Postcards from New Mexico

A few months ago, I bought a packet of postcard-shaped watercolor pages.


You can paint your image on one side, address the other, and send them off. I had not found inspiration to use them in Oregon, so I brought them with me to New Mexico.



New Mexico has incredible natural and human-made features that have been inspiring artists for centuries, if not millennia.


The light there is incomparable to anywhere else, especially at sunrise and sunset. I find it nearly impossible to sleep in , afraid I'll miss another great sunrise.

I had no trouble finding subjects to paint. I painted in my rental vehicle, on benches at wildlife refuges, and at my friend's house in Bosque Farms.

Flowering cacti at Bosque Del Apache

Bosque at sunset from Herp Tech


Cliff swallow in nest at Bosque Del Apache

While visiting one of my study sites, I collected some deep red soil that is probably derived from Abo Formation shale.


I stained some of the postcards with the soil, to capture one of the dominant regional colors.


I experimented with painting over the soil and adding the soil to cards already painted. Here are the results:

Hot air balloon from Petroglyphs National Monument, watercolor painted on paper previously stained with soil.

Building in Old Town Plaza, Albuquerque, ink on paper later stained with soil, then painted with watercolor

Kachina in Old Town watercolor on paper, later stained with soil

Black-chinned hummingbird at Herp Tech, watercolor on paper previously stained with soil

Mazano Mountains from Airport, watercolor on paper previously stained with soil


I touched up my paintings in the Albuquerque airport before boarding my departing flight. I sent a few away to Sarah and my parents, but I will keep the rest for myself as reminders of a great trip..

Painting Nests

I finally put the finishing touches on a watercolor of the Annas’s hummingbird nest that fledged several weeks ago.


I think it captures the mood of early spring nesting in Oregon. I will hang it near my corner office as a reminder of this year's chilly spring.

After a year of watercoloring I have learned a few things about myself

1. It is hard to know when to stop. I keep finding little things I want to change or add.

2. It is easy to paint profiles of birds, but difficult to paint other poses. I have gained great respect for artists such as Debbie Kaspari who excel at painting birds in life-like positions.

3. I love painting gray clouds as a background. Good thing I live in western Oregon!

A few weeks ago, I painted a wedding card for a family friend.


I was happy with the poses of the ospreys, but I had a hard time with the bills. Raptor bills look cool, but they are the hardest types to sketch or paint. I think that the background and action take some focus off of the details of their faces, so I am happy with the finished product.

I would like to paint a few more of the nests I’ve seen recently, especially the great horned owls in the previous post, but upcoming commitments are piling up, such as Audubon events, volunteer bird surveys, a mini-field season in New Mexico, and research paper deadlines. Here’s to never feeling bored!