Tag Archives: painting of a hummingbird

Another Delight!

Watch this hummingbird oil painting come to life in 1 minute (time lapse)

This is another of my hummingbird paintings, that I painted for a children’s book, but my blog post today is about the same kind of hummingbird I shared with you yesterday. There’s another surprise video that I took today! You might remember that in the past I said that birds come to me when I sing? 

It was something I discovered by accident when we were raising guinea fowl and I couldn’t get them to come back to their shelter at night. I tried calling for them, but one day when I was outside singing just for the love of singing, I noticed that they responded to my voice and came nearer to me. In fact, they kept coming toward me as if in some sort of spell… it was wonderful! So, instead of yelling my fool head off and those birds ignoring me, in the evenings I’d sing a hymn and they’d come home from wherever they’d been hiding in the fields!

As I’ve previously shared, we used to have a hobby farm and had to sell it when the company my husband worked for left the country and ghosted our town, leaving everyone unemployed. We had to start over and it’s taking us a long time, but we focus on each step. Anyway, the guinea fowl days are gone, but I discovered that wild song birds and hummingbirds also respond to my singing! 

I’ve hoped to capture this experience for you, and I’m getting closer to doing that. I have a video to share… it’s not quite the same exhilarating experience I have when I don’t have a phone held up (they don’t like that). If I’m still and don’t have a phone held up, a hummingbird will come within INCHES of my face, hover, and stare with direct eye contact, his tiny eyes locking with mine. It’s kind of scary actually. I never know if he might actually fly directly into my nose one of these days! 

But so far they don’t do this when I have a camera/phone held up. I could try a tripod in the future, but that might spook them too. We’ll see. This time there were two hummingbirds, but they look identical so I don’t know if you’re seeing the same little guy or if one flew in/out and the other then flew in/out. But you’ll see that when I sing, they fly out from wherever they were hiding. Isn’t it amazing? Stay tuned after the video, I have an update!

So, while I was playing the video back, I could hear the chittering sounds that the hummingbirds make. I was confused because I didn’t recall that being in the video. It wasn’t! Since I could clearly hear HIM, just outside the patio windows, he must have heard me as well, via the video! He chittered all the way through my singing on the video and stopped when the video ended! 

Hopefully I can capture it on video when the hummingbirds come near my face and look directly into my eyes. So far this is as close I’ve been able to get to video taping this experience. I hope it was fun to see!

Hummingbird Swing

I hope you had a joyous and spiritually restful Easter weekend. Now that my Easter art posts are finished, “Stories that Inspire my Art” series is back on track here on the blog. You’ll feel warm and fuzzy when you see the amazing real life video update to the story! But first, here’s a 1 minute time lapse to watch me paint a hummingbird.

Watch me paint Hummingbird in a minute (time lapse)

“We bought the hummingbirds a bird swing that advertised the claim that hummingbirds will use it. They’ve not tried it once. But oddly, a couple of other larger birds did, including a silly young cardinal.”

– from the book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Savannah, Georgia” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas

Update to the above story…

I was astonished and delighted to find a tiny hummingbird leisurely swinging on the swing we bought for him and his friends! I took this short video from inside the house. I was convinced that he was making the swing move, but as you can see there was a bit of a breeze, so I may have been wrong about that.

Regardless, he was clearly staying on the swing because it amused him or interested him in some way. Hummingbirds don’t usually stay in one place for long and it’s rare to see one so relaxed. It looks like he’s lost in thought, doesn’t it?

When you watch this little bird swing, how do you feel? Simple creatures eat, drink, interact socially, and even try new adventures, such as sitting in this swing. Is he resting, relaxing, contemplating, or merely satisfying his curiosity about this unusual branch of the tree? We are far from simple, but perhaps a hummingbird can inspire us humans with all of our complexity.

Sometimes it’s better not to overthink an unexpected opportunity that suddenly appears in our flight path. Take a seat, enjoy the ride, let your spirit rest. Maybe the swing was left there especially for you.

Patio Friends

First, the oil painting, then the story behind it… make sure you don’t miss the footage I took from my patio.

Watch me paint this hummingbird in under a minute (time lapse)

“This is a little guy that visits our patio feeder regularly. I get so much joy from seeing birds. It’s hard to explain why it would even matter to see these tiny creatures, but it feels like a gift every time …
We have several varieties of hummingbirds and sometimes they fight. I call their battles “Humming Wars” because their flight patterns and the whoosh/zoom noise they make reminds me of Star Wars’ special effects. Sometimes one of them will blitz by our heads if we are in their flight path.
It’s a privilege when the hummingbirds interact with us. When they’re just peeking inside the glass to beg for their feeder to be filled, it’s not a high quality conversation, but there have been rare occasions when they’ve communicated with us without apparent self-serving motive. I was sitting on the swing one evening with my husband. We were quietly talking, when a hummingbird appeared. He looked directly at me, and then zipped toward my head, and hovered only a few inches from my face. It was a bit unnerving, as we made unwavering eye contact for several seconds. Then, I guess his curiosity was satisfied because he left. I could exhale again, whew! I thought he might have tried pecking at my nose for nectar.”

– from the book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Savannah, Georgia” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas

Update to the above story…

My phone app alerted me that animated gifs were automatically generated from my photo albums. My pictures of one of our patio friends have now made this ruby throated hummingbird a movie star, debuting right here on this blog! (see gif below)

Hummingbird feeders take up very little space and you can enjoy them on a small patio or balcony. When your circumstances restrict you from a big garden, you don’t have to deprive yourself of patio friends. When we feed the birds, they visit us, and they are delightful company!

Painting Optimism

Painting optimism is conveyed through the confident use of vibrant colors, committed textures, and open compositions. Children often have an easier time painting boldly than adults do. For adults who are reluctant to let their paints loose on the canvas, it may be a helpful exercise to view children’s art, which is generally fearless and authentic.

When painting optimism, choose subjects who naturally radiate a positive attitude. “Puffin” is a delightful contented character who assures us that our world is a good place to be. He’s boldly black, white, and shades of fire colors, dominating the green landscape. His feathers are heavily textured and more detailed than the rather undefined background. As he stands tall on his rocky perch, the puffin’s optimism makes this funny stout little bird as majestic as the king of the animal kingdom as he overlooks the place he calls home.

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When painting optimism, an artist must not be afraid to break the rules. Be symmetrical when art and design “experts” tell you not to be, and when they expect symmetry, skew the composition in a way that sets their teeth on edge. Let your confidence lead the way, listen to your intuition, and let the paints boldly flow.

Be as the “Sunflower” who turns his face toward the sun. Let no worries hold you back as you seek what will help you grow.

Sound on for good vibes

Painting optimism requires confidence from the artist. When we choose to focus on positive outcomes and our ability to make sound decisions, we see possibilities in hopeless situations and create solutions to our problems. The trivial constraints and insignificant expectations placed on us by others simply roll off us. We stand like the Puffin, strive like the Sunflower, and fly like the Hummingbird.

Bold art is created by bold artists.

The “Hummingbird” is impossibly small, yet that doesn’t stop him from flying. Now, obviously the bird has wings- whereas, a platypus can’t fly, no matter how much he wants to. So, when we speak of confidence, we assume that we have the proper wings to fly.  With that assumption in place, self-belief is critical to anything we want in life. When we believe we can, we can.

When the simplicity of that truth really lands, we are unstoppable.

“Hummingbird at the Feeder”

Watch Natalie paint this art, and all 50 oil paintings in this collection (menu below)

“This is a little guy that visits our patio feeder regularly. I get so much joy from seeing birds. It’s hard to explain why it would even matter to see these tiny creatures, but it feels like a gift every time. We bought the hummingbirds a bird swing that advertised the claim that hummingbirds will use it. They’ve not tried it once. But oddly, a couple of other larger birds did, including a silly young cardinal.

