Fairyslipper Orchid

This weekend my husband and I went to the Blue Mountains for a day of relaxation. I had hoped to see some new birds to add to my own personal "big year" list and wandered off into the woods with camera in hand. I could hear birds calling from the tall pines in every direction, but I was having a difficult time actually seeing the birds themselves. After a while my neck was aching so I decided to give it a rest and look down for awhile. The mountains are beginning to come alive with dozens of wild flowers of every shape, size and color so I amused myself with photographing those instead of birds. That's when I saw it. Hiding under the boughs of a small pine was a delicate looking pinkish-purple flower.

It was quite unusual looking so I got down on my knees for a closer look and discovered what appeared to be a tiny orchid. It's called a Fairyslipper. Laying on my belly in the pine needle duff to photograph it I was enchanted with it's exotic look and diminutive beauty.

Fairyslipper orchid

Fairyslippers, I learned later, are found growing in old growth forests across the country. In some areas they are quite common, but in other areas they are considered rare and endangered. They have a single flower on a 2" to 8" stalk that has a single oval leaf coming from a corm beneath the soil. Their root structure is very delicate and they will die if disturbed. Many people try to collect them thinking they will grow in their gardens, but the Fairyslipper has such specific needs of climate and soil that they do not survive.

Whenever I find something like this I always feel like I have been blessed with a special gift. Most people will go all their lives and never, ever see a wild orchid. I, myself, almost didn't see this exquisite little jewel hidden on the forest floor. If I had not looked down at just the right time I would have missed it. I wonder now how many other springs I have been in the forests and never noticed the secret treasures that were hidden there? I'm glad, however, that this spring I got tired of looking up and took some time to look down!

Red Doberman and Pink Polka Dots

Stormey

 

 

I always enjoy being contacted by past clients to create another portrait for them. It's nice because they already know what to expect from me so there's no extra selling on my part and no great surprises for them other than what I may come up with to match their ideas. Many times they only have a few photos and rely on my expertise to fill in the blanks. They often tell me to just "work my magic". While I'd like to take credit for that "magic" I believe I always have a little extra help from the ultimate Creator who just uses me to fill in those blanks. I've been given a gift and I'm just trying to use it to bring joy to others.

This recent painting was one of those that was a little shy on reference and I had to use my imagination again. Some days it really gets a good workout! The biggest challenge, or so I thought, was how to combine the colors of this red Doberman with a brown blanket with pink polka dots and some kind of background and make it all work together. My photo reference had a yellow cast to it so I really wasn't sure of exact shades of color and had to make my best guess. The dog was easy enough as there's plenty of photos of red Doberman's to look at, but the blanket? I think that's where that extra magic comes in because I often times have no way of knowing such things and somehow they just show up in my paintings. Coincidence or divine intervention? Since I'm not much of a believer in coincidence I'm guessing I have help. How else could I know these things?

Anyway, this is a "past to present" portrait of Stormey, the red Doberman, and her favorite blanket. It was painted in acrylic. My clients have approved and I think it turned out quite well.

Now.....I wonder what my next painting challenge will be???

Lou and Friends

Pet/People Portrait in Acrylic

About a month ago I was contacted by a very sweet lady who thought her portrait request might be a bit unusual. She wanted a portrait done of her husband, Lou, and their five cats. That didn't seem so unusual, but, then as her voice choked up, she told me that all of them were deceased and she wanted a happy memory of them all together in heaven. Well, I have to say that choked me up a bit, too. Having lost loved ones and beloved pets I hold in my heart that they are all happily in heaven visiting with God every day. It's how I deal with the pain of being separated from them, but I have to say I've never formed a picture in my mind of how that would look. This sweet lady had an idea of how it looked to her. She was trusting me to take her idea and make it a reality.

 

I agreed to meet with her and look over her reference photos and discuss her ideas a little further. I explained to her that I primarily painted pets and animals, not people, but she felt I could accomplish what she had in mind. If her husband looked a little different she was good with that as she felt he'd look better in heaven anyway. I wanted her to know that I'm a stickler for detail and capturing an accurate likeness so would do my absolute best to make all of them easily recognizable. 

 

Now, I have to say I was excited to try this portrait as it was a little different from what I normally do, but in the past I have turned down commissions of people portraits because I'm not fond of doing them. Something about this lady and her idea intrigued me though and I thought it would be a good challenge. I was right about one thing. It was a good challenge, but not in a bad way. 

 

This painting was a challenge because it required me to use the creative talents I've been gifted with to visualize something that I could not see. Normally, I try to paint from good reference photos and not make up what I can't see, though sometimes it can't be helped. The idea she had for the painting required the cats to be in poses different from the photos she had. The only two cats that I used exact photos for were the two Siamese at the bottom of the painting. We had no pose references for the Siamese and yellow Persian at his knees or the Siamese in Lou's arms. For all of those I had to rely on my knowledge of cat behavior and anatomy and some reference photos I took of a friends cat. The rest I filled in with descriptions from my client and a little heavenly help from the Creator of them all.

 

I have to say, the painting was actually a pleasure to paint. I chose to do it in acrylics as I felt if we needed to make any adjustments to poses or expressions it would be easy to do in this medium. It turned out that I did have to adjust a few things so the process went smoothly. The heavenly background was done using an airbrush to get a soft, ethereal effect and I think that worked  out quite well. My client was delighted with the way everything turned out and that always makes me feel good to know I've created something very meaningful to them.

 

Violet-Green Swallows

Feathered Rocket-a.k.a. Violet-green swallow

My morning walk today took me to a place called Asotin Slough. It is a habitat area created along the Snake River and is one of my favorite places to walk as it's usually quiet and filled with a variety of wildlife. Since it's supposed to be spring (at least that's what the calendar says) I was hoping to find some of the spring migrants winging their way through. This mornings treat was dozens of violet-green swallows working the river for bugs.

Violet -green swallow

 These birds are fast little buggers! I tried to follow them with binoculars to make the correct identification as they are very similar to tree swallows. Then, for amusement and to make myself crazy, I tried to photograph them. HA-HA!! Do you know what that's like? Think feathered rocket weaving back and forth then changing course in the blink of an eye and you'll have a pretty fair idea. Out of sixty some odd photos I was able to get a few that are semi recognizable as birds. But I got the correct i.d.!

Violet-green swallow sketch

Back home under more controlled conditions I printed out the somewhat fuzzy photos and made a quick watercolor sketch to record the aerial acrobats I enjoyed watching. Violet-greens get their name from their color. The adults head and back is an iridescent dark green with a lovely iridescent blue violet on the rump area above the tail. This can be seen in good light, otherwise it appears almost black especially when they're zipping by at a high rate of speed. They can be distinguished from tree swallows by this color and also the white above the eye and across the rump. There again, at high speed it's a challenge to determine. They have long pointed wings and, I was surprised to see from the photographs, rather plump, though very aerodynamic short bodies. They are definitely built for speed and maneuverability and they demonstrated that quite well for me this morning!

 " In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks"  John Muir


This morning I sought quiet, solitude and a chance to see a spring migrant or two. I found all those and so much more. 
Happy Spring!

Feather Studies

Feather Study #6 - Mallard

Feathers come in a myriad of shapes, sizes, colors and textures and all on one bird! Each serves a special purpose. Often times we only see the bird as a whole, but the individual feathers are fascinating and worthy of study.

I have always been enchanted by the beauty of feathers. I like the way they look, the way the feel and how they float freely in the breeze. And who hasn't found a feather and marveled at it's color and structure and wondered what bird had passed that way and left it behind?

Well, my curiosity has gotten the better of me. I'm not just interested in birds any more, I'm interested in their feathers as well. I have decided to spend a bit more time learning more about these things that make a bird a bird and have been reading books and doing some research on the subject and paying a lot more attention to the feathers I find laying about. They're not just pretty to look at. Feathers have a serious side that goes far beyond their beauty.

Study #1 - Chukar

There are many types of feathers on a bird and they serve different functions. Some, obviously, are used for flying and they are shaped distinctly for that. Tail feathers are not just for steering, sometimes they are used for balance when perching (wood pecker) or in a mating display (think peacock). Others are soft and fluffy and serve to keep their young warm in the nest. All feathers have tiny barbs on them that interlock and all feathers overlap one another like shingles both serving as a way to provide warmth and weather proofing.

