Sharing His Song

"In spite of everything, I shall rise again; 

I will take up my pencil, which I have
forsaken in my great discouragement, 

and I will go on with my drawing."
~ Vincent van Gogh

This drawing is from my Sketching Everyday Blog. It is from a photo taken at Cedar Run, a local wildlife refuge.The owl in the scene is a beloved male barred owl named Squam.

From the CedarRunWildlife Instagram post;

cedarrunwildlife "It is with heavy hearts we share the news of the passing of our great friend, beloved teacher, and loyal ambassador, Squam. For many of the tens of thousands of people who know Cedar Run, chances are, they know Squam. Squam was a true ambassador and educator. He engaged tens of thousands of our members, neighbors, school children, visitors, volunteers, staff and community members with his sense of calm and endearing looks. It was hard not to feel love when looking upon Squam. A true teacher to the end, his lessons will continue on far into the future. Squam first came to us in 2002, when he was about two years old, he packed a lot of living in his 18 years on this earth. He lived a grand life with us, and will be missed by many. One of his favorite things to do was to share his song with us. He loved to sing in auditoriums, where his song would soar and fill the space, or he would sing to the female barred owls in the wild and try to call them to him, sometimes he would sing to the passing fire engine or to the music he heard on the radio. Sometimes it seemed he would sing simply to share his song."

This is a drawing by student and friend, Judy Scott, who worked at the wildlife center
rehabilitating birds and other animals for many years.

 Judy wrote; "  I have access to Squam and I combined two pictures. This is a sketch of Squam and a fledgling Barred Owl. In 2007 Squam was a foster parent to a young Barred Owl that came into the refuge. Although Squam is a male, he was a great surrogate, teaching the young one to eat and fly. Eventually the fledgling was released back into the wild. Thanks for all your support of Cedar Run."

“When the owl sings, the night is silent.” 
 ~ Charles de Leusse

May your spirit continue to soar dear Squamie.

Please add your own recollections about this awesome wildlife ambassador in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week.

X ♥  O

 

Red Tail Hawk Sketch And Demo

This is the reference photo for today's "SketchingEveryday" post. I documented the process and will be putting together another sketching tutorial in the next day or two.

Donations And Things That Matter

My painting I did at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge's Wine And Wildlife event this past Saturday.

"You will find, as you look back on your life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others." - Henry Drummond

Wine And Wildlife A Big Success

Yesterday I participated in the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge's Wine And Wildlife Fund Raiser. It was a gorgeous day and about 200 folks enjoyed wine sampling, great food and lively music. Here is a photo of three of the little oil paintings I donated to their silent auction. I set up and painted another little gosling from the photo in my last post. I'll post that for you next. Be sure to check my summer sketching everyday blog! It starts back up tomorrow. From June 1st to September 1st, I'll be posting a drawing online there everyday!

Baby Animals - Cute Fuzzy Gosling

I've been photographing baby animals at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in preparation for their Wine and Wildlife fund raiser this weekend. These shots will be used for painting reference and possible stock photography submissions. I'm also donating their use to the refuge. They can use them in their newsletter, on their web site or as notecards. Here's one of my favorites. Sooo sweet! Now who doesn't love baby animals?

Art For The Animals

"Nature gets into our souls and opens doors to hidden parts of ourselves." ~ Pamela Heyda

This is one of the paintings I will be donating this coming Saturday at Cedar Run's "Wine And Wildlife" event. It is a 5" x 7" oil on canvas board. Find out more about this fund raiser here (post just below this one) on my web log.

"We must preserve the natural world; for without nature, there would be no beauty to inspire us." ~ Hap Hagood

Wine And Wildlife At Cedar Run Refuge

Last week I visited Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge to take some photos of the baby animals. This coming Saturday, May 30th, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm, they will be holding their 8th Annual Wine & Wildlife Festival. I will be participating during the event by painting some of the fur babies that I met last week. They were all sooo adorable! The wonderful folks who care for them really have their hands full this time of year! Even though they were extremely busy, they made my visit very enjoyable. My artwork will be auctioned off at the silent auction. All proceeds will benefit the Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge operations and educational programs. The event features wine tasting and beer sampling, a gourmet picnic by Tony Lawrence and live music by BLUESBOX DELUX . Sponsers, staff, supporters, artists, artisans, animal lovers and live animals will all be present. An enjoyable afternoon will culminate with the awarding of a wide selection of choice auction items awarded to the highest bidders. For more information email barbara.jones@cedarrun.org or call 856-983-9702. The refuge is located at: 4 Sawmill Road, Medford, NJ 08055. It's a wonderful cause and a bargain at only $45. per person. Make your reservations today! VISA, MC, AMEX & Discover Accepted. Animal lovers, you don't want to miss this event. Please RSVP ASAP! Only a limited amount of walk-in tickets are available!