White Throated Sparrow

 
                          "White Throated Sparrow"
                        (click image to see more detail)
 5” x 7” (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm) original acrylic on hand primed board $145 w/free shipping in US & Canada 
To see past work in my dailypainters gallery click HERE.

While I’m not always a fan of sparrows, this white throated sparrow is an attractive bird. A group of them have been around my bird feeder recently. Apparently in Michigan we live right at the bottom of their winter breeding grounds that stretches all across north Canada. They are pretty birds, mostly feeding on the ground under my goldfinch feeder but they also like black oil sunflower seeds and will come right up to my window feeder. At first glance they might be mistaken for the white crowned sparrow except they have a bright white throat with black whisker edges and a yellow lores (space between the eyes and beak). I chose to do this painting to capture their beautiful markings.

They also have a unique birdsong that is a distinctive wavering long whistle that I’ve heard both in winter and spring.

© Copyright 2016 by Paul Wolber
All Rights Reserved

The Mystery of Chichén Itzá: Temple of Kukulkcan

Chichén Itzá: Temple of Kukulkcan
5" x 10" (12.7 cm X 25.4 cm) acrylic on hand primed board.
SOLD

Visiting Chichén Itzá was a fascinating and puzzling event. It is surprising to discover how advanced the Mayan civilization had become in the arts and sciences by 800 A.D. and even more surprising to realize that they had abandoned these highly developed and sophisticated architectural sites after 1000 A.D. Even today archaeologists, anthropologists and historians are not sure why these beautiful places where abandoned and left in ruins. While we were there in January 2009 and again this year (2016) we talked to a number of Mayan guides and experts who could not tell us the full reasons.

I’ve tried in this small painting to capture some of the mystery and intrigue I felt while visiting this site. It’s a study that I’d like to do as a larger painting sometime in the future.

© Copyright by Paul Wolber
All Rights Reserved