Spring Giveaway Winners Announced!

“It is spring again!

The earth is like a child

that knows poems by heart.” 

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Spring Has Sprung

 • SOLD

The winners of my Book Giveaway

and my original Tree Painting Giveaway

were chosen today by Random.org.

Go to: SandySandySpiritart

to see who won!!

Winners have 24 hours to contact me

to claim their prize!

Happy First Day of Spring!!

Special Spring Hummingbirds ~ SOLD

Spring is in the air and we turn the clocks ahead this Sunday! Yahoo!! To celebrate and spread the joy, in addition to a couple of giveaways, I'm also having a 30% off March Madness Sale on selected one of a kind, mini paintings! Here are the first two adorable hummingbirds I'm offering at this special price. 

Joyful Hearts

4" x 5.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $35.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 5" x 7" frame.

SOLD •

Hearts of Joy

4" x 5.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $35.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 5" x 7" frame.

SOLD •

This offer is only good until the end of the month, so snatch them up while you can, my friends. What great gifts these would make for Easter, Mother's Day, weddings, anniversaries, graduations and birthdays! These original paintings would look precious framed or sitting on a little display easel!

Satisfaction is guaranteed on all your purchases from me!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

And don't forget to "spring ahead"!

Hummingbirds - More Important Than TV

"Like winds and sunsets,

wild things were taken for granted

until progress began to do away with them.

Now we face the question
whether a still higher 'standard of living' is
worth its cost in things natural, wild and free.
For us of the minority,

the opportunity to see hummingbirds

is more important than television."

~ Aldo Leopold

Little Hummingbird, Wild and Free

7.5" x 5.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $85.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

The Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds have been reported to be arriving in their summer breeding grounds about two weeks earlier this year. I looked online at the hummingbird migration map and a few early travelers have already been spotted down in Florida and in other states around the Gulf of Mexico. I will keep you updated on their progress. Do you look forward to their arrival too? When do you usually see your first hummingbird?

As always, I'd love to hear from you.

I'm hoping your week is off to a great start!

Butterfly Bliss and Hummingbird Magic

Butterfly Bliss
See painting price and specifications here.

Hummingbird Magic
See painting price and specifications here.

These hummingbird and butterfly sketches were traced

onto synthetic, nonabsorbent Yupo paper with a black pencil

then painted in transparent watercolor.

The Butterfly Bushes have been attracting some interesting species lately and I estimate that we have around 100 hummingbirds here now. We go through a gallon and a half of nectar everyday. A lot of time is spent caring for the hummingbirds, watering their flowers, making nectar, filling and cleaning feeders. There are also plenty of sweet, soothing, quiet times though. It's a relaxing meditation; watching them and listening, just enjoying their presence and entertaining aerial displays. The male hummingbirds will be leaving us soon and the females and youngsters are starting to pair up and go into training for their biannual migration. They are such magical creatures; it is no wonder that they symbolize happiness, love and joy! Do you have butterflies and hummingbirds where you live? What types do you see?

♥

Hummingbird Painting and Exhausted Kitties

Hummingbird Four Ways #4

This is number Four of my current challenge - using the same drawing, four different ways. You can see more about the ideas behind this madness here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exhausted kittens after  first check up and imprinting.

imprinting -  (imprint on) Zoology (of a young animal) come to recognize (another animal, person, or thing) as a parent or other object of habitual trust.

Bobbie came over today and helped me out with the kittens.  She is a very experienced cat person and I always rely on her for cat help and information. Together, one by one, we removed a sweet, little, furry, wild thing from the cage. We inspected each one for fleas, ear mites, gender, dirt and goobers. Surprisingly, they had no fleas and are amazingly clean for feral cats, so nobody was in need of a bath. Yay! A couple of them did have ear mites though. We treated each baby with a small dose of Revolution. I put a little in a small lid and painted it on with a brush while Bobbie held on to them. It's quite an amazing product and takes care of ear mites, fleas, ticks and worms and it is safe to use on kittens over 6 weeks of age. I've been using it for years.

Only momentarily disturbed by the flash, then back at it.

 Have you had a cuteness attack yet or what?

~~~ And I've Got Some Great news! ~~~

All the kittens are spoken for!! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have a Have a Heart Trap set tonight for their momma, Ja Ja.

WE would like to get her spayed before she goes into heat again.

Keep your fingers crossed. 

It really helped last time, THANKS! ♥

I'd love to hear your thoughts about my Hummingbird Spirit - 4 - Ways challenge, or any of my previous ones for that matter. Which pieces or techniques did you like or dislike and why? I've got a couple of ideas for new challenges in the works, but I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions.

Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Commenting is not mandatory, but as always, it is most appreciated.

 Until next time, wishing you happy days and cool nights! 

Hummingbirds and Itty Bitty Kitties

Hummingbird - 4 Ways - #3

5.5 x 7.5" -Watercolor on Yupo paper, matted to 8 x 10" 

Last month's personal challenge doing the sunflowers and hydrangeas four different ways was fun and inspiring, so I thought I'd do the same thing with my hummingbird spirit sketch. This is number three. You can see the first two here on www.sketchingeveryday.com.

5.5 x 7.5" - Watercolor on Yupo paper, matted to 8 x 10"

Another hummingbird painting done this week.

7.5 x 10" - Coloring Page -Pencil on Yupo paper - Free Print Out

Please feel free to print this out for your personal, your friend's, children's or grandchildren's pleasure. It fits nicely on a standard 8.5 x 11" sheet. You can see two more of my free coloring pages here. 

Taken through the screen - The wild turkey mother who started out with eleven chicks this spring is down to three. They are a pretty good size now and can fly well, so their chances of survival is good.

If you remember my "Cat Man Do" post,  we caught feral cat, Ja Ja only to discover that she just had kittens. We brought her back un-spayed so she would continue to produce milk for them. She finally brought them out in public about ten days ago. 

Jerry started putting out Have -A- Heart traps this past week. My step son, Jimmy, caught the ginger tabby on Wednesday and Jerry caught the little orange and white later that afternoon.

They are already settling in and adjusting quite nicely. Cats are so clean and smart. After taking away the towels, they have already started using the litter box for their business instead of for a bed.

Jerry left a trap on the deck last night without food in it. To his surprise, kitten #3 was inside this morning!

We've got the cage on a dolly so we can wheel it where we want it.

Tigger is not at all happy with the situation, as expected. He already  took over Princess's bed in the studio and really liked the idea of being an "only child".

I have set up my studio lights and started shooting again.

The healing of my ankle continues and a vast collection of medical equipment is on the way out of the studio!

I'd love to hear your comments about my Hummingbird Spirit - 4 - Ways challenge.

Which pieces do you like or dislike and why? What do you think about me offering free printable coloring pages?  How do you like the kitties? Any ideas for names? 

Thanks for reading my blog! Commenting is not mandatory, but as always, it is most appreciated.

Until next time, wishing you great days!