Happy New Year everyone! I’m trying to get a head-start loosely planning what I want to accomplish this year. Most of these will be small works – pieces less than 11 X 14 – on vintage maps of western/central New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Secondly, I’d like to paint more on fabric to create avian tapestries. I’ve done a pair of “test” pieces so now it’s time to get serious. I’ve got the fabric and the inks and am ready to go!
Below is the first piece from There from Here. It’s a Black-capped Chickadee on a 1930’s era topographic map of the Belfast, NY area. I downloaded a PDF version of the map from the USGS and added some extra color and texture in Photoshop before printing. The map was then mounted to a 5 X 7 birch panel before I started painting.
Blacked-capped Chickadees become more regular visitors to my feeders in the Fall after the migration has taken many birds South. I hear them in conversation in the Maples as I stack firewood, providing the soundtrack to my solitary task. It’s amazing how quiet the property becomes over a two week period in September as the birds head out. I start counting the days until their return and dive into the summer’s reference photos to plan what goes on the easel over the winter.
We’ve made the turn past the winter solstice and the days are getting ever so slightly longer. We’ll endure more snows and cold in January & February, but Spring is in sight! Can you see it, too?
