Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Signs of Spring

Since Spring is officially still about a month away (and around these parts, early spring is probably more like two months away) I think I'm jumping the gun a little with my post title. However, the local chickadees and house finches have been tuning up their songs and it is no longer pitch black when I leave work, so I have reason to be hopeful.

This is a quick watercolor sketch of a mourning cloak butterfly. I haven't seen one this year yet, but they hibernate over the winter, sometimes emerging on warm winter days to take a sunbath before resuming their hibernation.

Today is the one year mark of when I began blogging about art and nature in earnest. It is too bad that I haven't been able to blog in earnest lately. About a month ago, our landlords decided to sell the house we rent an apartment in, so now my evenings are often taken up by dreaded cleaning and other preparatory house showing activities rather than being able to paint and blog to my heart's content. I hope that - despite the market - the house sells quickly, and to some nice people who will let us stay in our cozy little apartment!

5 comments:

Elva Paulson said...

Eat your heart out. We have daffodils blooming, at least two species of butterflies flying about and Lewis woodpeckers playing chase.

You Mourning Cloak is lovely ... and a good reminder your spring is coming.

Eve said...

I was just thinking about the Morning Cloaks this weekend Gab! It was perfect weather for them but I guess I didn't look hard enough...until today when I got to see your beautiful painting of one! Thank you! I hope all goes well with the house sale and you get to stay!

Ken Januski said...

Congratulations on your one year anniversary Gabrielle! My second year anniversary is in a few days and I hope I'll have time to do something for it.

What a nice watercolor! I was hoping that you'd actually seen it - as you say a sign of spring. But spring is getting here. Some birds are singing, the world is blessedly light and not dark when we leave work. Soon, at least here, we'll start seeing the return of the first migrants. I hope you are listening Pine Warblers!

Good luck with your house/apartment situation.

Katherine Kean said...

Lovely sketch! I didn't know that butterflies could take mini vacations from hibernation.

I hope the aprtment works out so that we can continue reading your posts!

Laure Ferlita said...

Congrats on the anniversary and the lovely study!