This Spring

"This Spring"

Oil on Canvas     8" x 10"

All spring, the light shows in our woods have been exceptional and numerous.  To capture one of these, I sat up my portable easel at the kitchen window, out of which hangs the hummingbird feeder.  As I was blocking in the woods, a male hummer appeared and instantly became the subject of this little painting.  

If you know hummers, you know how quickly they move, one minute here and then next gone.  I quickly blocked in a gesture drawing if him, got the basics of it before he took off.  Thinking I'd need to nail him to photography in order to catch him into the painting, I set up the camera on a tripod, set it on movie mode and waited until he appeared again.  During the next couple of hours, both he and his mate took turns slurping from the feeder, giving me several minutes of action. 

I realized, though, that if I were astute enough, I should be able to capture him in a painting just by grabbing what I could each time he appeared.  Meanwhile, the rains began, causing me to lose my light for several days.  I WAS however able to paint the hummer on location rather than from a photo, this by just being ready when he appeared and grabbing any information I could when he'd come to eat.

The sun appeared for a few hours yesterday, enabling me to catch the light that started this whole thing to begin with.  I'm still not sure if it's finished, but I'm declaring it so, at least for the moment.

Enjoy your day,

Dianne