Fresh food from nature, bright colors, and flowers in bloom- what a refreshing sight after a long winter! Make sure you have your sound on to hear a delightful rendition of “Summertime”. The dark days are soon behind us.
I’m painting again today. The blog series will return when my painting marathon ends. Until then, I’m posting a new painting every day!
Watch Natalie paint this art in 2 minutes (time lapse)
“Strawberry Flower” is included in the collection “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Nature“. This art was inspired by a strawberry plant tended to by Natalie’s daughter. The delight upon seeing the pretty little flower appear and then the first juicy red strawberry is now a warm memory of the first summer days living in the Deep South (Georgia, United States).
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First, the Wild Horses oil painting, then the inspiration behind it, how I created this art, and a new challenge for self reflection. Are you a wild horse or a roped pony?
Watch me paint Wild Horses in 2 minutes (time lapse)
The inspiration for this art came after I saw real life videos taken by someone who owns a ranch where wild mustangs freely roam. The footage was breathtaking! He then challenged me to paint wild horses.
I’d never drawn or painted a horse before, but why not? I was teaching an online art class at the time so I assigned “wild horses” to myself as one of the class projects. I’ll show you these lessons now, as you can see step by step how I painted this art.
Your self-reflection challenge: Are you a wild horse or a roped pony? As most things in life, moderation and balance are key. You might have noticed that I used a painting reference (a photo to look at for guidance on shapes, proportions and perspective to achieve the likeness of the animals and structured composition), but later I stopped using the reference and painted from the heart.
Structure and following an established lead is akin to being roped like a pony. Painting (living) from the heart, led by emotion, intuition, and spontaneity is to experience the freedom of a wild mustang. Are you a wild horse or a roped pony?
In what areas of your life could you use more rope to reign yourself in, a gentle guide helping you stay in line, and a friendly pat on the head when you’ve stayed on course? In what areas of your life do you need to cut that rope and run free- following no one and nothing but your wildest dreams? Take a moment to ponder this, but don’t wait too long to act. Today, be a wild horse.
Watch me paint this jellyfish in 1 minute (time lapse)
Make sure your sound is on for full eerie effect. The ocean is a surreal place, isn’t it? This art is part of the 2021 collection “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Nature“. I’ll start the next one today. Another one toward my lifetime goal of 1k finished oil paintings!
Watch Natalie paint this jellyfish in under 1 minute (time lapse)
This art is traditional oil paint on black canvas. The paints seem to glow because of the stark contrast in hues on the black canvas. The effect is stronger when seen on a screen (through light). “Jellyfish” is included in the collection “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Nature” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas. For more examples of painting on black canvas see blog post “Painting on Black“.
Oil Painting of a jellyfish by artist Natalie Buske Thomas
First the oil paintings then the stories behind them. Don’t miss the beautiful real life video update filmed just yesterday! Grab a cuppa, settle in and enjoy.
The first cardinal I painted was for Grandpa Smiles, a children’s book about my son and my late father who died long before he was born. Dad was only thirty seven when he died from cancer after serving two tours in the Vietnam War. He didn’t live to see me grow up. And yet, his life made a significant impact on mine, and on my son’s.
When I was a child attending Dad’s memorial service I remember thinking, “Who are all of these people, and why are they coming to our (private) service?” The church was packed. The speaker said things about Dad that sounded like he led a whole life that didn’t include me, and I wasn’t aware of.
Years later when my husband was deployed to the war in Iraq, I left Germany where he was stationed and came “home” (I don’t really have a home, as I’ve moved around so much, but I went back to the town where I spent most of my school years). I got a job at the same factory where my father had once worked. Except he had been a manager in the offices and I was working second shift as a factory worker in assembly (a story for another day).
While working at the factory, I ran into people who had known my father. They were eager to tell me stories about things he had done. I had never known any of what they were telling me. Hearing it for the first time was as if they were talking about a stranger. It was a strange feeling to realize that Dad had been living a secret life.
It was clear that these people not only remembered my dad, but held him in high esteem, with an almost hero legacy. They told me stories of good things he had done, how he’d helped people and even financed getting someone back on their feet again (Dad was not a wealthy man). All of this was kept secret because Mom would have been livid if she’d known that he used some of the family finances on other people.
I wish he’d have told me, but he DID tell me. He told me through the good things that he did in his life, that remained to be shown to me long after he died. That’s what happens to goodness and truth: it remains. It becomes a legacy to follow.
Watch me paint “Cardinals” in under a minute (time lapse)
The next cardinal I painted (in the video above) was years later, a pair, male and female. This was for the children’s book “Bird Days“, my last children’s’ book. I later left children’s book illustration behind as I launched into my “inspired by” oil painting series for the adult market. “Cardinals” was included in the book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by my Christian Faith“.
The painting “Cardinals” became one of my most popular paintings, especially as it has deep personal meaning for people who have lost loved ones. But even without that profound connection, others see cardinals as a symbol of hope, faith and promise. Still others simply enjoy the quiet beauty of cardinals and feel peace at the sighting of one, whether in real life or in paint.
My third cardinal painting features cardinals on my patio feeder in “Come to the Garden“, which I blogged about recently in the post called “Quiet Joy“. Now I’ll pull a quote from this painting’s description from the book, because it’s time for a real life video update.
“The birds don’t usually come around all at once… …The tree on the right is the butterfly tree that I showed you in a previous painting. The shepherd’s hook is there, with the bird feeder below it. The cardinals sometimes pose exactly like this. We’ve changed things up a bit since I did this painting. We’ve added a red tower for smaller birds, that’s supposed to attract the elusive migratory Painted Bunting I showed you earlier. We’ll see, come spring!”
– from book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by my Christian Faith” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas
So, as you know… the elusive Painted Bunting DID return, and has been a regular visitor every season since! I’ve blogged about him several times, including just yesterday:
Well, after I blogged yesterday I saw the painted bunting again, and tried for (and got!) better footage, which I’ll show you… but this isn’t the video I was excited about… that’s coming later! But watch this short clip first.
Oh and this one too… very short, only 24 seconds.
THIS is the video I’m excited to show you. Remember when I said, “the birds don’t usually show up all at once”? Well, sometimes they DO, and when that happens, it’s GLORIOUS!
Graced by the promise of a cardinal, overwhelmed by the beauty of an elusive painted bunting, and cheered by a diminutive chatty hummingbird, how can one not feel certain of a divine plan after seeing this? Surely we are loved, by a Father who keeps many secrets, but reveals them in truth. The goodness we see is the legacy that teaches us how to live. The pursuit of happiness begins with openness, continues with kindness, and is fulfilled in acts of love.
First, the oil painting, then the shameful story behind it… make sure you don’t miss my bonus video- real life new footage of the elusive Painted Bunting!
Watch me paint this lizard in 1 minute (time lapse)
“During our first summer in Georgia, the thing I feared most happened: the air conditioning went out. We had to deal with the intense humid heat with no AC [air conditioning, cooling]! The days and nights dragged on as we waited for the situation to be resolved. The weeks before this happened, I’d made a new friend: a cute lizard on the glass patio door. He kept me company while I was working on my computer nearby. I named him Henry. On one of our sweltering nights without air conditioning, I left the glass patio door open, which exposed a small gap in the seal of the sliding screen door. The hour was late night, nearly midnight, and my husband was working the night shift. That’s when Henry got IN. I chased him until I was overheated and sweaty. Finally, with the help of a spray bottle of water, I corralled him out the open door, while yelling, ‘Get out, Henry, you bast-rd!’ I realized too late, that our new neighbors didn’t know ‘Henry’ is a lizard. Since then, I’ve rekindled my friendship with our patio lizards, as they keep the doors free of bugs. I’ve watched a lizard eat an entire pesky moth in two seconds time. As long as they stay on the other side of the door, we are good pals.”
– from the book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Savannah, Georgia” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas
Update to the above story…
If our neighbors heard me in my crazy fit of heat-induced delirium, they’ve politely never mentioned it. No air conditioning while knee deep in the humidity of a scorching Georgia summer is akin to boiling one’s organs while draining the brain of consciousness. When chasing that slippery little lizard, I was near the brink of delirium.
Fortunately, the air conditioning is working just fine so far at the beginning of this new season. We saw the first sightings of the return of the lizards. One tiny lizard was declared the cutest one she’s ever seen by my daughter, and then she spotted another lizard that seemed to change colors (like the lizard in my oil painting video, which is inadvertent due to changes in lighting while filming, but it gives the illusion of the real life way that lizards change hues from green to brown and back again).
The lizards have a much higher favorability rating since they’ve not come back indoors, but they can’t beat the popularity of the birds. The cardinals are active and seem to have a nest nearby. Hummingbirds are crazy with hunger at all times of the day. But, it’s the elusive one that most catches our breath…
The painted bunting is back!!! There seems to always be just one each season (and sometimes his female companion). I call him the “elusive” painted bunting because it’s hard to get photos and video of him. He’s skittish of any sign of movement. It’s difficult to adjust the camera or zoom in to follow his movements, or even be quick enough to capture him at all.
I was able to get fantastic footage that I shared previously in the blog post “Bunting is REAL!“. I captured that during last season, from inside the house. This time, I was outside, from a different angle. The new footage isn’t as nice, but it’s fun to see anyway, as it puts you in the moment.
When I was processing this video for you this morning, I saw a flash of light from the patio window. I had a feeling… yep, it was the sun hitting the tower bird feeder because someone was in it and made it sway… YES! It was the painted bunting, back again this morning for breakfast. I tried to grab my camera, but he flitted off.
Here’s the glorious footage from last season, in case you missed it and didn’t want to bother clicking on the link I shared earlier… or if you just want to watch it again to compare. Notice how bright his colors are? It’s very difficult to get the breathtaking vivid hues to show up on camera. I’m glad I painted him. Oils do this bird justice better than my camera does. But, this footage here is pretty close!
I’ll continue to try to capture the elusive painted bunting. It would be nice to catch him when he’s perched on a more natural habitat, like when he’s waiting in the trees for the bird feeder to be free of pesky threats like other birds or women with cameras.
Not every blog post has to be a metaphor for loftier thoughts, but I do see one in this post. Why do my husband and I gush over this elusive bird, while largely ignoring many other types of birds, and never filming the lizards at all? Is it because the painted bunting is so exotic and beautiful, or because he is rare, his season with us very short, and he’s difficult to catch sight of?
Our human nature is to value more the things that are fleeting and rare, the moments that are difficult to obtain, and the experiences that require work and luck to achieve. It seems we’re always chasing after that mysterious combination of destiny and control. So while the common lizard may zip past our feet, we’ll barely glance at him when the painted bunting flies overhead.
But when winter stretches on too long, as this one did, and the first lizard makes his appearance, the sighting of his tiny green crawling, climbing, and leaping body induces relief and delight! So happy to see you, dear Lizard! For when we are without the joys of abundant life, we miss the lizards equally as the elusive painted buntings. All creatures great and small, we appreciate them all!
This oil painting “Easter Sunday with Grandma” is featured in the book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Nature” and is also a live painting show event for the Easter Show 2021. The story that inspired this painting is narrated in the Easter Show.
Watch Natalie paint “Easter Sunday with Grandma” in this 2 minute time lapse videoFull Painting “Easter Sunday with Grandma”
