No thanks

8x8" watercolor

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Here’s a bird tied to our country’s history. I just wonder how the conversation might go if a turkey and a bald head eagle were allowed to perch somewhere and compare their lives. Years a ago, I had the privilege to paint Courage, the turkey that was lucky enough to receive pardon from President Obama. I must have painted ten watercolors of Courage and his back-up bird, Carolina. The turkeys were raised not far from my home in Wayne County, NC. I was allowed to sit with them in their private coop where I did maybe ten watercolors of them.

Beachfront, Ritz-Carlton, San Juan

7x9" original watercolor

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On Isla Verde, here is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever visited. I hate now to think of the devastation wreaked on this beach by Hurricane Maria.

Patio, Hotel Villa de Sol, Puerto Rico

7x9" original watercolor

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My travel companion was someone who enjoyed sleeping in mornings, allowing me time to do some painting. Here is the charming patio of the hotel where I stayed.

Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista

7x9" original watercolor 

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One of the more exotic destination weddings I have ever attended took place here. Certainly, in much brighter days for the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. The following was pulled from Wikipedia: The original cathedral in what was the city of Puerto Rico (changed to San Juan Bautista in 1521) was constructed from wood in 1521. It was destroyed by a hurricane and the current structure constructed in 1540, being reshaped in later centuries, the last time being in 1917.

Three Herons

6 x 8" watercolor

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The animal might beg to differ, but in my mind, the same species may be painted multiple times, and appear to be different creatures. This is probably what I did here with a Great Blue Heron who posed for me in the Florida Everglades one year.

A Touch of Ochre

8½ x 5½" watercolor on cold pressed paper

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It’s nice to have friends in Florida, and among them, friends willing to take an artist on a day excursion to Everglades National Park. Along with an alligator, posted earlier, I managed to paint this stoic Great Blue Heron.

Mouth on a bird

3½ x 5½ watercolor in black core mat

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Back to my mouthy grackle. I Googled “Grackle” and saw a photo that looked very much like this bird, so am now 99% sure that my bird id on this one was correct. Just call me Brenda Birder.

South End Rainscape

9x12" oil on panel

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Bidding begins at $150.
Here’s a break from my BehrCritters watercolor sketches, that are the norm to appear on Daily Paintworks auctions. This plein air painting, done in Wrightsville Beach, NC is one of few rainscapes I have painted. In fact, it and a smaller version, are the only rainscapes I have painted en plein air. It goes without saying, I had found shelter in which to set up my easel at the end of the street where I spotted this very wet scene. The painting is offered as a donated auction item to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Heron in Branches 2

5½ x 3½ watercolor in black core mat

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What I thought was a Great White Heron is rather a Great Egret. My research tells me that Great White Herons in the U.S. are rarely found outside of central and southern Florida. Below is an interesting fact that I found at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/lifehistory

• The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America. Audubon was founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers.

Heron

9x6" watercolor

I am sharing a blog I wrote some time ago on my BrendaBehr.com website. I think it is worth repeating.

the next time you bid on a piece of art

Half Strut

5½ x 3½ watercolor in black core mat

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Bidding begins at $15
Here they are again, maybe later. He looks like he’s fading out, and maybe she is losing interest. Posting on a blog reminds me of that question, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” It is no wonder so many are deserting their blogs and posting more on Facebook. On Facebook, it is so easy to respond; therefore, so easy to get a response. I wonder how many times I might post and never get a response on my blogs. Maybe blogs need to be more like soap operas. Then you might follow them out of curiosity for what follows. Maybe a crop of baby pigeons?

Avian Courtship

3½ x 5½ watercolor in black core mat

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A couple of pigeons courting. Who would have guessed? The male, spreading his tail feathers, is trying to get her attention. I had no idea until explained by an artist friend Greg that what the male pigeon is doing here is essentially the same thing a turkey or a peacock does when it spreads its tail feathers. When I was in second grade or so, filling in all those colors on the tail of a turkey illustration, I had no idea. Glad the art wasn’t censored.

Mouth with Feathers 2

5½ x 3½" watercolor in black core mat

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Here again is what I believe to be a baby grackle, the chirpingest bird I have ever come by. He apparently doesn’t enjoy being painted. Or, more likely, he thought I was his mama and was begging to be fed.

Three Gulls

3¾ x 9” watercolor in 9x12" white mat 

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The first birds I painted in watercolor (from life) were birds at the feeder in my backyard. Seagulls, on trips to the coast, came not long afterwards. They tend to flock, to hang out where human food is served, and spend much time on the ground waiting for handouts. Like weathervanes, they also tend to stand in the same direction.

Grey Plumage

7x5" watercolor in soft grey mat

On hold
I almost renamed this one I’m all beak, but decided the more elegant Grey Plumage name is more fitting. No doubt this is the same Great Blue Heron who posed for me a couple years a ago in Everglades National Park, same area where I painted a (previously posted) alligator. Note: the painting fits within a 6.5 x 4.5" window.

Heron Preening

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

On hold
Thank God for all the quick sketches I did in college. They were called gesture drawings, and were done strictly in charcoal, maybe some conté crayons. Much later, in Minneapolis, MN, I studied sumi-e with Susan Frame, and after that, Chinese brush painting at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, NC. All of this has helped in my ability to capture life quickly in watercolor.

Heron in blue sky

4x6" watercolor in black core mat

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I am back to white herons at least for now. I believe it was somewhere near Little River, SC where I came across this bird. I don’t know if I found him, or he found me. Regardless, he posed upon a tree, in multiple short poses, for quite some time.

In the pink too

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

On hold
Isn’t Google grand? I can google in the pink and find out why I have used it as names for my most recent BehrCritters. My hunch is something about feeling good. Bet that mom of two who won the largest lottery ever is feeling in the pink today. Here’s Google’s meaning of the phrase:

informal

in very good health and spirits.

synonyms:

in good health, very healthy, very well, hale and hearty;

In the pink

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

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I cannot recall where I was when I painted this one. I have had a few friends who are pink flamingo collectors. I may have designed an anniversary card for one of them.

Mouth with Feathers

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

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I rarely take naps since I made the transition to professional artist. Many of we artists are too busy scratching out a living to find time for naps. Today will be my exception. When I woke up about 3:00 this morning, the weather app on my phone reported the sun would rise at 6:39 and that for the first hour and a half, people in my town would enjoy a sunny day. I set the alarm for 5:30, thinking at last I might catch a sunrise on a nearby lake. Couldn’t for the life of me fall back to sleep, so got up about 4:00, and prepared my plein air oil palette. Maybe an hour or so before I left, the forecast had changed to fog, typical of our mornings this past week in Eastern North Carolina. I decided it might be interesting to do a fog painting, so I’m including it below. Strangely, Mouth with Feathers above has nothing to add.

Morning fog on Lake Wackena, 8x16" oil on panel

Picasso Bird

4x6" watercolor in black core mat

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This is another bird that was at Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter. I don’t know what kind of bird it is, but that it was just about the nosiest bird I have ever heard. It was possibly a baby grackle. Definitely, a bird with an attitude. But then I have to ask why he didn’t just fly off, and I know if I had wings but was grounded, I’d be cranky too. BTW, I titled the painting Picasso Bird because of the two-in-one view.

White heron taking flight

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

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It’s back to the birds for now. To my knowledge, egrets don’t perch in trees, which is where I found this white heron. Other than their habitats, I would have a hard time distinguishing egrets from white herons. I would love to hear other differences you might know.

Turtle xing

z

10x8" watercolor

On hold
Here’s the last of my remaining Topsail Turtles. Topsail Beach, North Carolina was the very first sea turtle sanctuary I can recall visiting. While there, I had the pleasure to visit the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center I was amazed at the commitment to the turtles that I observed in the volunteers at the center. Read more about this incredible turtle hospital founded by Jean Beasley as a legacy to her daughter, the late Karen Beasley. http://wnct.com/2017/07/30/karen-beasley-sea-turtle-rescue-and-rehabilitation-center/

Forget the soup

8x10" original watercolor

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I don’t remember which number this was in the series of sea turtles I named Topsail Turtles. It was not the word play I’d had in . . . SWELL time at the beach. The only turtle dish I am familiar with (not one I have ever tried, however) is turtle soup. Of course, this fella would pass on the soup.

Having a swell time at the beach

7x10" original watercolor

On hold
I remember the first time I ever thought a gallery might take my work. All the gallery folks had to do was suggest I painted something, and, voila—their wish was my command! This is how I came to do about ten sea turtle watercolors, each with a different concept behind it. Those prehistoric things up in the sky in this one are pelicans, of course.

Mitzi

8½ x 11“ watercolor on paper

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In spite of the fact, that I live with a cat, and have three feral cats that call my front porch home, I have painted few cats. Seems that if they are not sleeping, they are on the prowl or going into some yoga-type contortion like the one Mitzi is in here.

One tail wagging

4 x 6" watercolor in 8 x 10" black core mat

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Here are Sister and Moozart again, this time, with one tail wagging. If there was ever an animal that might pose, it would be cow, much less frenetic than a horse or most other domestic animals. I did some guinea hens one time. Crazy. Would offer the painting but I believe it ran off.

Sister and Moozart

4 x 6" watercolor in 8 x 10" black core mat

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Sister and Moozart really are the names of these two cows. I would make a terrible farmer — on most farms. Maybe not this one. Genesis Farm, just outside Chapel Hill, NC is a small market and educational farm where animals are treated with the utmost care and respect. Some the animals on the farm, I understand, are rescue animals. Hooray for a shift in farming practices!

Two cows walking

4 x 6" watercolor in 8 x 10" black core mat

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I never did explain the Bird Break title of my alligator painting. Since I had been posting birds for two weeks; then switched to an alligator, I decided it was an appropriate title. In college we learned the concept of positive/negative space. I wasn’t thinking about that concept when I did this cow painting, but feel it represents the idea well.

Bird break

3 x 8¾" watercolor in 8 x 13" black core mat

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Bidding begins at $30
I changed the name of the painting just because I feel Bird Break is a heck of a lot more interesting than Everglades Alligator. And besides, it leads better into the story of how I came to paint an alligator en plein air. I have heard more than once that I was positioned dangerously close to an animal that has been known to attack, then drag its victims off into the water. Click “Side Excursion” for a glimpse of me painting our fellow here. Call me stupid. I think people, prayers or no prayers, are stupid to walk a tightrope over the Grand Canyon.

Looking back

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

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Say goodbye to Tim for awhile. Tomorrow I move on to another species. Alligators, cats, and possible pink flamingoes are all in the running.

To make a point

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

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I wonder if many pelicans would trade in their enormous beaks for a smaller size. On the other hand, if it means more fish at greater depths, maybe there are some that would opt to go with an even larger size. A point to ponder.

Chin Up

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

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No wonder he’s feeling down. Imagine carrying something as heavy as his beak around on your head day in and day out?

Blue Beak 3

6x4" watercolor in black core mat

On hold
Pelican Tim was my second time to sit cooped up painting a bird. The first time was in 2009, when I was allowed into the coop with Courage and Carolina, the turkey and his backup, that would be President Obama’s first turkey to pardon.

Blue Beak 1

7x5" watercolor in a double mat

On hold
Introducing Tim, the pelican. He will be the featured bird on this and the next four posts. I first met Tim when I discovered Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter back in maybe 2011. A former real estate agent, Mary Ellen, and her team of volunteers run the place, a wildlife rehab place that takes in mostly waterfowl. Tim is the resident pelican who, because of permanent wing damage, has no hope for release. He lives there permanently with his own private accommodations, including pool, and an endless supply of fish. He earns his keep by teaching other residents that they can actually eat food that is no longer alive.

Rainbow Bird

5x2" watercolor in blue core mat

On hold
I haven’t much to say about Rainbow Bird except that he is obviously a pelican and might appeal to some of my gay friends. Does anyone know how rainbow colors came to be associated with gay pride?

In a field of lavender

4 x 6" watercolor in an 8 x 10" mat

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I remember the first time I heard of the birds called egrets, all I could think of was the word with an r on front of it, regrets. I once named a marsh painting No Egrets. Maybe theres a painting I have yet to paint that I will title Egrets Only, probably another marsh painting.

Egret on purple ground

7 x 5" watercolor in 10 x 8" mat 

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Until I paint more, this will be the last of my egrets on purple ground. Stay tuned for some white herons. Really difficult to tell the difference.

Egret on purple field

6 x 4" watercolor in 10 x 8" mat

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An egret in winter garb. I remember winters in Minnesota. I would go somewhere, but not leave until I had taken an inventory of outer accessories - coat, hat, gloves, scarf.

Watercolor Habitat

4 x 6" watercolor in an 8 x 10" mat

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I love using a medium in a way that is unique to that medium. This is where the bird lives, in a habitat that can be none other than watercolor, fitting for a waterbird.

With a Purple Boa

6 x 4" watercolor in an 8 x 10" mat

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Kinda the way I feel whenever I put on a boa.

In a purple cape

6 x 4" watercolor in a 10 x 8" mat

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I have found the best way in watercolor to paint white is not to paint it; to allow the paper to be the white. Here the egret’s cape defines his form.