Painted in July, 2025. 12”x12”.
Acrylic on stretched canvas. Price $144.00 Cdn. Unframed
The first year I put up a hummingbird feeder, the local hummingbirds that normally depend on Blackberry bushes and wildflowers went mad for the free and abundant sugar water. They would drain the feeder in a day and then flit around looking for more of the same. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of territorial battles around the feeder and I managed to get some good reference photos.
It took me four years, but I finally got around to completing my first hummingbird painting. I love the flow between the two birds. It seems as much a dance as a sword fight. The light created interesting colours on the wings, which were an invisible blur. Fortunately, my iphone camera could freeze the birds in mid-flight, so I was able to paint the birds in a reasonably realistic manner.
I used a canvas that I had previously toned a light sky blue with just a hint of clouds. I create this background quickly, using large brushes and a wet-on-wet technique. It took me several years before I found the right subject matter that fit the canvas, but I’m very happy with how it turned out.
