When Birds Fly South

 

More than anything else, it is the quiet backyard and the long shadows that achingly signal the coming of autumn here in New Jersey. As the Sun moves southward, birds follow. Most of my backyard birds are gone though a few stragglers remain. I saw a pair of cardinals this afternoon. Not sure if they plan to hang around here for the winter. During spring and summer, I spent a lot of time watching the backyard visitors from my kitchen window and capturing their movements and sounds with my Nikon D7000. I had put makeshift ground level bird baths in several places. I observed the communal (or its lack) spirit in sharing the water bath and was amused to see how the birds perched on the nearby branch to signal to the bird splashing in the water that its time was up. I wasn't the only one observing them. My neighbor's little kitty stalked them too. Even the cat is now huddling inside. 

Just yesterday, nearly three dozen birds descended on my  backyard for a little sip and a dip before resuming their southern journey. It felt like a good omen for the season to come. 

The art work at the top is two sides of a clay tag collaged with a print of an original watercolor I had done of  Red Munia, also known as scarlet finch, a common bird in the Indian sub-continent. Below are a sample of my backyard visitors through the camera lens. 

Enjoy the photos!

Linked to Paint Party Friday. 

Thanks for visiting.

Coconut: Have You Tried One Recently?

Coconut is an indispensable ingredient in South Indian cooking. As a South Indian myself I have always used coconut in my cooking, even in those days when coconut was the big villain in heart health circuit. With it now back in grace not only as a healthy food but also as an essential body oil, I feel proud to be a South Indian :). I did the above watercolor illustration as a tribute to this might tree nut.

If you are interested in coconut-based recipes,  here is one of my recipes.

Thanks for visiting. Linked to Paint Party Friday.

Mixed-Media Sari Fabric Art

Mixed-Media Sari Fabric Art: Birds on Green Trellis

Way back, when I first opened my Etsy shop I used to make a series called sari art. Using watercolor, I sought to capture the colors, textures and motifs of Indian saris on paper.  Indian saris were a

great source of inspiration and I had a lot of fun making sari art. Then I moved on to other things. 

Recently, I felt a renewed interest in doing them again. This time, I did it a little differently.  The colors and textures of the sari became the foundation upon which other patterns and collaged images were grafted. This added a greater dimension to the art. I am very happy with the effect.

They are now available here.

Zen-Doodle Mixed-Media Sari Art: Swan

Mixed-Media Sari Art: Born Free

Thanks for visiting.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. I am thrilled that the PPF random number generator chose my art for the featured artist last Friday and I am thankful to those PPF artists who left a comment on my blog.