#2943 "Happy As A Lark"

Some birds only sing in the early morning and in the evening, but larks sing all day long. Meadowlarks have also been known to sing at night, particularly when the moon is bright. The melody of the Meadowlark is pleasant and cheerful. It would be a tragedy beyond words for this grassland bird to go the way of the Dodo. 

#2943 "Happy As A Lark" 
18x14 inches oils on smooth cradled panel
Started April 27th, 2025

The saying "happy as a lark" means to be extremely happy or cheerful. The origin of the phrase is believed to be tied to the behaviour of larks, which are birds known for their joyful singing and lively flight patterns, especially during the early morning hours. The phrase became popular with the earliest recorded use attributed to the poet Robert Burns in the late 1700s. He penned about the happiness associated with the lark, contributing to the phrase's association with joy and contentment. Being as happy as a lark" is a life of carefree happiness. That is the healthy way to live. It is exactly the feeling that John Verburg captured in his photo, and I wished to convey in oils. I wanted the happy song of the Meadowlark to burst off the smooth panel. 

This is the first painting of an Eastern Meadowlark focusing on their bright yellow throat and belly, a black "V" on its breast and white flanks with black streaks. My goal was to record a beautiful bird blissfully joyful in its natural environment. 

This is the first of the Eastern Meadowlark series on 18x14-inch cradled smooth panels. The surface brings back memories of my Dad and the wooden post, which was the main support for our back porch at 24 East Avenue in Brockville. That post was turned into stretcher bars when it could no longer reliably support the deck. 

There will be five paintings of the Eastern Meadowlark (so far): #2854 "Eastern Meadowlark"; #2942 "Meadowlark Silent Spring"; #2943 "Happy As A Lark"; #2944 "On Watch Meadowlark"; and #2945 "Eastern Meadowlark Sing Loud".

I was thinking of Rachel Carson's 1962 book while I painted. We had not seen an Eastern Meadowlark within the Singleton Sanctuary for several years. Carson's book "Silent Spring" was deservedly named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time by the editors of Discover magazine in 2006. See #2942 "Meadowlark Silent Spring" for more details of that part of the story.

In Ontario, Eastern Meadowlark populations have shown a long-term decline of 2.4% per year from 1966 to 2009. Over the most recent 10-year period, Ontario's Eastern Meadowlark population has declined by a higher average annual rate of 2.9%. The Breeding Bird Survey shows a statistically significant decline of 3.1% per year in Canada between 1970 and 2009, corresponding to a 71% overall decline. My math estimates that the 2025 meadowlark population would be only 18% of the 1970 level…. An overall drop of 82%. Shame!  Loss of breeding habitat, changes in hayfield management, and poor reproductive output are factors contributing to the decline - largely human influences.

Meadowlark whistles are rare events now, at least for me. The birds like to sing from fenceposts and telephone lines or stalk through the grasses, probing the ground for insects with their long, sharp bills. On the ground, their brown-and-black dappled upperparts camouflage the birds among dirt clods and dry grasses. But upon perches, they reveal bright-yellow underparts and a striking black chevron across the chest. 

As I have mentioned before, I use these posts not just for art but to learn more about the science. Art and science are compatible. Being an eternal student keeps life interesting. 

Two clean palettes are being used to keep my oils clean... it was still like winter outside under the blocking cold low weather pattern. The wood fire felt delicious. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick