👀What came to the forefront these past few days was related to the eyes!👀
The day after returning from my get-away to Waterton Lakes National Park, I paid a visit to The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary to see what transpired there over the past week. Within the first thirty minutes after passing through the gate, I saw at close range an Osprey, a Great Blue Heron and the Inglewood Eaglet! While I saw many other sights, it was these three sightings that stood out.
The big yellow eyes of the Osprey were intensely focused on the water!
It was early and I may have disturbed the Great Blue Heron from sleep!
When I pointed my lens in its direction, the eyes then opened!
The best sight of all this morning was seeing the Inglewood Eaglet, right there in front of me, when I walked to the edge of the trail towards the water. This Eaglet hatched around May 9th. I watched it on a weekly basis from the first time I saw the little ball of white fuzz peek about the edge of the nest. I spied it a week ago sitting on a branch a few trees south of where its nest is. This morning it was on my side of the river sitting between the trail and the water. The eyes were focused on the water. I wondered was it learning to fish.
During this visit, I checked out the location where I knew there was a Cedar Waxwing nest. The previous visit before this one, the Mom was sitting on the nest. This time I saw two heads with brightly coloured beaks pointing upward from the nest. I saw an Adult fly in to feed the babies. I was not quick enough to snap shots so was not able to capture reference photos for a painting. I know what I saw with my own two eyes during those few seconds. I closed my eyes and made as crisp a memory as I could. This watercolour painting reflects what I saw. I don't know what the babies were being fed so I just picked a berry to add as the snack.
Full focus has not been paid to July being "World Watercolour Month". I took a few of the daily topics and incorporated them all into one painting. The topics were all about blending colours using various techniques. For this watercolour painting which I completed in about an hour, I combined four separate lessons from four different days. I have missed numerous days' lessons due to time constraints.
The wildflower show was wonderful while I was in Waterton! The colours, the variety and the multitude of flowers were a feast for the eyes. I enjoyed painting this from one of the photos taken while hiking to Summit Lake.
This was my reference photo.
I hope your eyes are getting to feast upon beautiful sights!
I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit with me!
Hello Alexandra,
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful, great captures of the Osprey, Heron and the Eaglet. I love all your paintings too, the waxwings and the wildflowers are favorites. Take care, enjoy your day and the new week ahead.