Glamping

Glamping. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

This mourning dove appeared inside my festival tent at a midwestern show several years ago. It had clearly spent the night there. When I unzipped the tent in the morning, this guy (or gal) startled the hell out of me by flapping wildly, flying around until it landed atop one of my display walls. Once it calmed down, I managed to get a few so-so photos before shooing it out.

At the time, I was showing botanical pastel paintings and felt lucky for once that I had to frame my work behind glass. It made cleanup a bit easier.

This was the first time I recall having seen one of these birds, but afterward, I noticed them everywhere. There is a pair that lives a block from my house that I've seen for years now. I love their soft, pinkish coloration (enhanced a bit here for the sake of the painting).

The Ginger

The Ginger. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". 2019.

I think these red pigeons are the most beautiful things. I've only seen four of them that I can recall. The first two were a few years ago at Alki beach in Seattle. I couldn't get close enough to photograph them, and upon trying to google them later, found very little information on them.

This Portland city pigeon was far less shy. It and another red-headed friend were mucking about doing pigeon things with the usual flock (or flight or kit) of standard grey pigeons.

My photo still came out a bit blurry (not a wildlife photographer!), and I was a bit concerned about the harsh shadows on the concrete in the background. All those things combined to make an interesting challenge, however, and a painting I genuinely like.