garden – The Ravens Landing

Chicka de de de

Posted on June 20, 2019June 25, 2019 by abigailcossetteryan in Animals, artist, bird watching, birds, brush pen, colorwheel, Conservation, Etsy, garden, Gifts, home decor, ink, inktense, Pet Portrait, sketches, songbirds, watercolors, wildlife

Remember that love affair with birds? Still going strong. One of my favorite visitors to the bird feeder (though, lets be honest: almost everything is my favorite so long as it isn’t the squirrel) is the chickadee. I remember watching them at bird feeders in touristy locations—they were the only birds brazen enough to brave the proximity of the crowds. Sparrows are pretty brazen, too, but they spend their time under picnic tables rather than feeders.

My feeder is dominated by house finches and cardinals, but I do have goldfinches, titmice, and chickadees…and in the wintertime I see juncos regularly.

This spring blue jays and starlings started hanging around more, and I’ve noticed more robins in the front yard.

A sketch, and Inktense scribbles in blue and purple.

It had been a while since I’d noticed a chickadee, and one came and sat on a branch quite close to the deck doors—I was surprised that I had forgotten just how tiny chickadees are. I mean, I could probably fit 2 of them on the palm of my hand if they were so inclined.

Such a loud voice and big personality in such an incredibly tiny body—specially compared to the other song birds I’d gotten used to seeing.

I painted this charmer for my mother as a mother’s day gift. I’m so very pleased with out it came out. #firsttry

I’d been experimenting for a while with inktense blended backgrounds, and had a really solid idea in my head of how to use the brush pens. I guess it shows. Inktense is such a versatile and sometimes befuddling medium. You’ll be seeing more of it in the coming weeks.

Brush pen, already a little blended. Drying before adding the black.

Have I mentioned that I love the brush pens? Love them. I love putting the color where I want it deepest and then coaxing it out further.

All blacked! And some sharpie paint pen highlights for the branches and white patches.

I still adore my Daniel Smith watercolors—I’ve developed an affinity for their particular granulation and vividness. I’ve been using them so much I’d forgotten just how special they were. My past weeks challenging myself with artist’s loft supplies have been…eye opening…and challenging. So, successful? You’ll be seeing some of that practice, soon.

Prints of the chickadee are in my Etsy shop, if anyone is interested. Just have 5×7 up there now, but 8×10 could be arranged!

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Green Thumbs and Paint

Posted on May 29, 2019May 16, 2019 by abigailcossetteryan in acrylics, artist, brush pen, clemetis, colorwheel, Etsy, floral, flowers, garden, Gardener, home, home decor, Indoor Gardening, ink, inktense, Plants, roses, sketches, watercolors

It’s well reported that plants clean the air. Green is a relaxing color, and the outdoors is proven to reduce stress, etc. etc.

I *love* plants. I have a harder time walking out of a garden center empty handed than just about any other type of store. I tried counting over the winter, how many plants were in my house—not even really counting the army of annuals that I’d moved from my deck to the guest room upstairs—and I lost count. The plants winter in the guest room because it is the brightest room in the house and they would all die if I tried to keep them somewhere else.

It’s scientifically proven. Oy. Poor things. Every winter I drag in my herbs with the hope that I can keep them alive indoors, but they never quite make it through with the limited light. This winter I bought a grow light in February, and more of them made it than before.

If I did the plant count today, there would be…um…sixteen on the main floor and fifteen on the bedroom level. Not counting the plants in with the fish (three bettas in three bowls). And that’s with all the other plants out for the summer (including my lemon trees, rose of Sharons, clematis, and assorted herbs).

I suppose that makes it sounds like I have a green thumb…it’s more that I read labels.

When I don’t read the label, I buy plants that won’t ever survive in my house and they die. This is what happens in the fish tank (to be fair, though, the labels on those plants are utterly useless), and I have yet to sort out what’s going on there. Java ferns, anarchis, nameless ground covers…all die. I’ve only just turned to the internet for solutions, feeling pretty dumb for taking so long. Apparently, they sell substrate just for water plants, to build a proper eco system with bacteria and everything. Not to mention even water plants need light.

We’ll see how that experiment goes.

For all this…you’d think I’d be better at painting them, but I feel woefully inadequate. It has taken me forever to render a succulent that I actually felt proud of. But, I did! Finally. I’ve managed a little better with roses, but I’ve been at roses longer.

I guess that’s a huge part of both gardening and painting, you just have to keep practicing, keep training the eye, keep trying. And…possibly read the instructions.

