Thanksgiving Bird

It was time again to design a Thanksgiving card at my job as creative director. I saw some art on a website where insects had been created with things from nature. So, I decided to create a turkey from things I found out in nature on my trip in Tahoe. And…was very startled to realize when just near completion, that I was creating a bird the way Marcus, my sweetie, would have done. It has been 4 years now since my sweetie flew the coop (-:. He had a higher purpose, I believe. And perhaps, this idea hadn’t flown right into my head of its own accord. Maybe, because I was  missing him so much this August anniversary of his parting, he planted the idea. Love you my sweetie!!!!

Be free and soar

My sweetie’s blog had expired. It took me months to find his password to WordPress so that I could renew this blog for another year. I hugged the computer and cried to be able to see his blog again and read his words and see his art.

Be free and soar my sweetie. You are sorely missed. All my love always, Allie

Opening Bell Bird

On any given Sunday, you will find a group of locals getting their Latte’s at the Opening Bell cafe at South Side on Lamar, in Dallas. On this chilli Sunday morning, a Latte was the perfect start to the day. One of the nice things about the Opening Bell, besides the nightly live music from local bands and artists, and besides the fun, eclectic interior, is this chalkboard table. So while waiting on my Soy Vanilla Latte, I was inspired to doodle. Now for some odd reason, I found myself doodling a bird. Imagine that.

Rock Sketch Bird

It has been several weeks since I have posted anything. Too long.  And I have been feeling the need to sketch. But not on paper. And not with pen or pencil.

Last night while taking out the trash, I stumbled upon this white rock on our driveway. A decorative rock that apparently ran away from home. Well, it inspired me to try something that I used to do when I was just a kid. Use a rock as chalk. Rock chalk. And now this is when you might expect a sob story about growing up poor. Something like – We were so poor – that when I was growing up, we couldn’t even afford chalk to graffiti the streets like other kids. We were so poor we had to use rocks. That would be a funny story, but not at all true. While we were poorish, my mom always made sure that I had plenty of paper and something to draw with. Drawing was a trick my mother used to keep me quite and out of trouble. I guess that I am lucky there weren’t iPads or video games when I was a growing up.

Leaf Mulching Bird

A beautiful January day here in Texas. Too lovely to pass up on doing a little work outdoors so I attached the last batch of leaves on the front yard. This time, instead of bagging the piles of leaves, I just mulched them with my lawn mower. While sweeping up some of the leaf mulching that blew on the driveway, I was inspired to create this hungry guy. It only took a few minutes to sweep him into shape. You might say I was really humming. Enjoy.

Stormy Bird

So, this may be hard to believe, but – after a year of making bird art every single day, I still see birds everywhere. Doh. Yesterday while taking out the trash, I saw a cluster of walnuts shells, nuts, and various tree twigs on the driveway. It might seem like a nutty idea, but this storm trash makes a pretty good rooster. Enjoy.

2012 Year in Review Bird Art Video

MOVIE TIME!

I have whipped together a new YouTube video that contains a fast-paced review of all my Birds from 2012. Please share this link with your friends. Have some popcorn and enjoy the show.

New Years Eve. Wine Cork Bird

At long last, I sit here on New Years eve, looking back over a year of art work. One year ago I made the biggest New Years resolution – of my life. A resolution to create a piece of art, each day for one year. Something many other artists have done before me, and who inspired me to make this ambition commitment to myself. As a result, this has been one of the most rewarding years of my life. Now what?

My next goal is to keep making art, but focus more of my energy on publishing several books for children that I have already written. An equally challenging and ambitious goal. Wish me luck.

I will be creating new art, but without the one day, time constraints. And I will be creating art beyond the singular theme of birds, but still creating much more bird art. So keep an eye on your email inbox for my latest works.

ART SALE
I also plan to sell many of my Bird-A-Day artworks. So if you have wanted to own one of them, stay posted.

ART BOOK
Also, look for a coffee table book, of all the art from my 365 day art blog project. Most likely it will be a Blurb book, so look for news about my Bird-A-Day art book very soon.

