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| (color pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison) |
I
got an idea last summer, reveling in all the Dickcissels living along
our road and pastures. Nothing deep or serious mind you...and selfishly
- something just for my own fun. I have to keep reminding myself - if
you aren't having fun, then knock off what your doing and get to
it...life is too short!
I
don't exactly recall why or how I came to this idea? Maybe it was all
the perseverance these birds were being educated to each day - forming
and raising families...staking their
territorial claims and announcing that every day...all day long. Its
really quite something to see and hear throughout the summer months.
I
decided to just have fun and dedicate this artwork to them...all the
graduates of Prairie Hill Farm - Class of '22. They wouldn't all pose
for their class pictures but I got a few of them...mostly the guys of
course, but a couple girls showed up as well.
Making
this reminiscent of an old country school class composite did present
some issues for me. Color pencil is not a good tool for lettering nor
graphics...I almost gave up the silly idea half way through, even before
getting to the birds. I should've farmed that part off to someone who
is actually "Good" at lettering and calligraphy...like our
Daughter-in-Law Amy, she's a "Natural" at design and lettering - just
look around our house!
The
birds were fun - as was the central image representing their "school
grounds"...putting everyone in a oval was "not" fun...not an easy shape
constraint for my tired eyes and hands.
But
here's to the "Prairie Hill Farm Summer Academy - Dickcissel Class of
'22" - of whom many graduates returned this year and every year, to
school their young and bring them up to be proud little Dickie Birds (as
someone once called them)!!!
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| (color pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison) |
I
decided to declare June as "Dickcissel Month", in honor of these little
birds and the memory they leave behind after they head south at
summer's end. I still have a glimmer of a seed to sprout a more
serious Dickcissel piece someday...maybe a painting, who knows?
But I still remind myself not to take things too seriously, and have fun in the moment!
