Friday, July 17, 2009

A wonderful bird is the pelican...


I finally finished a new painting! I spotted these brown pelicans on Santa Cruz wharf, sunning themselves and drying their feathers. They are fascinating birds and unfortunately on the endangered species list in California. Every time I see a pelican, I think of this limerick written by Dixon Merritt in 1910;

A wonderful bird is the pelican
His bill can hold more than his belican
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week
But I'm damned if I see how the helican.

12 comments:

  1. Oh WOW Gwen! That is incredible! I love the poem, that made me laugh. I really love this painting!!! Keep up the good work, glad this one got past the "awkward stage".

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  2. Wow, Gwen. This is very nice! Amazing detail in the pelicans. And the ocean looks so real, it feels like I'm there.
    The limerick is one which I remember my mother reciting when I was young.

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  3. Yay Gwen, magnificent painting and a funny limerick...Life is good. It isn't summer around here to me without pelicans.

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  4. Gwen, this painting of pelicans is beautiful, and your art site is a pleasure to see. I hope you will visit me soon, I would love to hear your comments!

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  5. NICE! I am behind on my blog reading, so did not know you finished this one. Fantastic. Great water....great depth. NICE!

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  6. beautifully painted Gwen and good to find your blog. oh the lyric is great too:)r.

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  7. WOW, that is just fantastic. This is an absolutely wonderful painting. I love it.

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  8. Hi Gwen,
    I LOVE this painting of your pelicans, as well as the one with the group against the water! This summer I visited a lake in Ontario, Canada where there were pelicans in a similar pose in the water... my husband and I were in a canoe, and I was able to get some great shots of them. The photos are destined for painting - and now that I see how beautifully you have rendered these pelicans, I am excited to begin them!

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  9. What a great refreshing painting! Love your palette, the greys are divine! Great composition too!

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