And with today’s Wine Cork Bird, I want to wish every one my new friends, and all my family who have supported me and followed me through out this crazy year, a happy New Year!

If you have enjoyed my art blog this year, do me a favor and tell a friend.

Day 365. Matisse Bird

ONE DAY LEFT!

While this is in fact bird 365, my blog project is not quite over. Because 2012 is a leap year, I still have one last bird tomorrow. And I already know what it will be. Let’s just say a toast will be in order for my final bird.

Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by a piece of fabric in the closet. The pattern reminded me of one of my favorite artists, Matisse. Many of the patterns in fabric today are heavily influenced by the work of this Fauve and modern art master. So I decided to use the fabric from our closet as my starting point. I painted a coat of Medium Gel on a piece of masonite board, then pressed a swatch of the fabric across the board. Within a few hours, I was able to tear off the fabric, leaving this wonderful pattern transferred onto my masonite canvas. While I liked the tone of the board, I wanted a more Matisse feel, and that meant adding some color. One of his favorite colors was a bright blue. Enjoy.

Day 364. Wall Shadow Bird

Here at the end of the year, my sweetie and I have started a refresh project of our home. We have been rearranging furniture, simplifying, and changing up things from room to room. Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by the shadow being cast by an antique figure on our fireplace mantle. We’re repainting the walls in our living room and so I wanted to indulge this fortuitous moment. This guy only lasted long enough to photograph, but it was fun. Enjoy.

 

Day 363. Black And White Bird

FOUR DAYS LEFT!

A fallen leaf inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. The shape of the leaf on the ground inspired me to get out my acrylic paints. But I also wanted to keep it as graphic as possible, so I decided to use only black and white paints. This guy would work well as a pattern on a pillow or comforter. Enjoy.

Day 362. Doodle Blue Bird

FIVE DAYS LEFT!
I could say the year has flown by, but it really has felt like a year-long project. And yet, here with only a few days remaining in my New Years’ resolution, I am just as excited about this Bird-A-Day art project, as when I started on January 1st. I still wake up without a clue what I will create. I still look around for inspiration and think about experimenting with something new. Today I started with a canvas that I had previously painted black but then put aside. A dead-end. So many of my bird ideas never made it to life. The idea of using a canvas for my canvas is pretty rare, if you have followed my art blog. But, instead of paint I decided to go with pastel, and just have fun doodling. Enjoy.

 

Day 361. Windshield Bird

The big surprise snow fall on Christmas day, transformed my black Mazda into a giant snowball. The temperature is a mere 23 degrees as I freeze my finger to draw today’s Bird-A-Day art. Like a white swan, the snow has transformed everything around into something beautiful. Something magical. Enjoy.

Day 360. Snow Bird

Yes, Virginia, even Texas can have a white Christmas. This morning at the breakfast table, I said – I wish it would snow so that I could have a snow bird for my blog. And then just like magic, the temperature outside dropped dramatically, and the light rain showers turned to snow. Not a heavy east coast kind of snow. More of a light flurries, Texas kind of snow. Watching the snow fall in our back yard, I noticed the lid to our grill was one of the few spots the snow paint was sticking. And just as magically, the snow sprinkled a snow bird for today’s Bird-A-Day art. Merry Christmas.

A few hours later, the snow flurries continued and finally started sticking to the ground. So am adding a second snow bird gift. Happy holidays.

Day 359. Sparkling Garland Bird

Today is Christmas Eve. And just 7 days left in my Bird-A-Day art project. It is our family tradition to open one gift on Christmas eve and then open all the remaining gifts on Christmas day. And even though my childhood days are far behind me, Christmas eve has a magical way of bringing out my inner child. And my inner child wants to get its’ hands on some sparkling gifts. Enjoy.

Day 358. Cherry Chocolates Bird

Queen Anne, Cordial Cheeries, milk chocolates have been a part of my Christmas since before the time of Aluminum Christmas trees with color wheels. And that’s a long time. My mother would always top off an evening of gift giving for all us kids, with a box of these decadent, mounds of pounds for each and every one of us. We felt like kings and queens. I grew up thinking all Kings had upset stomachs from eating their cheery chocolates too fast. My sister, Jane has for many years now, kept this mouth-watering tradition alive. And last night after our Dickerson family Christmas, Jane made certain that Allie and I didn’t leave the party without our little red boxes. Thank you Jane for being so faithful to this family tradition. While we might pretend it’s not something grown-ups care for anymore – truth is, one bite of those cherry chocolates takes us right back to the best childhood memories any child or adult could wish for. Merry Christmas.

Day 357. Painted Wrapping Bird

It was inevitable. Sooner or later I had to use Christmas wrapping paper for my canvas. I think it would work better after being mounted on another surface. But, that’s why I like to experiment on this blog. I learn new things every day. Next year, I might just put some of the things I’ve learned into practice. Happy holidays.

10 days and counting!

Day 356. Pine Cone Bird

On this last weekend before Christmas, some decorations around the house, inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. I am always thinking birds, when I come across unique objects. And these sparkly, metallic painted pine cones made a festive bird. Happy shopping.

 

Day 355. Gift Tissue Bird

Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by a blog follower who wished for a House Finch. Still keeping with the spirit of the season, I used some gift tissue for my canvas. I like the fragile, delicate quality of this tissue paper. While it is a challenge to paint on, it offers a fun – surprise factor, because of its’ unique surface quality. Enjoy.

Day 354. Luminary Bag Bird

After doing some Christmas shopping at one of my favorite stores, ZGallery, it was their fun little paper sack that inspired me. Someone had just recently been talking about the simple beauty of holiday luminary bags. And so I decided to turn my ZGallery bag into today’s Bird-A-Day art. Happy Holidays.

 

Day 353. Down Under Bird

Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by a friend at work who lived a while in Australia. Laura had asked if I had ever done a Kiwi bird. Sadly, the Kiwi had never crossed my mind, until she brought it up. But it didn’t take any time at all for me to warm up to the idea of the bird from down under. I like how the shape of the Kiwi, mirrors the shape of this chopped piece of  wood. Enjoy.

Day 352. Wood Chip Bird

Recently, an artist friend of mine, who follows this art blog, came across a very unique wood chip. When she saw it, she thought it might inspire me and so she gave it to me. Well, yes Robin, it did inspire me. This wood chip looks like it could break into song at any moment. And so I felt compelled to create a worthy image to go with this little treasure of nature. Thank you Robin. Enjoy.

Make A Bird Wish

Do you have a favorite bird you wish would become a Bird-A-Day art.

In the spirit of the Holidays, I want to do something extra special for following my art blog this year. If you have followed my blog this year and always wished to see a favorite bird, or a special, unique material, just let me know. I will work to make as many Bird-A-Day art wishes come true in these last 15 days of the year.

Thank you all for following my art blog this year and let the bird wishes begin.

Merry Christmas
M. K. Dickerson

Day 351. Tree Trimmings Bird

We bought a real Christmas tree this year. Now, less than two weeks since coming home with us, it’s as brittle as a cactus. Yes, our beautiful tree is dried out, even with plenty of water and my soothing, bedtime stories. Yesterday, my sweetie did some tree trimming to spruce up the pine. As I carried the trimmings out, a branch fell on the ground. This single branch, had a most distinctive shape. That bird-head twig inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. Cheers.

Day 350. Holiday Berry Bird

For me, it feels like the Holiday spirit is building momentum, as we get another day closer to Christmas. Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by some decorative berries that we had taken out of storage. These colorful jewels of the season will be making their way on top of the fire place. Enjoy.

 

Day 349. WSJ Bird

Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by an old copy of the Wall Street Journal. Last year, I had a daily subscription and used it to keep up with the world of finance and investments. Taking a page out of the Journal, I clipped out my bird with a pair of scissors. The image, abstracted by the cut shape, now makes me curious about the story behind it. Ironically – I failed to read the story before throwing the paper away. So it will remain a mystery. Enjoy.

