Hello Friends!! 😊😊 Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Birds and the Sky. Did you know that Daffy Duck auditioned for the starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds? Mr. Hitchcock didn't see the irony of a bird being hunted by a different swarm of birds so he hired Tippe Hedren instead. Trivia: Tippi is the mother of actress Melanie Griffith. The Birds is such a great film, it's very suspenseful! Though I know it's fiction, I still get a little butterfly in my stomach when I see a large flock of black birds! The actual birds in the film were trained by an animal trainer and consisted of a mix of ravens, crows, sparrows and gulls.
🌟🌟 Remember the link party is open until Friday nights around midnight so you have plenty of time to join in! It's a great way for people to see your art, your photography, your creativity! And you can meet lovely people this way!! 🌟🌟
I took out the watercolour paints this week and tried my hand at clouds in the sky. I find painting clouds to be very challenging...I need more practice!
A watercolour hummingbird for Alex's birthday card. His b-day is tomorrow and I have some great food and sweets planned for him!
My idea of bliss...sitting with Jack and watching the starry sky. I did this with white charcoals.
I love this one! I followed a 5-hour tutorial to paint this duckling. It's done with coloured pencils actually. If you use solvent between layers, you get a nice painterly effect.
Critters: New birds at the feeder!
I had to ask my birding friend Phil to help me identify these, I'm such a novice! The consensus is that these are House Finches. They are lovely!
Charlie and Oscar the Cat watching the birds.
Wabbit tracks in the backyard. 😊😊
Mexican Night: Huevos Rancheros, Refried Beans and Spanish rice. My friend Elizabeth sent me her recipe for the rice and it was delicious, thanks Elizabeth!
I tried a new recipe, Pour In The Pan Pizza. It's basically a focaccia bread topped with cheese, tomatoes and oregano...and mamma mia...it was one of the best pizza's I've ever eaten! The crust is nice and crunchy but the dough itself is soft. You don't need to overload this with toppings for a delicious meal! Not sure why they called it "pour in the pan"...it doesn't quite "pour"! Click on the links for the recipes! PS: I'm halfway through updating my Recipe Page with all of the food I've made since Halloween, I should have all of the recipes up by the end of January!
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
Friday January 15th: Paint Party Friday
Saturday January 16th: Eileen's Saturday's Critters
Monday January 18th: Angie's Mosaic Mondays
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link gadget below to see more Birds and the Sky artwork!
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| Monopoly game card (drawn in ink) |
January 21st: Next Thursday's theme is Board Games and Game Night. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
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Happy Birthday to Alex. Yes he already had some good looking food. I love your art especially the 5 hour class one. I thought it was watercolor too. The movie the Birds is one of my all time faves. Nice critter shots too. Have a nice evening.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think Daffy Duck was in his element, but I suppose Tippe Hedren was a better choice. I've never had the opportunity to see The Birds, but I've always wanted to. I love Hitchcock.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who can't draw, I love your clouds. And I also love your colorful hummingbird. It's a beauty. As an aside, happy birthday to Alex tomorrow. You and Jack looking at the starry sky is amazing. I've never even heard of WHITE charcoal before. I have some colored pencils, but they would never, ever be able to create anything like that duckling.
The birds at your feeder made me smile. The only birds I can truly identify are robins and cardinals. What is it about cats and birds. I often wonder if it's the movement that attracts them.
I knew I shouldn't visit when I'm hungry. I'm glad the rice turned out well and you liked the recipe. The Huevos Rancheros looks wonderful, too. I love pizza and yours is making me hungry. It's been forever since I've had a pizza.
Have a super week, dear Rain. I'll be by shortly with my link.
Lovely Birds in the sky piece Rain I have to get some white charcoal your art is beautiful. The food looks delicious too. Happy Birthday to Alex.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Alex, his card is colourful and fun. I have joined in your art date this week and really enjoyed the inspiration, I found a you tube tutorial and got stuck in with an hour of quiet time yesterday afternoon, having found a tin of watercolour pencils, brand new, that I had forgottten I owned! Thanks for the motivation. Those finches are going to provide hours of entertainment for your pets at the window. Betty
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful drawings, the one with the
ReplyDeletelittle young duck is so cute. Nice to watch the birds and the cat and dog also have their joy.
