The Way of An Eagle in the Sky

The Way of An Eagle in the Sky

It seems eagles have become like pop stars lately. Nearly every area of the country has its own eagle cam, and very few people can resist taking a peek once in a while at least. We are fascinated  by their strength and beauty; we love to watch their family life, their fierce protectiveness and tender care of their offspring. We love to watch the babies hatch and grow, their funny antics, and their first flights. But we aren't the first admirers. Way back in biblical days, one of the writers of Proverbs observed:

There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
¹⁹ The way of an eagle in the sky,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
And the way of a man with a maid.
Prov. 30:18-19

The world is filled with wonderful, awesome things that none of us can really understand.  We may observe, study, form hypotheses, and draw conclusions,  but we will never fully know.  Eventually, even the greatest minds come to the end of themselves and admit that there is Someone in the universe who planned and created it all.  That is the "WOW" factor.  That is also the God factor. 

Albert Einstein said:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Think I will go for the "WOW" factor.

Blue Jay Dining Out

Blue Jay

Dining Out 

Pastel

 What grass is visible has turned a dull brown, the last flower faded months ago, and the sky is gray for days at a time. We call it "winter." The white snow is pretty at first, but a little color would be nice for a change. So God made the blue jay and sent him into my backyard. So what if he has a reputation for argumentative and a few bad habits? There is no denying he is graceful and beautiful. That is all he needs to be, that is his calling in life and he fulfills it well. He is always a welcome sight to me. He reminds me of the color of the sky when it isn't gray and the bright pretty flowers in my garden.

The beautiful blending of blues and soft, subtle grays inspired me to paint him. I wanted to keep the background simple and somewhat neutral in color to contrast with those bright feathers. I love his expression, which is bright and perky, but seems to say, "This is my spot and I have a right to be here." My thanks to my husband Larry who provided most of the resource photos.  The birds don't have enough patience to do any posing for portraits.

This pastel is no longer available for sale. It was purchased by a fellow artist and birdwatcher, who is also an art teacher for fourth and fifth grade students.  I love hearing from other artists and feel honored that she chose to buy my little jay bird.

Thanks for reading. Here's hoping you all have a colorful day. Spring is coming!

Cardinal in Winter and Jack Sparrow Breaks Out

A cardinal sits on the branch of a birch tree and fluffs up his feathers against a winter wind. One of my favorite outside birds, the cardinal sings lovely songs and adds a touch of color to the winter landscape.  Cardinals are fascinating to watch at the bird feeder. Despite their delicate voices and lovely appearance, they can be aggressive and in the spring when they are raising young, they are fiercely protective.  We realized just how fierce they could be last winter.  It was long before any birds were even thinking about starting a family when a male cardinal began hovering around the porch, dive bombing whoever came to the door.   Evening visitors began to feel unwelcome, and coming home seemed downright dangerous to us. Eventually we realized that the target was not us, but the wreath hanging on our door. We had left it up after Christmas, thinking it was more of a winter than a holiday wreath.  Two small red birds adorned the greenery and, though they did not look real to us, they fooled the cardinal, at least when the porch light was on.  He did his best to drive them away from his territory.  The wreath was taken down immediately, though we hang it again this year. As of this writing, it has not yet been attacked.

Jack Sparrow Goes AWOL

Speaking of birds, we have several inside the house also. Last week during an ice storm, Jack Sparrow, one of our cockatiel birds decided he had enough of his cage and walked out.  He is a very clever bird and breaks out occasionally, but he really loves his home and his wife, Canola, so he never ventures very far. Usually we find him hanging on his cage and screaming to get back in, because it is much easier to break out than to break back in.  On this day we found him among the houseplants, staring out the iced window as if to ask, "What happened to my beautiful view?"  He always makes us chase him a little - it is a fun game - until he decides it is time to go home. Then he just stands still and lets someone catch him. If he is home, Larry does the catching.

Cardinal in Winter is an 8 x 10 acrylic on stretched, wrapped canvas. It has been listed on Art Helping Animals and Daily Painters. It will also be on Chisholm Trail Art.

Seascape Sea Gull on Rocky Maine Coast

Maine Seascape

Oil on Canvas

10 x 20

Disturb Us, Lord...

"Disturb us, Lord,
When we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore...

From a writing by Sir Francis Drake, in 1577 

to read the complete piece click here

Last summer I took a trip to the East Coast and saw the rocky shore of Maine for  the first time. Our younger son had interned in Maine at  Acadia National Park and fell in love  - with the place, and with a beautiful young woman named Keegan. I am not sure which came first, but either way, I am glad he had the good sense to fall in love in Maine.  I fell in love once, a long time ago, and wound up in Woodward, Iowa. But that is another story. Anyway, the coastline is beautiful, filled with seascapes and landscapes that it would take a lifetime to paint  and I had a great time there. I didn't do any painting while I was visiting as we didn't stay long enough, but I took lots of photos. This painting was done from a combination of several photos and my memories of standing on the rocks and looking at the ocean. It was amazing for this land-locked Iowan to see, but even more amazing to hear the roar of those waves. For a little while I felt like that tiny gull gazing out across the vast ocean. Then he flew away and I was still standing on the rock, so the feeling left. 

This painting is an oil on canvas, wrapped and stretched. All the edges have been painted and no staples show, so that it may be displayed as is, without a frame. 20% of the sale price will be donated to Old Dog Haven. It will be listed on Daily Painters and Art Helping Animals tomorrow, April 5, and on Ebay later in the week.

Peacock by Della Burgus

A Living Jewel
Acrylic on Canvas
6 x 9 on Stretched, wrapped canvas

This little gem was sitting on a fencepost preening himself at a local zoo I visited recently. As there was no hen in sight, we weren't treated to a display of his breath-taking tail feathers, but he seemed to be aware of his audience and did strike a lovely pose. I snapped about four disappointing pictures and one good one. He was a great model and seemed to enjoy all the attention.

We, in our culture, are bedazzled by the jewels and precious stones buried deep beneath the earth. Billions of dollars are spent digging them out, cutting them and fashioning them into jewelry. (There is probably a parable in that, too, but I will let you work that one out.) Many of the colors that I used to paint this picture were originally made of these stones, or at least inspired by them, and they still carry their names - emerald green, ultramarine, alizarin crimson. And this gorgeous creature is more wonderful than any of them, because he is alive and breathing and able to interact with others of his kind, as well as the people who appreciate him. I had to just stand in awe and wonder at the beauty of this little jewel. He was an original, made by a true Master Artist.

This painting is available on Art Helping Animals. 20% of the sale will be donated to Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center.

Chickadee in Winter by Della Burgus "For the Birds" series

Dinner Guest
Oil on stretched canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inches

Winter in Iowa can be dreary. That is on the good days. On bad days it is stormy, miserable, and disastrous. We ask each other "Why do we live here?" The answer is usually "family ties." I have yet to figure out if that is a reason or just an excuse. My friend Sandra says "a rut is just a grave with both ends open." Ah, but if the ends are open, that means we can get out, doesn't it? Well, if we are going to go on living here, we must take joy where we can find it. So we fill feeders all over the property, so that we can help out God's beautiful little creatures, but most of all, so that we can delight in watching them. Seeing life in the midst of this desolate tundra does lift the spirit a little
Chickadees are tiny and personable, with cute little movements and lots of energy. Although I haven't taught them how to eat out of my hand, (and have no plans to at this point) they seem very friendly, don't fly away immediately when someone shows up.

This oil painting is on stretched canvas, attached at the back so that no staples show, all edges are painted. It is ready to display, without a frame.

No longer available

Cardinal in Winter by Della Burgus

Winters in Iowa are long and cold, most days are gray and dreary. That is why God created Cardinals, and why they are able to withstand the ridiculously low temperatures and not migrate to Florida or other places south. Then He painted them (the guys, anyway) with the brightest red feathers He had. So we poor humans who somehow found ourselves in the deep freeze could endure one more day. Only God could have thought of that. And only God knows why I am still here when there are places with summer year around. Or other places with only a mild winter. But if I lived in one of those places, this would be just a pretty little bird, and not the touch of God...

Pastel on Wallis Paper, 6 x 9, matted to 11 x 14. Available through Art Helping Animals or by sending me an email.

Sorry, this painting has been sold. But be sure to check the Art Helping Animals blog for more great animal art.