Archived Works friday - No.4!

Post No. 4! The next post for "Archived Works Friday” comes as a pair from the mid 1980's. As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting!

 

Back in the 1980's I experimented with floating bird blinds; the kind you take pictures from. I took my first one out to a favorite marsh. it was a floating "bass buddy"...maybe I'm not getting the name right but it was essentially a nylon zippered slip cover that fit over an inner-tube, with a seat sewn in for the "occupant". It made a "bobber" out of the wearer! It was actually made for a fisherman to wade and float around on small ponds and fish from it...I guess the idea was to make you more mobile and get you out to where the fish were without a boat.

 

I got the brilliant idea that I could use it as a floating bird photography blind. I made a dome of chicken wire mesh and covered it in cattails which I tied to it - trying to imitate a muskrat hut. Great idea huh!???? I wore chest high waders and walked the blind out until I lost contact with the bottom, then just kind of bobbed around and "paddled" with my feet...took some getting used to but eventually made my way to a clump of reeds and anchored my feet around them to try and hold still.

 

It was kind of hit and miss that first try out on the marsh...muskrats would swim by and look at me like "what on earth!?". Thankfully none tried to “enter” the hut!!! An occasional Yellow-headed Blackbird would land on top of me - where I couldn't get its picture of course! The neatest encounter this first trip in the blind was an American Bittern - I had never been so close to one before! It was up clinging to the rushes trying to get a better look at this "thing" (my blind) - it was probably thinking "This wasn't here earlier!?". I did my best to get shots with the camera but it was difficult with the blind bobbing with every move I'd make.

 

This was back way before digital cameras. I didn't even have auto focus back then and shooting Ektachrome E-6 film that I'd process myself. The photos didn't turn out too bad. The Bittern's body was somewhat hidden by the reeds as it climbed along. As I looked at several of the slides I picked some out and created a composition from them - trying to portray the bird among the rushes without it's features being so obscured from view.

 

I first did a detailed pencil sketch, and was fairly pleased with it...but I was looking for something a bit more "graphic" in presentation and decided to do a serigraph (silk screen print) of it. I won't get into the details of that process this time, as its very lengthy. I had been accepted into the international "Birds in Art" exhibition the year before with a pencil drawing and thought I'd try entering again with a serigraph...I wanted to prove to myself that the acceptance the year before was not just a "flash in the pan".

 

The design was drawn directly on separate screens from the original pencil composition and broken down into solid colors...the exhibition deadline was fast approaching and I was having great difficulty registering colors and getting everything to look like I wanted. I finally managed to get one that I liked and hurriedly got it entered in time for the deadline.

 

It was accepted! I was over the moon and beside myself... once again being included in the prestigious international Bird Art exhibition "Birds in Art". Rubbing shoulders with artists from every continent was very humbling - I could see how far I had to go to even measure up to what work I was seeing.

 

As a side note on my maiden voyage on the marsh - when I had been out on the water, the wind had come up from the south and soon I had white caps! I was a good 100-150 yards out from shore and the wind was taking me to the other side of the marsh! It took all of an hour, or more to fight my way back to the landing. Completely played out, I drug myself into the car and turned on the radio - it was giving high winds/watercraft warnings for the day! NO KIDDING!!???

 

I revised my "floating blind" design - used marine plywood with foam filled pontoons, a lighter camo covered chicken wire frame that sat on top, and a platform for a tripod "head" to affix the camera and lens...so much better! (and safer) Still have it today...hanging out in the studio shed. Just need the time and "energy" to take it out again into the marshes...sounds like "The Old Man and the Sea" revisited to me!

 

"Rush Lake, American Bittern - Study" - pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison (from an Iowa private collection)

 

"Rush Lake, American Bittern" - serigraph - ©Bruce A. Morrison (from the Permanent Collection of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI)

 

(These and other archived artwork can be viewed at - https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/ )

 

June Approaches...Keep savoring Spring!

Eastern Bluebird

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

May seems a bit messed up to me with Memorial Day weekend coming so early; and yes, its been a dry - then soaking month as well.  But we are fortunate here...we didn't need a lot...got more than we wanted...yet no serious flooding here.  Oh there's some of the typical streams out of their banks but no more so or damaging than usual.  But we're lucky - other parts of the state are having real flooding issues.

Cape May Warbler

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

One thing May has brought is cool weather and some real interesting fallout of migrating birds.  Always up for cool birds!   One of the best migrants that stopped for about 3 days during the constant rain was a Cape May Warbler.  Now we've seen Cape Mays before...up in Canada, but never passing through on migration.  It was a real treat!  Liked grape jelly - had to fight for it with all the Orioles but held it's own despite only being a third of the size!

 Summer Tanager (first year male)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

We also were lucky to get a Summer Tanager (first year male) to visit the feeders for a day.  We've been seeing a "Lot" of reports for both Summer and Scarlet Tanagers this spring and actually "did" get a Scarlet Tanager for "a few seconds" across the driveway in the Dandelions with the Goldfinches, but it never showed again...a shame - I'd really have liked to have gotten a photograph!!!

