't mean it to be that way... What I mean to say is that I love these guys as though they are their own little birdie beings! I'm like a proud mama helping them come out of their shells. It's super cheesy, I realize this, but its true. So every day I tell my friend Kris as we walk, "Oh I love this new one I'm working on... I think he's my favorite!" Now that I think about it, she might be really sick of hearing that, hmmm. Anyhoo, onto the painting. One of my favorite subjects (within the subject of birds) is the little fat baby bird. I am finding that I am not alone on that sentiment, so I will be creating an army of little fluffy and extra plump birdettes. But to toughen up the sweetness a bit, they're going to have rock names. Enter: "Purple Haze"... She's a hard-core, tougher-than-nails little baby Chickadee:) Okay, so she's really not that tough, but man, does she pack a punch of heartstring-tugging cuteness. On a not so silly side, I have to take a quick leave of absence from my blog while I do some minor surgery- but don't worry everyone, I'll be back in no time ;) Original painting will be available at Genesis Gallery Hawaii. Contact information is on my website: www.ktoart.com/galleries.html
0 Comments
Special thanks to Nancy for choosing to take home "Given To Fly" (the first flight of a white sparrow)! It was great talking with you and I love that you are an avid bird/animal explorer:) Special thanks to Johanna too for finding "Just Peachy" the perfect spot in her home:) I look forward to getting started on your Lucky portrait! Fat Little Birds make me soooo happy!! This bird is a Red Billed Leiothrix and although they are present in Hawaii, they are not all as inviting as this little fellow. Usually Leiothrix are introverts of the bird world, hiding or snuggling with their mates and singing them sweet songs. I guess this guy is still searching for his soulmate, so he's trying out new tactics to lure the ladies, like sitting on fences and giving the *wink!*wink! If he doesn't find someone fast, I might just have to keep him for myself! CHEERS to all the Dads out there today! For the special occasion, I figured I would stray a little from the birds I know and feature one of the hardest working dads in the bird world: the male Phalarope, a shorebird. In the phalarope world, the roles are completely reversed. The male builds the nest, incubates the eggs and takes care of the young once they hatch. The female is a total floozie and goes around, sexing it up with a few males each season, then leaves them with the eggs/babies during migration! So next time you get scoldings for leaving the seat up or think you got it rough, remember these poor guys... But enough bagging on the men, I actually want to celebrate all the hard-working, fun-loving dads out there that protect their babies and let their daughters (and sons) wrap them around their little fingers. I love you, Daddy! I can be independent and stubborn and messy at times, but I'll always be Daddy's Little Girl;) Original painting will be available at Genesis Gallery Hawaii. Contact information is on my website: www.ktoart.com/galleries.html Thanks to Lei for commissioning this piece! I am so happy that you are happy with the painting:) "Odebuchan" is the polite way to say "Little Fat One(s)" in Japanese and that's exactly what Lei wanted for her commissioned piece. Lei speaks fluent Japanese and says "odebuchan!" whenever she sees my fat little birdies, so the name stuck. This painting has a little more texture than most because I really had to change colors a few times and make some adjustments along the way. If you keep working at it, eventually you get what you want... I chose to depict a family of Volcano 'Elepaio in Lei's painting . The 'Elepaio is a native Hawaiian bird, noted in ancient Hawaiian mythology as the canoe builder's aumakua (guiding spirit). Stories are told of the 'Elepaio showing the Hawaiian canoe builders which koa trees to use for building their canoes. If the 'Elepaio favored the tree, it was full of insects and no good. If the 'Elepaio looked at the koa and flew away, then that was the perfect tree. My favorite feature of the 'Elepaio is it's upright tail. I see the 'Elepaio tail as the bird's way of giving a thumb's up. I just imagine the ancient Hawaiians watching the 'Elepaio bounce from koa to koa, waiting for it to pause, peek down at them with it's "thumb's up" tail and fly away. Then you hear the Hawaiians say, "That's the one! Hana Hou!" "Inspiration is hard to come by. You have to take it where you find it." Bob Dylan Sometimes I'll get inspired by my morning walks with Kris and our dogs or draw from childhood memories. For today's painting, I took from my childhood and from my previous post "Hopelessly Devoted". After briefly writing about the California Quail in that blog post, I couldn't get the imagery out of my head. I'd find myself smiling to myself just thinking about those silly quails while in the middle of the market, looking like I'm making friends with the garlic heads. So I figured I needed to get this painting out of my system before people started talking... The California Quail is CA's state bird. We apparently have them here in Hawaii now too, but I haven't seen them on the west side of the Big Island. In California, I would see them everywhere. I love the way they all move. Usually its just a big mess, babies whizzing by left and right with adults desperately trying to keep everyone in line. They get it all together just in time to cross the street in an orderly fashion, bobbing and weaving as they go. One thing I didn't realize is that California Quail live communally like a convoy of peacelovin' hippies :) With Father's Day coming up, it's good to note that the males associated with the group take care of all the babies while the females try to make more with a new male. Sometimes the caretaking male is not even the genetic father. Go Dads! As I was painting this crazy looking fella, my Jam Box was pumping a mix of all kinds of songs. I think I just put it on "Songs" on my iPad, so there was a little classical, some Rolling Stones, a bit of Aretha and then that funky bass starts playing and Ben Harper starts singing "Bring The Funk, gotta have some funk!" Yup, knew that was the name for this one right away... He's a Hawaiian Crested Honeycreeper and he's bringing the funk while sitting on a budding branch of Puakenikeni. If you have ever had the fortune to smell one of these flowers, you