You have cooked such delicious dishes again!
Have it good and take care of yourself, hugs Elke
Hi Rain! Happy New Year to you! I haven't visited in a while, but now had the perfect paintings for birds. I started doing more watercolors in December and chose garden birds as practice objects. Fun!
ReplyDeleteI really love the watercolor hummingbird.
ReplyDeleteI find the movie bird scary.
The other photos are beautiful too and the food looks delicious.
Greetings Irma
Imagine how different that movie would have been with Daffy Duck either in Tippi's role or as the birds... hahahah! 😂
ReplyDeleteLove the one of you and Jack looking at the stars...
For once I have actually seen this movie. As I remember is was scary. Have not seen it since so I don´t know if it feels scary today.
ReplyDeleteLove your duckling painting. 5-h tutorial, a lot :)
Love hummingbirds and starry night too. :)
Take care!
Rain,
ReplyDeleteYour take on The Birds featuring Daffy Duck is great for your first sketch. I love your art using Looney Tune characters! The watercolor hummingbird is gorgeous. Alex will like it. How sweet you and Jack star gazing but in the summer months, right? Amazing job on the duckling. Birds are great fun to watch. Your furbabies, especially Oscar is intrigued. Oh yum your Mexican night looks fabulous! Your focaccia pizza looks yummy, too. The focaccia recipe I shared with you I use for a pizza crust frequently. It turns out nicely every time. I have yet to try my breadsticks since our emailing. I'm planning to make Mexican food tonight but maybe over the weekend I can make pizza with breadsticks. :) Have a good day!
Curious as a Cathy
You and jack looking at the stars is one of my favorites, it's so sweet. I'm the same way when I see all those blackbirds in my backyard! that movie definitely left an impression on our minds. That pizza does look delicious ~ Enjoy celebrating Alex's birthday! Love, Karen
ReplyDeleteI had such a good laugh at the LOOK on Daffy's face! That movie terrified me as a child when I saw it on TV. STILL one of the creepiest films around! Your self-portrait with Jack is awesome! And happy birthday tomorrow to Alex!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Alex and what a great picture you made for his card.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen the movie, but did you know that they placed food in the actors' hair to lure the birds in too? If ever you make it to southern Ontario in the winter, Rain, I will take you to see 10,000 or so crows streaming into Waterloo to roost each night, and you will be charmed and amazed - not terrified.
ReplyDeleteHi Rain. We came up with the same idea of Alfred Hitchcock. Scary!
ReplyDeleteI do like the idea and image of you sitting with Jack watching the stars overhead. I'm left wondering why Alex was left out? I'm guessing he was busy eating all of that Mexican Night while you were busy painting.
It's years since we played Monopoly but this year we had to buy the new Monopoly Cheater's Edition (yes, it's for real) for granddaughter Isabella who can't stand to lose in anything she does. It includes handcuffs for the loser which her dad had to wear.
Amazing art and beautiful food and photos! Your Daffy Duck and talk about The Birds reminded me that I had a perfect photo for this theme. I'll have to see if I can locate it in the archives and get it posted. Better late than never I suppose. Happy birthday to Alex!
ReplyDelete...Mexican night looks fabulous. I be back tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteBirds and sky i contemplate a lot
ReplyDeleteHappy Thursday
much❤ love
Happy birthday to Alex! Love your art and photographs. I hope I can join in again when I get out of the clinic. Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteI looove your colorful hummingbird.
ReplyDeleteI got a security alert when I tried to visit David Gascotgne. Firefox wouldn't let me proceed to his blog, and I'm not sure how to get around it. Maybe someone could let him know I tried.
ReplyDeleteMany Happy Birthday Wishes to Alex.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the food and sweets you have planned will be delicious.
Loved seeing your art and photographs.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
All the best Jan
Happy Birthday Alex! I know you will have amazing treats for him Rain! The hummingbird card is so pretty! I love the portrait of you and Jack! How special! Daffy made me laugh! LOL! You are so creative Rain! Thank you always for sharing your food! WOW!! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say, I love the picture of Charlie and Oscar!
ReplyDeleteLove the white charcoal sketch, Rain. I'm such a pushover for Jack. Your duckling is fabulous, and your clouds will get there. Your food looks delicious, as always. Wish Alex a happy birthday for me. I know that you will make his birthday special.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures as always Rain - although I have to say that "- 5 C" for the temperature does not look lovely at all!
ReplyDeletei love the pic of charlie and oscar watching the birds. that pizza looks good! i have to try that soon!
ReplyDeleteLove all your drawings of the birds. We have had hundreds of rooks, crows and jackdaws in the field at the back of our property. I have never seen so many, and we do wonder what they are finding to eat at this time of year. The field is either frozen of sopping wet.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Don't those attacking birds know that Daffy is also a bird?
ReplyDeleteby EAGHL
https://trigra.blogspot.com
Happy Friday
ReplyDeleteMUCH💖LOVE
Love You and Jack done in white charcoals!
ReplyDeletebeautiful art rain!! I really couldn't choose a favorite today...
ReplyDeletelove that even the fur babies love bird watching:):)
And oh my, now I just HAVE to check out that pizza recipe!!!
Happy PPF!
Beautiful colours in your paintings. Love the photo of your furry babies. Have a great weekend. Anesha x
ReplyDeleteNice art especially the duckling.
ReplyDeleteHello Rain,
ReplyDeleteWhat a funny paints. Nice that Daffy Duck.
And very nice pictures.
Greetings, Marco
You have such delicious posts!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy to see your birds! We've had 75 redpolls!
Yours furry friends are gorgeous, and the food ... yummy, yummy!
ReplyDeleteThe food, the art, the life you're living...all wonderful! That pizza in particular looks so yummy. Wishing Alex a wonderful year ahead!
ReplyDeleteI love the looking up in the sky art and the watercolor hummer is gorgeous! WOW! You do so much variety. I should be inspired to do more. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteHello Rain,
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your posts and art work. One of my favorite pieces is the starry night with Jack. Happy Birthday to Alex. I love the hummingbird and the duckling is awesome. Great captures of your feeder birds and your furbabies watching the birds. I thought one of the birds on the far bottom left looks like a Redpoll, I see what looks like the red line at the top of the head. Some of the birds could be the Pine Siskins, they look similar to the House Finches. Your meals looks delicious, Pizza is my favorite. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend! PS, thank you for the comment and visit.
I love each o your pieces. The clouds are lovely! THe starry night is so sweet. Both of the birds are darling! Your food looks so delicious! Thanks for visiting my blog!
ReplyDeleteYour post is full of so many goodies, my old brain has to keep going up to be refreshed so I can comment. I too loved "The Birds" and wouldn't Alfred been thrilled if he had had access to videos of the murmurations of those black birds. Yes, for years black birds made my skin tingle, but I think I have at last outgrown it. I do understand that Daffy just doesn't fit the role ... it would be hard to scream and laugh at the same time :) Now for your art. You just get better and better ... if practice makes perfect, where do you go to get past perfect. I think your clouds are clouds and pinky white ones at that. You have mastered the ability to create a cloud and every cloud is unique so you can do it any way that peaks your fancy. Alex will love the hummingbird card and I have to ask if that is the color of the hummingbirds by you as ours are quite different. Beautifully done and then on to you and Jack. You have perfected your white on black art as well. Is there anything you can't do???As for the duckling ... what kind of solvent did you use and where do you find all of your awesome tutorials? I am chuckling at the picture of your two critters watching the birds ... a sight I used to see in my own living room when we lived on the lake. Here there aren't as many birds and there doesn't seem to be an interest except for our little huntress, Buffy. Her eye catches even the slightest movement from across the room and she makes a quick stealthy move to the window only to be disappointed by not being able to get at her prey. I perused your foods quickly because I am trying to talk myself into a diet state of mind and your foods tempt me just by looking at them as they all look delicious. Suffice it to say that when I am dieting, a soda cracker looks tempting so you can imagine what your homemade yummies can do. So on that note I will depart except to say, we have wabbit prints here too and Izzi is intent on sniffing every step they make :) Thank you again and again for giving my brain something to do beside ponder the horrible situation we find ourselves in here in the USA ... you are just what the doctor ordered :P
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From The Sol
The paintings are fabulous Rain, and photos are breathtaking.
ReplyDeletewonderful post rain ~ so very creative ~ my favorite is you and the doggie looking at the stars ~ gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteMoment by moment......
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Pizza looks and sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteMoment by moment......
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
I especially like your starry night in black & white. Nice paintings!
ReplyDeletebe well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hahaha getting a good chuckle from your Hitchcockian, er um Hitch-QUAK-ian sketch. Watching that movie as a child made me so frightened of anything touching my head. Between that and Psycho's shower scene, I was scarred for life! hahaha Well, just saying for me, Friday night at midnight AIN'T plenty of time, so I'll never get to play but that's okay, I like to watch. That Mexican dinner looks delish and is quite interesting that you've made Huevos on a pizza, here in Texas we use the tortillas but they are a true labor of love sweat and tears to make from scratch as you would probably have to do up there. So, hey, good substitute! Coyotes are every where, even in the field behind our house. Could live happy without them as they will take out cats and dogs in a blink if allowed, and do! Oops, that was last post, sorry. The charcoal and the duckling are my faves this time! XOX
ReplyDeleteOh "The Birds"! Kinda put the fear in me too. But I still love birds. The picture of Charlie and Oscar watching the birds is so cute. First time I've seen your yard covered in snow. It looks really pretty especially with all the birds and feeders. I'm always amazed at your art work. You are so talented. Oh, and such a wonderful cook! I'm surprised at how simple the pizza recipe sounds...it may be something I can actually make. Yours looks delicious. Happy birthday to Alex. Poppy's birthday is next week.
ReplyDeleteYour paintings and photos are beautiful to see. The pizza looks great, now I want some. :) Have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice post. Highlighting all the good things. I had no idea the staring actress in The Birds was Melanie Griffith's mother. I don't know why this kind of thing always seems to surprise me, but it does. All of your artwork is terrific, Rain. I love that picture of you and Jack looking at the stars. :) Charlie looks so completely content in that photo while Oscar looks clearly ready to pounce. A belated Happy Birthday to Alex!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Hitch-Duck... welcome. Rain, I'm laughing, thank you, that's so much funny.
ReplyDeleteGreetings for Alex: happy Birthday.
Stay healthy and well, dear blogfriend.
Since I do not make New Years resolutions I do try to set a couple of goals to try and work towards. A couple of years ago it was to play with watercolors. Mom past and that did not happen. I have made that a goal again this yr. Wish me luck. Your art is great...I love seeing what you have done next. I have wondered if you are freezing up there in your wild land yet. Assuming you have had a couple of snows. Here, we have seen more snow then we did last yr, since we had NONE then. But our snow has been in the way of flurries. But hey, watching it fall is the best part anyway. Hoping you finally got my card. Not sure how long it takes to get mail there. I have to say though here in the states the mail was horrible this yr. I mailed a card to my aunt and cousin, four hours away on the 10th of Dec. Cousin got hers the day after Christmas and my aunt got hers on the 28th. Yet I mailed something to my son the week of Christmas, on that Monday and he got it before Christmas. He lives in Calif and its 33 hours from here (if you drive it)....crazy. Hope you are well. Miss you blogging.
ReplyDeleteGirl, you are a marvelous artist, cook, blogger, IGer, photographer, everything rolled into one. Love those wabbit tracks. Special!
ReplyDeleteThe Birds still give me the willies. Oscar's going, "Here birdy birdy."
ReplyDeleteRain - that duckling is spectacular. Well worth the five hours! I am sure all the birdies are appreciating the winter food supply, and I just laughed and laughed at Charlie and Oscar watching "bird TV"!!! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday!
ReplyDeleteDaffy and the birds, that gave me a giggle but the watercolor of the hummingbird...now that is lovely!