Baltimore Oriole

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

Brown Thrasher

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

Of course there were many of the old familiar friends that returned, like the Baltimore Orioles and Brown Thrashers...but we also got our Hose Wrens, Catbirds, Orchard Orioles, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and many others back for the season...they so brighten up our days!

Bobolink

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

Our pasture's birds also returned; just yesterday afternoon our Dickcissels arrived!  They're usually the last grassland bird here.  Luckily our Bobolinks have also come back and have been flying from pasture to pasture doing their flight "thing"...like they're staking out their territory...or trying to attract a lady.  I worry about the Bobolinks on the south pasture, as it was slightly decreased in size by maybe 3/4 of an acre...the neighbor who owns the 4 acres south of our one acre, wanted to take his fence line out and make things more expedient for his equipment.  Every sliver of grassland gone can make a difference...I don't know if that will deter another nesting on this small bit of ground.  Who knows how much it takes to convince one Bobolink that there's enough space or forage to raise a family?  I'm crossing my fingers.

 "The Hurt-Adkins Mill"

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

Finished a commission for someone out of state.  Was a bit challenging as it was an actual location (in Kentucky) and historic grist mill, that fell down about 30 years ago. Very little to work with...spent a lot of time going through historic records to get it as accurate as possible...worked through the late winter months on this landscape/location, am very happy with how it finished out! "The Hurt-Adkins Mill" - oil painting.

 "In the Wild Plum - Nashville Warbler"

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

I talked about this painting a couple years back...was working on it the summer my father passed away.  I felt pretty good about this painting and wanted it considered for an international exhibit but held off until this Spring, as I wanted it to be included in my solo exhibit at the Pearson Lakes Art Center last fall.  

The exhibit I wanted it considered for is "Birds in Art".  I've been accepted into this prestigious exhibition 5 times since 1983...that's only 5 times in 37 years!  Its a real difficult exhibit to be juried into...but most years I keep at it.  Then a couple weeks ago I was notified that this painting "In the Wild Plum - Nashville Warbler" has been selected by 3 independent jurors across the country to be included in the international "Birds in Art" exhibition for 2020 this fall. 

I still find it overwhelming to be selected to exhibit with 90 other artists from all over the world. Because of the pandemic there will be no traditional weekend gathering of artists, so we will not get to meet new faces or talk with many we've met over the years. This is the coveted holy grail exhibit for bird artists - hosting work from across the US, Canada, South America, Africa, Europe, the British Isles, Asia and Australia. 

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI will exhibit Birds in Art from September 18 through November 29th - after which the exhibition will go on national tour. Years back one of my serigraphs was selected for an international tour traveling through the US to Bejing, China. 

I guess all those distractions from the birds I so love paid off once more...I feel very blessed. 

Its been a busy late winter/spring here but now its back to reality...stay safe out there and treat each other with caring and respect. Have a Good Summer!

Rekindled...

"In the Wild Plum - Nashville Warbler"

oil painting on canvas - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

I was having one of those days last spring where I was in a funk of some sort, and Georgie came into the studio and said the plums were full of warblers and "Why didn't I get outside and take some warbler pictures!"

To make a long story short I gabbed a chair and sat under the plum across from the studio deck and photographed these little, almost hyper warblers catching tiny insects pollinating the profusion of blooms...come to think of it, I may have even blogged about it.

I had been working on other things at the time but while going through the files of warbler shots one caught my eye - a male Nashville Warbler "on the hunt"...the camera caught the small fly and the warbler's posture about to spring and catch it's prey...the photograph was "OK" but it needed something - I knew it needed painting.

Finally, in mid June I got around to stating the idea of this painting...I began by laying in the entire background of out-of-focus and blowing branches, trying to create some kind of movement of color and shapes.  A couple of days into the piece I felt I did have something I needed to finish.

My Dad had just taken ill and I wanted to make a trip to see him, so I broke loose from the studio and headed to Ft Dodge - it had been raining A LOT and on the way I was detoured twice by water flowing over the county black tops I drove...it delayed me and when I arrived I found my siblings there at Dad's side; he was unconscious and slipping away.  

We spent the day together there in our Father's room, trying to stay calm and together; later that night Dad left us as I was talking to him.

My Father had always supported my work...I keep a note he wrote me a few years ago, here on my studio desk...sometimes it makes me smile, sometimes cry...its signed "your proud Dad".  He liked being a part of my artwork in earlier years, when I was obsessed with drawing, silk screening, photographing and painting birds...even  surprising me by showing up at "Birds in Art" exhibitions I was accepted into, at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI.  He always asked what I was up to in later years.

I was hoping to show him my latest painting, it is more reminiscent of those early passions I fed off of...I think he would have liked it.

It wasn't easy picking this back up after Dad's passing...it was weeks before I finally kicked the stool out from under myself and finally got in front of the easel again; but even then my progress has been less than stellar. 

I feel a rekindling of sorts now.  Its hard to explain.  Have I come full circle?  I don't know, but I've got too many things in my head now - I'd better get busy before they disappear!