Cute Swiss Cottage

 This is a petite bird house, and it is a little bit smaller than some of them I have been doing.  I had someone ask me about if I did smaller bird houses and I thought I would give it a try.  This is the first of 2 smaller bird houses that I am making.  The roof on this birdhouse is a piece of siding from my house that blew off in the Derecho we had in August 2020.  This one I call Cute Swiss Cottage.  I still need to put several thin layers of clear coat weather proofing spray on this.

Front and side of Cute Swiss Cottage

Back view of Cute Swiss Cottage

I even did a bit on the bottom and this is a removable panel for cleaning the bird house after nesting season.  Thank you for stopping by.

Bottom of Cute Swiss Cottage with removable bottom.

Sunflower Fields and Argyle Check Blues

 Two more bird houses.  One is called Sunflower Fields that's inspired by the Sunflower fields that can be seen in Iowa in late August to early September.  It's the sunny colors of late summer early Fall which is my favorite time of the year.  The other bird house I'm calling Argyle Check Blues.  I think you'll understand why when you look at it.

These bird houses are made from scratch by me and the roofs are the former gutters that used to be on my house before a Derecho (In-land Hurricane) storm hit the area.

Bird houses in process

I had even more fun with the bottom of the Sunflower Fields one... check this out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Plaid Stained Glass Gothic Bird House

 I'm having a bit of fun with these bird houses.  This color fest I call -"Plaid Stained Glass Gothic ".  It's inspired by the window in the background of Grant Wood' s American Gothic in the shape but I thought I would make it a lot more color. How's this for the ultimate bird house?! It even has stained glass effect on the bottom. Enjoy! 

Windmill Dreams....

 Yes, another bird house.  I call it "Windmill Dreams".  And I'm sure you can see why.  Another roof on the bird house that is re-purposed gutters from my house.  I managed to get new gutters on the house recently and now have over 40feet of gutters I can repurpose...lol  Not sure if I'll use all of the gutters but time will tell.

Oh and did I mention these are all usable art?  There's removable roof parts, and air vents, and drainage holes.  There's also 4 layers of clear coat on them too.  Can you tell I am having fun with these?  Enjoy!

Expanding into Bird Houses- Ode to Corn

I've expanded into bird houses....

Photo: "Ode to Corn" Bird house

 

It's been a long while since I have updated this blog.  Between everyday life and then COVID, this blog kind of fell through the cracks.  After a Derecho storm (An Inland Hurricane) the
first I had ever experienced the almost 140mph winds took out trees, power, part of the roof and almost anything that wasn't bolted into the ground.  It was an eye opener what the weather can do.  

My tree lined street in shambles after a Derecho storm with 140mph winds.

 

I was lucky enough to be home at the time and took shelter but 3 large trees were lost and gutters were ripped from the house as well as shingles.  

It was after this one day while I was cleaning up the yard that I noticed the local birds nesting in my former mangled gutters.  It was then that it hit me! Those poor birds and thus I changed up my artwork and did a bit of "usuable" art but I decided to repupose the mangled gutters and a bit of wood that ended up in my yard mixed with new wood.  And bird houses started to take shape.

This is my first one that I did.  Loosely based on Grant Wood's Ode to Corn...

Enjoy!

Photo- Back of Ode to Corn Bird house.

Ceralean Chevrolet and a Dog Called Henry....

I'm trying to prep up for my Summer  with new paintings. I'm  also exploring new subjects. Dogs with clothing. Here's  a couple of examples from my studio...

" Ceurlean Cheverolet-9"x12"-watercolor and ink on paper.

"A Dog Called Henry"-11"x14" watercolor and ink on paper.

Butterfly & Flowers...

Recently, a co-worker passed away.  It was a shocking thing where they went in for a surgery that is considered by some as an everyday procedure.  Unfortunately, complications occurred and there was preparations for a life flight to another medical facility but the co-worker passed before that could occur.  It's been a sad week at work.  This co-worker loved purple and butterflies.  So I did this painting at the request of another co-worker that thought it might be a nice gift for the family.  I'm not sure if my artwork is worthy of something like that but here it is....

"Purple Butterfly and Flowers in Remembrance"- 11" x 14" Watercolor and Ink on Paper.

A Little Eye Fun....

I did these as a Christmas presents for my bosses at an eye care office clinic where I work part time.  They are now being enjoyed on the walls at the clinic....

Fat Tire and Lab Scruff

Here's my most recent pieces finished.

"Schlick Fat Tire"; Watercolor and Ink on 12" x 12" Paper

"Lab Scruff"; Watercolor and Ink on 8" x 10" Paper

I've got other pieces of art in the works and hope to share them with you soon.  I welcome any feedback or comments!  Thank you for stopping by.

The Lab Blues

I had a bit of fun the other day in my studio and did a Lab in shades of blue.  Here's the result...

"Lab Blues"; watercolor and ink on 8" x 10" paper.
Available for purchase.

I welcome any comment and thanks for stopping by!