know they are wonderful! When I was going to college on Oahu, one of my friends was a diver (later became a Cirque du Soleil diver in "O"). He made a little money dressing in a tiny garb and diving at Waimea Falls. He would bring me Puakenikeni flowers whenever he remembered and I would keep just one in my car for a week and it would perfume my car with the most heavenly smell. Oh, the good old days! My mom is one of my toughest critics (but she's usually right too, so I listen) and I showed her this painting before posting today. She said, "He doesn't have a neck!" I had to explain to my mom that, he has to bring it all in and let it sink into his little birdie bones before he can bring the funk to all of us :) Original painting will be available at Genesis Gallery Hawaii. Contact information is on my website: www.ktoart.com/galleries.html First off, thanks to everyone that has been following my blog and purchasing my artwork:) I really appreciate all the support! Special shout out to Matt S, from one artist to another, many thanks! We all see birds on a daily basis. I have fond childhood memories of the hummingbirds flitting about the blooming bushes in our front yard and the California Quail rushing like a 49er running back across the street, with babies serpentining behind. Remembering these little moments always makes me smile. As I paint more and more birds, I like to research their behavior and funny quirks, but some of my best tips and tidbits come from other people that see my love for the birdies and say, "well, did you know..." The Northern Cardinal is an example of one bird that I hear and see almost everyday here in Hawaii, but knew very little about. They are so bright and cheery and I love watching the male sing his song on top of a streetlamp or from the highest branch of a tree, but I didn't know that the male does so much more! An Art Consultant at Genesis Gallery told me some really amazing details on the Northern Cardinal's behavior. He's the ultimate modern man. For one thing, Northern Cardinals mate for life and researchers say they can live upwards of 15-20 years. But that's not all, they breed 3-4 times a year and whenever it's lovin' time, he starts from scratch and courts her as if it was the first time. He sings her songs and brings her food. He'll even feed her himself. And to top it all off, the male will take over feeding and caring for the babies while the female takes a break to prepare for next mating season! Gotta love them:) For this painting, I wanted to choose a love song that highlighted the unique love story of the Northern Cardinal. My friend Kris actually thought this one up, but I had to steal it from her because "Hopelessly Devoted" from Grease is probably the most perfect name for these guys. Cheers! Original painting will be available at Genesis Gallery Hawaii. Contact information is on my website: www.ktoart.com/galleries.html I took a little longer today to get my blog entry posted. After a most delicious dinner last night at Maeva and Elton's, I needed a couple hours this morning to recoup:) A big thanks to the Weiske family for selecting "We Are Family" (hummingbird family painting) to bring home with them! I promised the Weiskes and myself that I'd make more Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, so here we are! This little guy looked like he could use a good meal to keep him plump. We don't have hummingbirds in Hawaii, but when I lived in California, they'd always dive bomb our nectar bushes in the front yard. I didn't realize how aggressive they can be around their food source until my mom hung a feeder. Hummingbirds would come from all over and sword fight with their beaks to lay claim to the giant feeder. I'd always think, "Come on guys! Can't we all just get along?" Well, at least this little one found his own spot for supper! Original painting will be available at Genesis Gallery Hawaii. Contact information is on my website: www.ktoart.com/galleries /galleries.html Every morning, I get woken up with kisses... from my dog... at 6am... who's waiting and whining for me to take him on his walk. So yesterday I open my eyes to the same routine and head out with Uggi (pronounced "ooooggee"). We meet his girlfriend Lucy Belle (see my mini portrait of Lucy Belle) and my friend Kris along the way which makes everyone happy. Halfway through our walk, we are heading down a hill with the sun coming up behind us and up ahead there is this adorable little bird sitting in the middle of the road basking in the early rays. He looks completely content and both Kris and I immediately say "He'd be a great bird painting". So here he is, taking a moment to enjoy first light and the beginning of a new day. He's a Varied Tit btw... Fluffy (to my left) really gave me trouble today! Although I am painting these minis within the time span of a day, I have to take quite a bit of time planning them out, sketching and "rehearsing" prior to the final canvas. On any given day, I have 10-20 different ideas rough sketched and waiting for my undivided attention. Sometimes the process is super quick, like half an hour. Other times, it can take me a week of mulling over an idea and reworking a composition until it finally feels right. In the case of "Lehua Morning", I started off my idea with a Elepaio (Hawaiian bird that's in a lot of ancient Hawaiian stories). Then I changed my mind and switched the bird to a Lavender Waxbill Finch for more color and started to paint. Well, he came out really dull in color and I wanted him to be a pop so I went back to the drawing board and decided to make my ohia lehua (the flower) red instead of yellow. With the adjustment to red, I again changed my choice of bird to the Common Redpoll. These guys fluff up and look like little white, brown and red puffballs when they take a rest on a branch, so he's extra plump. As I began bringing this little guy to life, he kept resisting me. At first he was too fat that he looked flat. Then his head was too lumpy. Then his feathers looked too ruffled. I have found that less is more when painting in my style. Working and reworking a composition can make everything seem dull or heavy, so I had to hold back and allow my little friend to show himself. In the end, I am very happy with how he turned out. I feel we bonded over my struggle to find his identity:) |
AuthorKaren Obuhanych (kto ART) is a Hawaii-based artist who relishes in the simple, happy moments of everyday life. Archives
May 2019
|