Bluebird of Happiness

Natalie Buske Thomas

5 years ago

Sometimes called “bluebird of happiness”, seeing a bluebird is associated with prosperity, good luck, joy, life, beauty and hope. I saw my first bluebird this season and it took my breath away! I gasped and squealed aloud, even though I was alone. His belly was more red than brown, almost pink. The sun hit his blue wings when he flew away and it was gorgeous!

The cute plump bluebird above was painted for a children’s book called “Bird Days”. The one I saw looked more like the bluebird in this oil painting “Come to the Garden“, that is an exaggerated fanciful version of my real life patio. I painted a bluebird perched on top of the trellis, from my memory of seeing him there in real life. The trellis is an actual part of my patio (the path, fence, etc. are not real, nor is the row of white flowers in the foreground).

https://nataliebuskethomas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/come-to-the-garden-oil-painting-by-natalie-buske-thomas-july-20192.mp4?_=2

I didn’t get a real life bird video of a bluebird to share… I never seem to have my camera when he appears. But, if I do capture him on film I’ll post it. While cardinals have made their home here with us and live nearby year round, dining regularly from our bird feeders, the bluebirds are rare visitors.

I have a painting project in progress but, like seeing a bluebird, it’s rare that my husband is coming home early on a glorious sunny day. We plan to just “be”, doing home stuff at an easy pace while our kids are around us. I doubt I’ll get any painting done, and that’s perfectly fine. There’s always tomorrow to reach my 1k finished paintings goal!