#2736 "Sour Grapes Male Cardinal"

#2736 "Sour Grapes Male Cardinal"
oils on 16 X 20 inches by 1.5 inches in depth (Gallery Mount)

My family had been encouraging me to return to wildlife art. My Grade Seven teacher Bruce who is my friend as well as a terrific artist saw #0554 "Sharp Stare!" nearly completed on my easel at Watershed Farm in 2001. He emphatically encouraged me to concentrate on wildlife: 

"That's what you should be doing, Phil!".

I thought that maybe I should return to some detailed art after working on some very loose canvases. The winter storms and brutal wind chills of January 2023 also encouraged me to spend more time in the Singleton Sanctuary Studio in front of the wood stove with the tunes on the stereo. As well, variety can be a good exercise even though diversity always confused the galleries and dealers. I did not really care as one must paint for themselves. 

Cardinal enjoying some seed from the glove of Mr. Birdman

The cardinals are constant companions within the Singleton Sanctuary. My hearing aids now allow me to listen to their whistles and singing with much more clarity and appreciation.

Mr. Birdman is also a wind vane that
rotates with the wind.
The head comes off to fill the
four-inch PVC arms with seed.

This particular work is based on a terrific photo taken by my friend and naturalist John Verburg. John has graciously encouraged me to work from any of his fine images that chronicle the precious natural environment of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. John has a gift for capturing the essence as well as the beauty of nature. Achieving these images requires more than skill and knowledge of optics and modern camera technology but also considerable patience waiting for that special moment. Our desire is that upon viewing nature through his photographs and perhaps my art, more people will appreciate the vital importance of protecting the natural world. A healthy habitat takes thousands of years to develop but can be irretrievably destroyed in brief hours under the guise of development. Thank you John. 

I wanted to make the grapes look real but with loose brush strokes. The same was hoped for with Mister Cardinal. I tried to give the cardinal a wry grin as though he knew some secret that he was not going to divulge. There is a lot of paint on this gallery-mount canvas. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick