Stopping Time
There are times when I wish I could make time stand still. Like now. Now, when the buds of apple blossoms are tinged with ruby and pink. When tiny magenta flowering redbuds stand out against bright new green leaves. When passing bluebirds or goldfinches flash so brightly that their brilliance catches you by surprise. If I could stop time right now, I could paint it all instead of just these few lovely buds unfolding. Tips and Techniques– I’ve been struggling lately with whether to sketch fast and loose or slowly and carefully…. Read More
A Moment in Spring
The changes come slowly at first: light in the morning, bird song, blossoming trees, ephemeral wildflowers in the woods. The Eastern phoebe wags its tail and sings its name outside my window, waking the world to the new season. Spring is the perfect time of year to note the incremental changes unfolding in the world. Like the phoebe, my sketchbook celebrates this moment in time, calling out the beauty and greening of the day. Tips and Techniques– You can make this type of page all in one go or over the course… Read More
Bright Spots of Yellow
This piece began a few weeks ago when I spied a mourning cloak butterfly basking on the ground at the edge of the woods. The adults of this butterfly overwinter hidden in tree cavities or under bark. I painted it on this page not knowing what I might find next. Over the last few days, forsythia has begun to bloom and a flock of golden crowned kinglets visited our yard, signaling the coming of warmer days and more buds, blooms, and returning birds. Bright spots of yellow– such a welcome beginning to… Read More
Woke
Odd noises on the back porch woke my husband and I from slumber the other night but, too tired to investigate, we decided not to get up. The next morning, our visitor was all too clear—a swath of destruction lay scattered across the yard and a six-inch paw print marked the back steps. I figured black bears would wait until the snow melted and weather warmed before venturing out. But alas, we are all very much awake. Tips and Techniques– Don’t be afraid to be bold in your sketchbook. Zooming in on… Read More
Anticipation
Huge flocks of red-winged blackbirds returned this week on winds from the south. They flew over farm fields in a current of birds, wave after wave crossing the sky. These early migrants are always such a welcome sign, even though we have miles to go before spring arrives. In anticipation of that loveliest season, I painted this American robin’s nest to prepare for my upcoming workshop series, Painting the Colors of Spring. The first session focuses on Earth colors—a nice way of acknowledging “mud season,” while also paying tribute to the bird… Read More
Coming Soon
Spring is just about to burst forth here in New York. It’s a time many of us eagerly await; the long winter months nearly behind us. Just a few things are blooming now, but the pace will accelerate in the coming days with a procession of spring ephemerals, migratory birds, flowering trees and shrubs, and colorful bulbs. I went looking for spring yesterday and was pleased to spend time with star magnolia and forsythia before the rain came and temperatures fell from 60-to 40-degrees. Here’s wishing you time to wonder and enjoy… Read More
Go to the Swamp
“If you are afflicted with melancholy at this season, go to the swamp and see the brave spears of skunk cabbage buds already advanced toward a New Year.” – Henry David Thoreau, 1857 I walk to the swampy margin of a nearby stream every March. It’s still cold. Still brown and gray. But I know that I will find there the first blooms of the year. Tucked inside a cloak of mottled maroon and green the tiny yellow-green flowers hide. The first waking insects will find them on warmer days than this;… Read More
Walking Among Cherry Blossoms
We couldn’t have picked a better weekend to visit Washington D.C. I didn’t realize when we chose the date that it would coincide with the blooming of the city’s cherry trees. After two years of social isolation, families, friends, and lovers strolled among the trees around the Tidal Basin, drinking in the beauty of pink and white blossoms in the sun. In a world with so much division and strife, what a gift to find the promise of hope and renewal still within our reach. The planting of cherry trees in Washington… Read More
Time for Spring
March is such a tease. One day it’s 50-F degrees and you’re outside with jacket unbuttoned. The next, there is seven inches of snow on the ground and you’re scraping ice off the windshield…again. Daylight lengthens, blackbirds reappear, but that’s pretty much it for evidence of a changing season. What really shifts in March is the anticipation. You’re closer to spring now. You know that soon salamanders will be moving to breeding ponds, that the woodcock will wing its way to the neighbor’s field, that you’ll find skunk cabbage opening along the… Read More
A moment in the shade
After a hectic week in which I did no artwork, it was a pleasure to pick up my pen and paints and sit under two old maple trees to sketch wild columbine growing in the shade. The nodding delicate flowers, like tiny silent bells, are a welcome sight in spring woodlands and gardens. The flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and hawkmoths to feed on their nectar, while the leaves serve as a host plant and food source for the eggs and caterpillars of the duskywing butterfly. A child could well imagine fairies… Read More
Jean Mackay
Inspire curiosity!
Podcast: The Art of Discovery with Jean Mackay
Drawn In 