Thursday, March 11, 2010

An American Robin

Wonderful James Parker has done it again.  Given us a choice of some wonderful pictures to paint - this time of birds.

And already he's had a stack of paintings to post on his blog, Windows to the Words.

This is my contribution.  The American Robin, which looks totally different to our smaller Cape Robin and very different to the English Robin that I saw many years ago.

56 comments:

JRonson said...

this little bird have such an powrfull colors *.* beautiful job

Anthony Duce said...

A beautiful painting. Feel like I could talk to him.

Anonymous said...

Oh Liz, this is exquisite. Such a light touch, for a moment I thought it was a watercolor. The luminosity of it glows.
Jean

Saundra Lane Galloway said...

Liz, This is absolutely GORGEOUS! I see so much depth, mood and BIRD. Excellent my dear!!

Barbara Pask said...

You did an outstanding job on this little guy. Love the background color and that orange chest. They have returned around here, a sign of spring.

Edward Burton said...

Beautiful job with this, Liz. I love the soft look of it - well done.

Marie Theron said...

You have done this so well, Liz. The bird is extremely alive! You have done so much in your life, but is there not a bird book in your future?

Suzanne McDermott said...

Beautiful, Liz! I absolutely love this painting - it's one of your best. As I write this, I'm looking out on half a dozen American Robins hopping along the lawn. Soon we'll have babies hatching in nests all over!

jyothisethu said...

liz,
wonderful...
when the page opened, i was thrilled.
the contrasts, the use of blue at the top and green at the bottom makes the composition beautiful...
the belly of the bird is wonderfully painted...

martinealison said...

Très bel oiseau au regard vif. Il semble tellement vrai, il nous observe et parviendrait à nous faire baisser les yeux... Belle peinture.

Charlene Brown said...

Your wonderful painting makes our robin look as delightful as the (really much more appealing) English Christmas card robin. A lovely painting, Liz

Hellenne said...

This is so beautiful. Very sensitive and delicate with the colors. This might be the best robin painting I've ever seen!

Anonymous said...

beautiful work liz....:)loved it!!!

Manon said...

I just adore this painting! The colors are just lovely!!

Judybec said...

I agree -- gorgeous colors! I love your painterly approach!

Gary Keimig said...

they definitely are a different bird and you have done a great job on this one Liz.

Carol Schiff Daily Painting said...

Liz, This is really a beautiful job. The robin red breast looks so realistic and I love the soft colors in the background. Would love to see more of this type.

FitFoodieMegha said...

The bird is looking lively, especially its eyes. I love the white shades and its beak. So beautiful!

Mineke Reinders said...

Wow, this is a super painting Liz. The background colors really bring this robin to life, and the edges are beautifully done. Awesome!

Sadia said...

Very expressive Liz! Seems like the eyes will blink any minute. Beautiful work!

Unknown said...

What a jewel of a painting Liz! I love the almost kalidescopic background hinting at the Spring the Robin brings with him.

Unknown said...

Really nice robin Liz, I love the colorus in the background too and the transitions.

Autumn Leaves said...

This is so very beautiful, Liz!! Always a harbinger of spring and you've just captured all that comes with this guy perfectly. What an amazing job and the background is exquisite and sets off the robin's finery to perfection.

Pam Holnback said...

Great rendition. Really well done reds/oranges!

Ramesh Jhawar said...

Gosh Liz, you have painted this so beautifully. I just love its eyes!!

Prabal said...

This is so great.. All I can say is "She's got the looks"

Art with Liz said...

Thank you JRonson, I really appreciate your comment and your visit all the way from Portugal.


Hi Tony, he was kind of great to paint!

Art with Liz said...

Thank you Jean, that is the ultimate compliment!!


Dear Saundra, you are so generous - thank you.

Art with Liz said...

Oh Barbara you are lucky having these fellas all around you now! They are really pretty birds.


Thank you so much Ed - I so appreciate the compliment coming from an artist of your calibre.

Art with Liz said...

You know Marie, I so enjoyed painting this that I hope you lay the birds on for us when we get there! A couple of Sefefrican mossies would be great!


Special Suzanne, thank you and I hope you draw those parents and babies as well.

Art with Liz said...

Gosh Sethu, thank you so very much.


Je parle pas le français si besoin d'un traducteur pour cela. Merci beaucoup Martine.

Art with Liz said...

Hi Charlene, thank you - I thought he looked like quite a fierce bird, beautiful, but fierce!


Wow Hellenne, what a lovely thing to say. Thank you.

Art with Liz said...

Hi Jasy thank you so much for your kind words.


Dear Manon, I so appreciate your visits and your special comments. Thank you so much.

Art with Liz said...

Hi there Judy, thank you so much!


Gosh Gary, that is such a nice compliment - thank you.

Art with Liz said...

Dear Carol, one of my favourite artists, thank you so much - I did enjoy painting the robin and I will probably try my hand at more birds in the future.


Thank you Megha, I so appreciate your lovely comment.

Art with Liz said...

Oh Mineke, I thank you so very much. Your comments are always special to me.


Thank you so much Sadia!

Art with Liz said...

And I hope your Spring is going to be wonderful and warm dear Sheila! My thanks to a special lady.


Hi there Sam and thank you. He's a great looking bird isn't he? Very unlike your rather pretty English Robin.

Art with Liz said...

Aah Sherry, you are so generous and special. Thank you for always being there and giving me such a boost! I hope this fella heralds a wonderful Springtime for you in your new house as well.


Thank you so much Pam - I love rich colours so he was perfect to paint!

Art with Liz said...

Hi Ramesh, I've missed you and your wonderful paintings and glad you're back. Thank you for always visiting and encouraging me. It's special.


Wow Prabal, that was great! Thank you so much.

Avocaken said...

Ditto what they (above) said! Not much left for me to say except "HI".

Good job! Love the painting.

Ken B.

Kathleen Hebert said...

Delicately beautiful!!!!! Lovely work, Liz. - Kathy

Gwen Bell said...

Really great job, Liz! You aced the rusty red breast color and captured the alertness in the eye. Wonderful job on the background too.

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SharonWrightArtist said...

He is magnificent..fabulous painting..you may have found your best subject!

V....Vaughan said...

Look at all the wonderful comments! I say DITTO to all !':) I really like the paintings of the kids, recently...you do them so well...it is obvious that you love children :)
THANKS for mentioning James Parker...I just realized that he lives in Marble Falls, TX. I will be having a show of about 100 farm paintings there starting in a few weeks, and will be judging their plein air festival, too, so I wrote him and invited him to come say "hello"....what a nice person he seems to be!...sorry it's so hot there...is fall on the way soon??? we are about to get into springtime, here...the BEST season in Texas. God Bless you, Liz!!!

rob ijbema said...

i love birds liz
really like how you did the eyes and delicate legs.
this looks like a cross between a european robin and a fieldfare.

Marian Fortunati said...

Beautifully done Liz... Just wonderful!

Angela Elledge said...

What a beautiful painting, this has such a delicate, yet bold quality to it; very well done, Liz.

Thank you so much for your comforting words about our little Zoe. We miss her so very much, but are indeed, very happy for the 15 years she was ours. Take care, Angela

Dean H. said...

Outstanding, Liz! Wonderful soft color and accurate rendering of the robin. I see them all the time.

Though they don't migrate in the winter, they sure do a disappearing act. They should start showing up in large numbers soon...Ahhh...Spring!

Art with Liz said...

And Hi to you too Ken! Keep checking your blog but you haven't posted lately - guess your leg is not ok yet?


Dear Kathy, thank you so much.

Art with Liz said...

Hi there Gwen and thank you so much for the lovely comment!


OK Sharon, now you've got me thinking - birds ... where can I take pics of them. Hmmm. Maybe my long dreamed of trip to Etosha should be a starting point?

Art with Liz said...

Wow V, thanks for the great comment - really appreciated. And I'm so glad you've connected with James. If you read his blog, you can see what an absolutely amazing sense of humour he has, so in person he must be quite something.


Hi Rob, maybe you should come to Etosha as well to check the birdlife out there! Thanks for the visit.

Art with Liz said...

Dear Marian, thank you so much for taking the time out to leave a comment. I know you've been hectic down in Mexico painting with Frank, so your visit is specially appreciated.


Ah Angela, you who does the most amazing animal portraits - thank you so much!

Art with Liz said...

After seeing your Bluebird Dean, it was the inspiration for me to also do James' challenge. So thank you twice over!

laura said...

Magnificent ... You've endowed your robin with something extra; it's majestic!

Anonymous said...

you have capture our Robin here is the states perfectly. Such a wonderful art piece here. this winter they all stayed here in North Eastern New Mexico, which is really odd. They usually migrate south in the fall. It was nice hearing their wonderful notes of song this winter tho.
Peace n Abundance,
CheyAnne
http://cheyannesexton.etsy.com where you can find my watercolours