We can be twenty miles out to sea fishing and the minute you pull a minnow out of the bucket, seagulls appear in the sky; then they come swooping down and you worry about them taking your hook or getting caught in your line. It's never happened to me and I really hope it never does. I think they're amazing, and beautiful, with their white, gray and black markings--they make me want to get out my sumi set.
And I love their cawing which even in a cacophony sounds lonely.
I was leafing through some art books and saw the watercolor below. It's funny how different things strike you at different times--I've had this book for years, but had never been so struck by this painting as I am now ... now I can't take my eyes off it!
Frank W. Benson, Eider Ducks in Winter (1913)
7 comments:
Benson's watercolor is striking! I thought it was a photo. Do you have a favorite watercolor book? I think the Lucy Willis books & David Dewey's book are my favorites.
BTW, I just signed up for Marge's Cape May class in Sept.
wow--I really like that Benson painting, too. Your bird photos are cool--will you do paintings of these?
I LOVE everything you do!
Gosh! I thought the painting was a b&w photograph! I like gulls too, though I haven't a clue as to why. I can remember throwing food up in the air and they will catch it mid flight! Of course, then there is the movie "The Birds...!" LOL I've never seen one caught on a fish hook, thankfully. That would tear me apart.
Muy bonita
Your seagulls look quite different to ours! The shape of the head is similiar, but ours don't have that criss-crossed tail, or the strong markings. The painting is beautiful, I don't know his work - must look him up!
I think you are so lucky to live near the ocean. I too love gulls and the other seabirds that we see when we goto Nova Scotia. I am always surprised at the variety of types of gulls. Maybe it's because we usually have our dog with us that they don't tend to hang around. Seagulls at the ocean are much bigger than Toronto gulls, or Ottawa gulls. I love how the city gulls all decide to fly to the
water where they congregate at the same time in the evening. You know that the sun will set minutes after
hundreds of them fly through the sky.
Take care
Barbara
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