ReplyDeleteDawn aka Spatulas On Parade
First, Happy Birthday to Alex (early) and will be excited to "see" what feast you have prepared for him as all the other meals are always so great looking , Rain. I may be trying that Pour in the Pan pizza recipe this week, so thanks in advance for the recipe. I really liked the duckling artwork and the hummingbird watercolor for Alex was lovely. While I don't participate in the Art Dates, it's always great fun to look at the different creations, which I do even if not on a regular basis. I wondered if your inspiration for Daffy Duck and the birds came from watching the bird cams? Charlie and Oscar sure seemed to be enjoying the outdoor show!
ReplyDeleteForgot to say, that I LOVE the watercolor hummingbird. Such happy colors! I hope the birthday food for DH was delicious!
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday
ReplyDeleteMuch💖lovr
I like the water colour hummingbird. Charlie and Oscar so cute watching the birds. Love the delicious looking food. Pizza looks so good.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Alex! I love your colorful hummingbird. We never saw them when I lived in NY and I was excited to have them visit me in summer here. I love the buzzing sound they make.
ReplyDeleteYour photo of Charlie and Oscar watching the birds is so sweet. Does your cat make the little chirping noises when he sees the birds? My cat used to do that.
I also love your ducking drawing as it looked very realistic with its deep shading. Taking a five-hour art class sounds very interesting.
Daffy Duck was always my favorite Looney Tune and your drawings of him always make me smile.
Love the hummingbird, gonna look up the “ not a pour” pizza, can’t wait to read about the treats you made for the birthday boy! And Daffy reminds me of our trip to Bodega Bay California last summer (a year ago, back when travel was something we took for granted). It’s where “The Birds” was filmed and even after all these years the little coastal town still has reminders of its claim to fame. Of course we had to rewatch the film when we got home and it wasn’t as scary as before, but that was probably because we were busy looking for landmarks and places we would recognize.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your sweet comments!! I loved hearing your The Birds comments!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm just answering a few questions:
Cathy: I didn't even think if it was winter or summer with me and Jack! I guess it's for all seasons! :)
David: I'd read that Hitchcock wanted the actors in The Birds to put food in their hair...I would have been too scared to do it!
Phil: LOL...I didn't realize I was leaving Alex out of my "Me and Jack" charcoal, but yes, he definitely would be eating the food while Jack and I were digesting! ;)
Grannie Annie: I'm guessing the wool suit and pearls threw them off lol! :)
Eileen: Thank you for the id of the Redpolls!
Andrea: I use a solvent called Taltine, it's an odourless solvent for oil. There was one called Zest-It that was recommended for the Prismacolor Pencils, but I can't seem to find it in Canada. As for the tutorials, I belong to Patreon, I have a paid membership right now for one artist/teacher who does tutorials. That's how I learned a lot of really neat techniques. You can find a lot of tutorials for free on You Tube, but they are usually time lapsed. I go to the settings on You Tube and slow the playback speed down so I can see how the presenter achieves their effects. The tutorials are great, but I usually end up doing my own thing and they look nothing like theirs!!
Aimeslee: HITCH-QUACK-IAN!!! Ha ha ha ha!!! Thanks for that! :)
And Heidrum: HITCH-DUCK!! :))
Pam: I got your card!! It's so creative, thankyou!! xxx
Dorothy: I actually came up with these themes back at the beginning of December, so they are all quite coincidental! But I was definitely inspired by the trailcam photos! :)
Pat: Yes! Oscar makes those little gutteral "eh eh eh" chirping noises when he sees the birds!!!
I enjoyed your lovely artwork, and especially like the charcoal drawing (Bliss) and colored pencil one of the young duckling. The one Daffy Duck is such fun too! It looks like you really enjoy what you do and it certainly brought a smile to my face on this winter's day!
ReplyDeleteSo neat how you can see the bird feeders in action. We've been having birds visit our lawn here in the backyard. Your food looks so yummy.
ReplyDeleteI just heard about that recipe when I spoke to Elizabeth on the phone the other day, and my goodness that rice, and all the other yummy goodies look pretty amazing! Sending lots of hugs your way! RO
ReplyDelete