Day 348. Cabinet Paint Bird

The paint drips, runs and accidents on the back of a cabinet in my sweetie’s studio, inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. With it’s back to the wall, this bird will never be seen by anyone. It will be our secret. Don’t tell anyone. Enjoy.

Day 347. Holiday Card Bird

We decided to create our own, one-of-a-kind, Christmas card, instead of buying one this year. And I had a perfect idea – just waiting to happen. Imagine that. So with my linocut tools and some metallic silver printing ink, I got into the spirit of things to create today’s Bird-A-Day art. Peace, Love and Art.

 

Day 346. Oil Bird

Yesterday, after driving all over East Texas and then back to Fort Worth, I found a drop of oil on the driveway. And it inspired me to create today’s Bird-A-Day art. This could have been called 10w-40 Bird. Or Synthetic Bird. But here in Texas, it makes sense to just call it the Oil Bird. Enjoy.

Day 345. Rusting Scratch Bird

This square sheet of steel has sat outside in my yard for several months. I wanted to let mother nature create the foundation for my bird painting. It was a nice surprise to find rusty leaf shapes on my metal canvas. This time, I wanted to experiment with scratching into the metal to form my bird. After painting my burnished bird shape I found the solid white was too sterile.  So I decided to scratch into my painted bird with different materials. It was a real treat collaborating with nature on this one. Enjoy.

Day 344. Brookstone Bird

Yesterday my sweetie and I braved the holiday traffic to Christmas shop at our local mall. We actually had a surprisingly good time, and even found a good parking space. Twice. After we had checked off many items from our Santa list, we stopped to amuse ourselves at one of my favorite stores. Brookstone has the coolest gadgets in the mall. A writing pen that is also a recorder.  A key finder so you never lose your car keys again. Random, every day problems solved with cool, well-designed gadgets. Among the cool stuff, was this new item called the Boogie Board. It promises to never waste paper again. You draw, write, doodle on this digital board and then a click of a button erases the board to start again. Now if you happen to be over 40 years old, you’ve seen this trick before. But, now it’s digital instead of a box filled with pencil shavings. Today’s Bird-A-Day art is my little hint for Santa. This gadget would be a nice stocking stuffer. Wink, wink, nod, nod.

Day 343. Trash Paper Bird

Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by a floor vent in the corner of my sweetie’s art studio. I wanted to create a one-frame movie. A dramatic story of artistic angst. A story of a tortured soul and his idea that got away.  Lost in a twist of fate, the loss weighs forever on the heart of this unknown artist. But, it’s really just a piece of trash in the corner which I think is kind of funny.

Day 342. Column Bird

The end of another semester is here. I just had to visit my sweet heart”s MFA studio to see first hand, all the paintings from this semester. Her work just leaves me speechless. I am so very proud of her. She works harder at her passion than anyone I have ever known. On the way out of her studio, I came across the branding work of an expressive student. How today’s tiny chalk bird came to be perched on that students’ branding work, is a total mystery.

Day 341. Foamcore Bird

A scrap of black foamcore inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. I had used this foamcore as a backdrop for some of my bird art photographs. After one of my birds, from a while back, put holes in the board, it was headed for the trash. But then for whatever reason,this scrap didn’t get tossed. Maybe because it would spark an idea today. Enjoy.

Day 340. Pastel Board Bird

While in the garage, I came across a 2 foot square illustration board from a project gone bad, last year. I flipped the board over and these horizontal lines inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. For me those two mysterious, stained bands made a perfect water line for a long-legged bird. And I always enjoy getting out my pastel pencils and just sketching. Enjoy.

Day 339. Clay Bird

My sweetie inspired this little guy. She has tried her hand at sculpting in clay recently. Watching her have so much fun, made me want to get my hands dirty. I had bought a box of modeling clay earlier in the year, but never touched it until now. It was every bit as fun as I had guessed. Enjoy.

Day 338. Attic Insulation Bird

This weekend, I found myself in our attic, digging around for Christmas lights and ornaments to decorate our tree. While moving things around, I stumbled upon this broken piece of insulation. The look of it sparked my imagination. It reminded me of a shoreline, wishing for a bird to wade around for a quick snack. Enjoy.

Day 337. Sandpaper2 Bird

After sanding away to create a bird yesterday, I decided to take the sandpaper itself as my canvas today. After realizing chalk and pastel will not stay on sandpaper, no matter how hard you draw into it, I decided to use paint. Does that make this a sand painting? Enjoy.

Day 336. Sand Paper Bird

Subtractive art. This is one of many experiments that I will be doing with this notion of forming an image by taking away, rather than adding. In today’s Bird-A-Day art, I took a piece of sand paper and scratched away at the paint-covered table top to create my bird. It’s a different way of thinking, that is a bit like sculpting out of wood. Enjoy.

 

Day 335. Taco Bird

This is one spicy bird. Last night I was craving Mexican food. Tacos in particular, and decided to make a little home-style tacos with the help of packaged spices from Old El Paso. It certainly wasn’t an Uncle Julio’s experience, but today’s Bird-A-Day art hit the spot. Enjoy.

Day 334. Sketch Bird

The inspiration was to sketch a bird with the fewest number of lines and marks. I wanted to create a sense of mass, volume and shape without any shading. Which is a rather sketchy idea, to be honest. Enjoy.

Day 333. Litter Bird

Day 333. A perfect day for controversy. My jog along a major street here in Fort Worth, inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. Along my jog I couldn’t help but notice – butts scattered along the street for nearly a mile. How these butts ended up, lining the street sidewalks is a big mystery. Now I’ve given this some thought. Maybe, its wild foxes. Stay with me. Fact is, I have seen several wild foxes, crossing this road after dark. Foxes are smart, which means they would know the chicken had crossed the road. And perhaps, they wanted to have a smoked chicken. It’s a mystery alright.

Day 332. Stand Bird

I found a metal stand, that once held up a piece of art. Now it just sits empty, with no higher cause or purpose. So today’s Bird-A-Day art, gave this metal stand another chance to be part of something bigger. Something artistic with a purpose. A higher calling. Today, this metal stand made me smile. Is there any higher calling. Enjoy.

Day 331. Bucket Bird

This is not a bucket list bird. This is not a kick the bucket bird. This guy was inspired by a bucket – turned upside down on the floor. My odd sensibilities, liked the way the bottom of this plastic bucket was colored and scuffed up. Perhaps it has been kicked around some. Or may be just a very hard-working bucket. Either way, I like it. And when I like something, I usually paint or draw a bird on it. Enjoy.

Day 330. Twombly Bird

Cy Twombly is one of my favorite artists. His work from the late 50’s until his death in 2011, was innovative, fresh and inspired. I love his colors and textures, but without question the one aspect of his art that I love the most is his unique mark-making. It’s almost like a form of writing that mysteriously appears on his colorful canvases. I asked myself, how would Twombly paint a bird if this were his blog. Today’s Bird-A-Day art is my best attempt at channeling Twombly. Enjoy.

Day 329. Onion Bird

Today’s Bird-A-Day art brought tears to my eyes. After slicing and dicing four cups of onions for an onion soup recipe yesterday, I had one large slice of onion left. Staring at this one slice of onion was like fate. There was no question what needed to be done. Only if it could be. Enjoy.

Day 328. Leftover Stuffings Bird

I am sooo stuffed. Thanksgiving day was just wonderful. A great time with family, watching the Cowboys snooze while feasting on classic family favorites. The sweet potato casserole is always a big hit. Almost as popular as my sweeties’ home made peach cobbler. Mmmmm. But it wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving dinner without the stuffing. Today’s Bird-A-Day art, inspired by the leftovers in my brother Gary’s kitchen. Yum.

Day 327. Thanksgiving Bird

Today is Thanksgiving day. As an artist I am thankful to have this blog, so I can paint my hand and draw like a four year old. Again. Thankful that I have had so much fun creating a Bird-A-Day all year-long. Thankful for so much, but especially – my sweetheart and best friend, Allie. Happy Gobble Gobble day. What are you thankful for today?

Day 326. On The Fence Bird

Inspired by our mighty leaders in congress who thankfully – are off on Thanksgiving holiday until whenever. Today’s bird was found sitting on the fence. It can not make a decision and so it just – sits there, with the very strong possibility of our neighbors big, hungry, gray cat coming around. Don’t tempt big, hungry gray cats. Get off the fence. I approve this posting.

 

Day 325. Paint Drops Bird

A paint covered table is merely some bird art – waiting to happen. This table top in my sweetie’s art studio became the perfect bird landing for today’s Bird-A-Day art. Enjoy.

Day 324. Cardboard Owl Bird

It has been a while since I did an owl. Which is odd, since the owl is one of my favorite birds. And of all the many varieties of the owl family, I  especially like the Cardboard Owl. When they land on a stack of cardboard boxes, they are practically invisible. There’s just no telling how many times one of these rare owls watched as you unpacked after a move. Ask yourself how many times did you spot a cardboard owl? That’s my proof, right there. Enjoy.

Day 323. Pencil Shavings Bird

I’ve been working fast and furious on birds and found myself with a dull pencil. After sharpening my pencil, I was inspired by the shavings to create today’s Bird-A-Day art. As with all of my birds, I learn something new that I can take with me. With today’s bird, I have learned to never assume there is only way to express your creativity with a pencil. “Getting the lead-out,” might mean – not using the lead at all. Enjoy.

Day 322. Gesso Plate Bird

How about a big serving of Gesso. My sweetie just finished preparing a couple new birch panels for her MFA show and she had tossed out the plate she used for the primer. I actually pulled this plate out of the trash bin, because I saw a bird hidden in the Gesso. It just took a little nudge to set it free. Enjoy.

Day 321. Crayon Loop Bird

Always ready to bring my inner child out to play, today I grabbed my box of crayons. With my sketch book in hand, I played the game of loop the loop with every color in my box. What better way to bring in the weekend than coloring outside the bird. Enjoy.

Day 320. Chalk Print Bird

This was unexpected. Back on Day 302, my granite bird was a chalk drawing on the back of a big slab of granite. Well, yesterday, I laid that granite bird down on the black sofa in our garage “upside down”, by mistake. Then realizing what I had done, I quickly picked it up off the sofa, only to discover the chalk had imprinted the sofa. And I actually liked it more than the granite bird. As I like to say, a little bit of chaos – encourages creativity. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Day 319. Wood Pastel Bird

Here is a piece of scrap wood from the art studio that had been used as a tool or support for a number of random art projects. As a result it ended up having what I like to describe as textural character. And that inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. So I took out my box of pastels and quickly dashed away here and there until I had a bird. Enjoy.

Day 318. Stacked Books Bird

After having fun with yesterday’s book spine bird, I found inspiration on my book shelves. Three books which have absolutely nothing in common, became a challenging surface for my paints. These books can now be found in the nature section, under the heading “Bird-A-Day art”. Enjoy.

 

Day 317. Book Spine Bird

Now less than 50 days left in my 2012 new years resolution. With less than two months on the calendar, I am feeling pretty confident about making my personal pledge of creating a Bird-A-Day in 2012. Today’s bird was inspired by a library book my sweetie was reading yesterday. I picked a book from my personal collection as the canvas for today’s Bird-A-Day art. The spine makes a nice landing spot for this cactus bird. Enjoy.

Day 316. Rock Chalk Bird

Sometimes you have to improvise. You never know when inspiration will strike. It might happen when you find yourself with no art materials to express yourself. When I came across this handsome, rugged rock, it inspired me to draw, but I didn’t have any chalk or paints on me. So I went MacGyver and used a soft white rock laying on the ground as my medium to draw today’s Bird-A-Day art. Enjoy.

Day 315. Broken Glass Bird

Last night, my sweetie and I watched the latest Denzel Washington movie, FLIGHT. Denzel is remarkable in his role as pilot of the doomed airplane in a movie that is not easy to watch. The over-riding theme of the film is the pilot’s addiction. And the ending comes with a rather ironic twist. Today’s Bird-A-Day art was created from found broken glass. A symbol of the broken life of pilot Whip Whitaker. Overall, I give FLIGHT, three tail feathers out of six.

 

Day 314. Pencil Scratch Bird

This was a complete accident. I dumped out shavings from a pencil sharpener and a bit of broken lead landed here and there. When I used my hand to clear away the shavings, bits of lead started making scratch like marks on the paper. Those slight scratches inspired today’s Bird-A-Day art. Enjoy.

 

Day 313. Wire Brush Bird

I really like a wire brush that I bought at the hardware store. This brush can scrub away the dirt from nearly any surface, including concrete. Not that you would ever want to scrub-clean old concrete. But I could – if I wanted too – and that’s pretty cool. Enjoy.

Day 312. BEHR Bird

Back by popular demand, (by my sweetie,) I have revisited a favorite small alternative canvas. This BEHR paint chip from Home Depot made for an interesting sketch pad. Today’s Bird-A-Day art was happy to find some strong lines to land on. Enjoy.

Day 311. Red Leaf Bird

Today’s Bird-A-Day art represents a fond memory of mine. I remember so clearly, sitting across the kitchen table from my mom at her house in Sun Valley, Arizona. Even in her mid-seventies, she was excited as a kid, staring out the large bay window, to catch a glimpse of her backyard guests. In the heat of the Arizona sun, we watched as dozens of baby Quail shuffled across her gravel yard, from one shady spot to another. Appearing suddenly out of the blue, like a flash mob. Performing for a free meal and disappearing just as quickly into the shady line of Oleanders.

Day 310. Shimmy Bird

Yesterday I stopped by the hardware store for some Drano, yuk, and found a bag of wood shims. I never knew they sold shims in bulk. This is one of those little secrets of the handy man, to get that door jam, appliance or cabinet perfectly level. And it comes in handy for creating today’s Bird-A-Day art. Enjoy.

Day 309. Dot Dot Dot Bird

Saturday, I took my Mazda in for its regular maintenance. Knowing that I would be sitting in a lovely customer lounge next to truck tires, floor mats and car fresheners (piña colada fragrance) I decided to take along my sketch pad. Today’s Bird-A-Day art helped me pass the time, one dot at a time. Enjoy.

Day 308. Paper Monoprint Bird

This is a big guy. Most of the time, I work small because it’s faster and I don’t have much time to create something every day. But, already having my plexiglass and tools out from my earlier Metal Monoprint Bird, I wanted to try something large. The thing that I find so fascinating about monoprint, is this unique fingerprint quality. The sense of surprise as I peel back that sheet from the painted plexiglass. For me it’s a celebration of imperfection. And that is something I know a lot about. Enjoy.

Day 307. Blown Leaves Bird

Last night after getting home, I was walking to our garage when I looked down and found a surprise. The wind had blown leaves into one corner of our driveway. There at my feet, nestled in the corner was a familiar shape. I could not have planned it any better. I guess this means the season for leaf raking has officially begun. Enjoy.

Day 306. Metal Monoprint Bird

Today’s Bird-A-Day art is an experiment on just a whim. I love monoprints, and I also love metal. So I wanted to see if I could combine two of my favorite things. Like peanut butter and jelly, this worked better than I had hoped. I took my painted plexiglass and rubbed, pressed and pounded the paint directly onto this large metal plate, creating a one-of-a-kind impression. Fun. Enjoy.

 

Day 305. Halloween Bird

Let the trick or treating begin! One of the first traditions my sweetie and I made together as a couple, was handing out candy to kids on Halloween. Every year, we sit on our front porch and greet throngs of kids, dressed in the most adorable and creative costumes. I remember one very young super hero, with padded muscles around his chest and arms. I told him he looked really strong. He turned around, looked sadly at me and said, “there not my muscles. It’s just a costume”. Kids. They are so wonderful. Enjoy.

Day 304. Spider Bird

Another scary day closer to Halloween on this eve of trick or treating. And what can be more eerie than spiders. One should never trust anyone who says they are not scared of spiders. Those little crawlers give me the creeps. Luckily for me, I was able to trick all these spiders into creating today’s Bird-A-Day art without getting bit. Hmm, strange, there’s something moving in … in my hair….. Oh nooo…

Day 303. Pumpkin Bird

It is Halloween week, a time for many long-held traditions. Great traditions like pumpkin carving and debating whether pumpkins are fruits or vegetables. That time of the year to let your skeletons out of the closet. Leave the cobwebs up in the corners. And start to stock pile miniature sized versions of your favorite candies like they were survival food before the fiscal cliff brings our economy to a screeching, scary halt. Truth be told, it’s one of my favorite holidays. Mostly because it lets me stock up on sweets. For the kids. Enjoy.

Day 302. Granite Bird

Always looking for unusual drawing surfaces, this might be the most expensive. On the back side of this large piece of granite, I discovered a toothy, rough canvas like surface. The downside to using granite for canvas, if you happen to let it slip out of your hands, like me, you will walk like injured Cowboy Linebacker Sean Lee. Ouch. Enjoy.

Day 301. Pirate Bird

Arrrrrrrrg. We had a fun time last night at our first Halloween Costume Party of the year. Our friend Jennifer Henderson (J.O.) knows how to throw a party. They transformed their offices into a hall of tricks and treats. My sweetie would have turned Captain Jack Sparrow, (hmmm Sparrow) into a fan with her pirates costume. Afterwards, I was inspired to use her Pirate bandanna for today’s Bird-A-Day Arrrrrrrrrrt. Enjoy.

Day 300. Putter Bird

Today marks a milestone for my blog. This is now day 300 of my 365 day art blog project. It feels like I have finally made it onto the green of my personal challenge. Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired after a meeting yesterday in the room we call “Under Pressure.” There were two golf putters leaning against the wall, just begging to become the legs of some exotic, rare white board bird. Enjoy.

Day 299. Ajax Clean Bird

I felt rather guilty about yesterday’s Dust Bird, and felt compelled to do some cleaning. So it was quite by accident that when I sprinkled some Ajax Cleaner on this cabinet top to scrub it clean, that I found today’s Bird-A-Day art. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Enjoy.

 

Day 298. Dust Bird

It’s down right startling how much dust can collect on something over time. The lesson here kids – always keep moving. This piece of furniture is stored in our garage, waiting for our next big garage sale. As the afternoon light came streaming into the garage, I saw the dust and thought, “wow, I need to clean that sofa”. No, actually I didn’t think that at all. And I know that’s wrong. Instead I thought, hey there’s a good spot for today’s Bird-A-Day art. Enjoy.

Day 297. Crushed Pecan Bird

The crunching sound was a familiar one. The winds have blown so many pecans down onto our yard and driveway of late that it’s almost impossible to not step on one. But this time, I actually looked down and was glad that I did. Today’s Bird-A-Day art will never make its way into a pecan pie, but it’s still pretty sweet. Enjoy.

Day 296. Inner Tube Bird

Closing in on the big 300 this week. Today is day 296 of my year-long art project. I made a new years resolution in January of 2012 to create a new piece of art every single day this year. A one-of-a-kind personal challenge, every artist should try once. Today’s Bird-A-Day art was inspired by an inner tube we had bought as an art prop for my sweetheart. It has been in the art studio for a while now and it just hit me, what if I create birds circling the inner tube. And what would happen if I were to spin that tire? Would it look like my bird was flying? Check out my new video on my YouTube channel to find out.

DOh! Appears it was user error. I have changed the video settings to public.

 

Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/user/365BirdArtProject

Day 295. Football Field Bird

After watching some great college football on Saturday, I am looking forward to watching some NFL football today. Our TCU Hornfrogs almost pulled off a miracle win yesterday, but lost in a third overtime. Today’s Bird-A-Day art marks the drama and joy of football season. Amazing how they will sell field spray to anyone. Enjoy.