My love of cardinals—and birds and nature, in general—goes back to childhood. My observant nature, ability to read tiny print, easily thread sewing needles, etc. landed me the nickname “Hawkeye.” Yes, I love to spot and watch hawks too.
My grandmother and I used to watch birds on her patio in the evenings. One house they lived in had a Purple Martin house in the back yard. It was so fun to watch the birds (amazing aerodynamics!). I think I was in 4th grade when she bought me a pocket sized bird field guide. I loved that little book—and still do!
In 5th grade we had an assignment that I do not remember the details of, but apparently picking a subject matter and organizing it were two key requirements. I chose BIRDS as my subject. The bird book from my grandmother was my reference. Each bird was hand-drawn in pencil and colored with Crayons on typing paper. Each bird illustration was followed by an excerpt from the field book hand-written on notebook paper. It was all packaged in a bright yellow three-prong folder.
Through the years I have painted cardinals, collected cardinal trinkets, and picked up numerous feathers off of the ground from a variety of birds. During the last days of my father’s life—as difficult as it was—I found hope and love through the feathers and four leaf clovers collected from my parents’ yard during that time. I ended up with a variety of feathers in a small baggie. There were well over a hundred four leaf clovers (and even a few 5 leaf clovers)!
Two acrylic paintings in this project nod at those clovers in an abstract way. The cardinals are intentionally flat and silhouette/undetailed.
Acrylic on canvas, 6” x 6” By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Acrylic on canvas, 14” x 11” By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
These three oil paintings are similar— and different.
This painting brought to me a sense of giddiness and a feeling of elation that were remarkable. It was something I will always remember and treasure. I hope that feeling follows to the owner of the painting each time someone pauses to look at it. With love and care and through the grace of God.
Oil on canvas, 10”x10” by Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com Private Collection
This painting is a version of the one above.
Oil on canvas, 10”x10” by Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Just having fun exploring an idea for other pieces/other projects. The metal part was super fun!
Oil on canvas panel 7”x 5” by Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Because I like to work with a variety of materials, this guy is an exercise in simplicity and continuous wire (almost 100% continuous, but I added one tiny piece because it needed it).
Wire cardinal, 3 1/2” x 1 1/8” by Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com