#2741 "My Little Chickadee"

This is a wonderfully enchanting image from my friend John Verburg with permission. The tiny bird was perched on a corn stalk. I decided to paint a sunflower seed clutched at the edge of its right talon. The chickadees love sunflower seeds. I painted the eye first. The likeness is made or lost in that small orb. 

When I was painting, I thought of the famous saying by W. C. Fields: "My Little Chickadee " and that is where the title originated. My Little Chickadee was a 1940 American comedy-western film starring Mae West and W. C. Fields. 

Birds are once again beginning to sing! They are hormonally triggered by the increase in photoperiod (the period of time in which an animal receives daylight during a 24-hour period). House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, nuthatches, Northern Cardinal and more can be heard singing on the day I painted this "in the dead of winter." It was actually Ground Hog Day. 

The black-capped chickadee is a small, non-migratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is the provincial bird of New Brunswick. These birds flock to me when I am outside as I typically carry sunflower seeds during the winter. 

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Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick