When Sue and I were in Sonora, Mexico several years ago on an artist’s expedition my artist friend Wes Siegrist shared a photo he had taken of an oriole on large orange blossoms. Having told me where to look, I later found that African Tulip Tree in bloom! I stood quietly near by, focusing my binoculars on the large blossoms that were attracting several species of birds – but it was the orioles that really got my attention. Here are some of the sketches and notes I used to create and compose “Sonora Orange- Hooded & Streak-backed Orioles”. Taking note of the order in which the sketches were made may give some insight as to how I came up with the idea and pulled the elements together into a final composition.
These two sketches (left in ink – right in pencil) document my first impressions of the two different kinds of orioles and their basic differences in shape and plumage.
Work in progress – acrylic block-in and finished in oil
“Sonora Orange” – Hooded & Streak-backed Orioles 22 X 14″ Oil on hardboard
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum purchase 2013
John C. Pitcher's WILD INSPIRATIONS 