As a way of discovering more about feathers I have decided to try and paint them. I have determined that this can be quite a challenge to try and convey the delicacies that some feathers exhibit. How do you paint "soft", "fluffy", "iridescent"?

For the next few months I will be doing a series of feather studies. Most of these will be small format paintings of 

3" x 4" and 4" x 6" and will be available for purchase through my Etsy store for a very reasonable price. They would be a great way to collect original art and would make great gifts for bird lovers or anyone who appreciates nature.

You can find them at 

www.ctempleart.etsy.com

Shaq - Latest Pet Portrait

Shaq

 

 

My latest portrait commission was of a black, mixed breed dog named Shaq. There are two ways that I always know that I've been successful in capturing the spirit and personality of someone's pet. The first way is when I present them with their portrait. If I've really done my job well, and especially if the pet is gone, their reaction usually shows a lot of emotion. I often have a box of tissue handy as tears are often shed over remembering the loss of their pet. The second way I know I've done well (and this always comes at some later time) is when they contact me to paint another portrait for them. This was the case with Shaq's portrait.

Shaq's portrait was painted in acrylic. Though it's hard to see in the photo I have painted many fine lines to indicate the texture of his coat. Over those lines I glaze other colors, some warm, some cool to create depth. That's one of the great things about acrylic. You can keep adding layers of paint without disturbing what is underneath. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite mediums to work in for that reason.

Snowy Owl Obsession, Part 2

Anatone Flats Snowy Owl

I have an obsession. 

A Snowy owl obsession.

Still!

Just when I thought I was cured by sighting one last month I took a drive back to the area where they were first located. I have been to this area numerous times lately and have always been skunked.....but not today. Today, the Creator of all things feathered smiled upon me and granted me not one more sighting, but two!

 

As I ventured out this morning I still held some vague hope that this would be the day to see another one, but had made up my mind to accept whatever came across my path and be satisfied. I drove to the same area and scanned the fields for this illusive bird and saw....horned larks, northern harriers, ravens, all moving rapidly by as the wind was howling across the flats. I spent some time watching a rough legged hawk hang motionless, head into the wind, a marvel of aerodynamics, but no snowy owls were visible. 

I finally reached the designated cross roads where the owl had been seen and as I turned up the road my mind and eyes drifted off to the distant, snow covered  Blue Mountains. Suddenly something large and white zoomed in front of my truck from right to left. Caught daydreaming, it took me a few seconds to register what it was. SNOWY OWL!!!

Photo by Catherine Temple

 I slammed on the brakes and grabbed my camera and fired off a few shots as it drifted quickly across the field. I held my breath as I watched to see if it would land and when it did I wheeled my truck around and tried to maneuver for more photos. The owl and I played a game of tag for several minutes with me taking photos whenever I could.  It led me in a wide circle and finally coming back to the start of our encounter, sailed over the field and out of sight. That's when I saw it....SNOWY OWL #2.

Photo by Catherine Temple

Sitting just up the road in the snow filled ditch was a second owl. It was tucked between some weeds and a rock and in the snow so it was nearly invisible. I crept the truck slowly forward and got out to take some photos again. It didn't stay long and rose into the wind and quickly zipped past me flying to a wood pile some two hundred yards into the middle of a field. Figuring my photo shoot was done I pulled the truck over to watch it for a few moments with my binos, but the show wasn't over yet. Like a feathered stealth fighter jet, owl #1 rocketed low across the field and attacked owl #2. I had seconds to see it coming and barely enough time to get the camera pointed on the action.

Snowy Showdown - photo by Catherine Temple

The showdown lasted only briefly and the reason for the attack is unknown, but it was spectacular to witness. I have posted more photos of the tussle on my Flickr site, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctemple/6778739205/in/photostream/.

After it was all over I decided it was time to leave these two white warriors to their hunting. The encounter was more than I had hoped for and for one more day has fed my obsession. But.....there's always tomorrow!