(A number of these pieces are for sale on Redbubble)

A love affair with birds

Posted on May 22, 2019May 22, 2019 by abigailcossetteryan in acrylics, Animals, artist, birds, brush pen, Commissions, Conservation, Etsy, garden, ink, inktense, Pet Portrait, raptors, watercolors, wildlife

I don’t know who started it, but I belong to a family of birders. Compared to a truly avid birder, we aren’t, but compared to the folks who aren’t sure what a robin is, we’re absolute bird nerds.

I think this is a wren. I should have written it down.

Growing up, we had a couple blue bird houses in back and a hummingbird feeder hanging off the deck. But my grandparents maintained a monstrous contraption of a bird feeder, with suet, thistle, sunflower, and probably a couple other extensions. My grandfather had a longstanding contest with the local squirrels, but unlike me he was actually pretty successful in building baffles to keep the little moochers off. It wasn’t until recently that the trees had gotten too big and too close, and the squirrels could just LEAP directly onto the feeder.

But for years, the squirrels foraged under the feeder and the birds fed at their appointed places and splashed in their heated (in winter) birdbath.

My Grandparents received Birds and Blooms magazine, and whenever we arrived at their house for a visit I would immediately grab a magazine and flip through the pages looking at all the spectacular, brilliantly colored, photography. I never read the full length articles, just the short little blurbs and funny stories. But oh, those pictures.

Phone calls, letters, and conversation centered on the happenings at the bird feeder—what notable bird visited, or the time the fox came through with a half-eaten something in his mouth, or the day the hawk visited and ALL THE BIRDS avoided the yard for hours. I imagine, if there were a zoologist historian at some point in the future, they would like to have my grandmother’s letters. But given that they are all written in cursive, they won’t be able to read them.

The aviary is my favorite part of the zoo, and I always try to stop and listen to the birds, even though I have only the barest grasp on which birds I’m hearing. Now that I’m grown and have a house of my own, I have a sunflower seed feeder.

I hang it off a tree branch I can reach from my deck, so I had no illusions about keeping the squirrels off—though I do throw cups of water at them sometimes when I feel like they’ve been on the feeder Every Single Time I’ve been out there.

I don’t mind at all when the cardinal in the tree outside my bedroom window scolds loudly because the feeder is empty. I love watching the housefinches, chickadees and the occasional titmouse pigging out on the feeder.

After a lifetime of drawing horses, I was surprised to find an affinity for birds. I really love painting birds, and half the time I really love how the paintings come out. I attribute it to the hours and hours I spent poring over Birds and Blooms, staring at breathtaking hummingbirds, titmice, tanagers, orioles, chickadees, bluebirds (east and west), blue jays (east and west)…of course, the more shy, insect eating birds I know essentially nothing about (there are armies of wrens and warblers and sparrows that I’m only seeing now because I have an uncle and an aunt who are Real Avid Birders with a Really Nice Camera).

I’ve started to experiment with different looks and feels for my bird paintings, and will probably start asking various wildlife and raptor rehabilitation centers if they are interested in having a piece to auction.

What about you? Do you bird watch? Or are birds those mysterious avian monsters from that Hitchcock movie? Which of these birds did you like best and want to see in the Etsy shop? (The Blue Vireo is already there)

Fairies

Posted on April 2, 2019 by abigailcossetteryan in Animals, artist, ballet, birds, brush pen, colorwheel, Commissions, fairy, garden, home, Redbubble, Society 6, watercolors

I was inspired to paint a bunch of fairies, each based on one of the four seasons. I think Fall is my favorite….but I love Summer’s wings and Spring’s hair and Winter’s snowflakes.

I’ve got a couple different ways to buy them. You can buy fine art prints by clicking here. You can buy the originals by heading out to the Fire House Gallery in Berryville, VA, or you can buy the set, stitched together like you see above, on a floor pillow or coffee mug at Redbubble!

Riding Boot Centerpiece

Posted on March 15, 2018March 15, 2018 by abigailcossetteryan in acrylics, Animals, artist, Birthday, Christmas, floral, food, garden, Holidays, home decor, horse, horse crazy, horse racing, horsemanship, New Year's Day, party, Polo, show jumpers, thoroughbred, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day

I painted some old riding boots, and they could be yours! I’m auctioning them off on Ebay. They are entirely decorative, perfect for a conversation piece, or the centerpiece at a race-day party, a polo match, or even just a horse crazy kid’s party.

You can find the auction here