
Another Anna’s hummingbird for this mini painting. This time mid-hover and mid-sip. Here I am enjoying how the tiny bird almost blends into the setting of matching flowers.
image (C) 2022 Hilary Farmer
This sweet little Anna’s hummingbird is perched daintily among the flowers. “Which one will I sip from next?”
I am having so much fun painting hummingbirds lately. And I’m not done yet! This was actually the last painting I finished in 2021 after this it’s all new 2022 work. 🙂
(C) 2022 Hilary Farmer
This is another common type of hummingbird where I live on the west coast of Canada although I see the Anna’s more often.
I was recently looking at slowed down videos of how hummingbirds’ wings move compared to other birds. Quite fascinating! Check out this Youtube video from the Smithsonian if you’re interested.
I was trying again to capture that sense of movement in stillness that hummingbirds impart.
image (C) 2022 Hilary Farmer
I see Anna’s hummingbirds around here more than any other kind and even at this time of year – unless it’s really cold – they can be seen darting around hoping for some fuel for their tiny bodies. I’d rather imagine them in the midst of the bounty of summer blossoms though. I’m happy with the blur of the wings capturing that feeling of movement in stillness.
image (C) 2022 Hilary Farmer
This abstract exploration ended up with some artifacts from fairly early in the layering process that didn’t want to be covered up – flowers, a hummingbird and maybe the moon. This is definitely a case where the original is hard to capture in a photograph. When I paint this way, the textures and layers are quite challenging for me to show on line.
In my mind this one is reaching for “Monet meets Chagall”. 🙂
Tom wrote a really lovely poem that speaks to this painting beautifully.
coalescing currents curl
from out of deeper darkness
flowing down to pools that swirl
with stillness beneath starless
skies where hope abides and wing’d
shapes may one day fly through the
chaos life will strive to reach
afar across this world where
coalescing currents curl
image (c) 2021 Hilary Farmer
poem (c) 2021 TJ Radcliffe
Another Anna’s hummingbird because …they are just so sweet. I had fun playing with colours as well as form.
Here is Tom’s short poem for this tiny painting.
So kind of humans to erect
a fence like this through open fields
where the flower’s first effect
is to make me many meals!
image (c) 2021 Hilary Farmer
poem (c) 2021 TJ Radcliffe
Another tiny creature for a tiny painting. Hummingbirds are so sweet and we do see them around quite a lot where we live. As we plant more flowering plants in the garden I hope they will spend more time in view instead of speeding off.
Tom wrote this: (I love the hummingbird’s perspective he imagines!)
Precisely feathered, warmed by sun
I sit upon a summer twig
while in the trees the bumblers hum
wishing they were like me: big!
image (c) 2021 Hilary Farmer
poem (c) 2021 TJ Radcliffe