We have several varieties of hummingbirds and sometimes they fight. I call their battles “HummingWars” because their flight patterns and the whoosh/zoom noise they make reminds me of Star Wars’ special effects. Sometimes one of them will blitz by our heads if we are in their flight path.

It’s a privilege when the hummingbirds interact with us. When they’re just peeking inside the glass to beg for their feeder to be filled, it’s not a high quality conversation, but there have been rare occasions when they’ve communicated with us without apparent self-serving motive. I was sitting on the swing one evening with my husband. We were quietly talking, when a hummingbird appeared. He looked directly at me, and then zipped toward my head, and hovered only a few inches from my face. It was a bit unnerving, as we made unwavering eye contact for several seconds. Then, I guess his curiosity was satisfied because he left. I could exhale again, whew! I thought he might have tried pecking at my nose for nectar.”

Hummingbird oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

List of Oil Paintings in this Collection, linking to their pages here on the site, and also citing physical pages in the hardcover book:

  1. City of Savannah
    1.1 “City of Savannah” page 6-7
    1.2 “Natalie at the Fountain” page 8-11
    1.3 “House in Savannah” page 12-13
    1.4 “Guardian Lion” page 14-15
    1.5 “Autumn Angel” page 16-17
    1.6 “Steamship Savannah” page 18-19
    1.7 “Boiled Peanuts for Sale” page 20-21
    1.8 “Bulldog” page 22-23
    1.9 “Serenity Piano” page 24-25
    1.10 “Painting Colors” page 26-27
  2. Tybee Island
    2.1 “I Love Life” page 30-31
    2.2 “Living Sand Dollar” page 32-33
    2.3 “Matthew the Sea Turtle” page 34-35
    2.4 “Fungie the Dolphin” page36-37
    2.5 “Angel Releasing Dove” page 38-39
    2.6 “Flag on Tybee Island” page 40-41
    2.7 “My Kids at the Beach” page 42-43
    2.8 “Lighthouse near Tybee Island” page 44-45
  3. Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians
    3.1 “Gator and Snake” page 48-49
    3.2 “Tree Frog” page 50-51
    3.3 “Lizard” page 52-53
    3.4 “Blue Heron” page 54-55
    3.5 “Hummingbird” page 56-57
    3.6 “Painted Bunting” page 58-59
  4. Flowers and Trees
    4.1 “Pink Flower” page 62-63
    4.2 “Porch Flowers” page 64-65
    4.3 “Clover” page 66-67
    4.4 “Butterfly Tree Flowers” page 68-69
    4.5 “Savannah Tree” page 70-71
    4.6 “Dancer in a Floral Forest” page 72-73
    4.7 “Come to the Garden” page 74-77
    4.8 “Cherokee Rose” page 78-79
  5. Faith and Food
    5.1 “Floral Cross” page 82-83
    5.2 “Lenten Flower” page 84-85
    5.3 “Celtic Cross” page 86-87
    5.4 “Mary of God’s Favor” page 88-89
    5.5 “Lion and the Lamb” page 90-91
    5.6 “Breakfast with Friends” page 92-93
    5.7 “Peaches in a Bowl” page 94-95
    5.8 “Peach Cookies” page 96-97
    5.9 “Peach Pie” page 98-99
  6. Seasons and Weather
    6.1 “Pumpkins and Mums” page 102-103
    6.2 “Autumn Cottage” page 104-105
    6.3 “Spring Lambs” page 106-107
    6.4 “Peach Tree Hurricane” page 108-109
    6.5 “Eye of the Storm” page 110-111
    6.6 “God’s Promise” page 112-113
    6.7 “We Gather Together” page 114-115
    6.8 “Savannah Snow” page 116-117
    6.9 “I Believe in Santa” page 118-119

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