Goony Birds

 Here are more doodles of morose storks (or herons, crows or cormorants --or a combination of all of them!)
Why are they so depressed, anxious and worried? I don't know. They don't answer their email!

Is he looking for something or does he think we can't see him?

He wishes he brought a book

doing nothing and he looks guilty. Why do I suddenly feel implicated too?
Brilliant!

waiting for something to come out… out of what??!

could be body surfing?

The Stork & The Rhinoceros

Say "Hello" to Mr. Stork. I found him in my studio one morning.

He wanted to cross the river one day but was afraid to get his feet wet (silly bird!)

The lily pads were very wobbly!

Fortunately, Miss Rhinoceros, who wasn't afraid of anything, offered to give Mr. Stork a ride across the river.

The water wasn't deep at all! Mr. Stork was just afraid of too many things.

They made it across and the stork thanked Miss Rhinoceros profusely.
Sometimes, depending on the nature of one's friendship, it's easier to just help someone and not make too many observations and comments! Maybe Mr. Stork will find a way to help out Miss Rhinoceros someday.

A Strange Turn

Where do stories come from?

I ask myself this all the time. Or, rather, where will the stories go? And how will they end? And what will make them useful, loved or memorable? I really wish I knew. It would make life (seem) a lot easier. I am primarily an artist but I make these pictures that strongly hint at narrative potentials. The pictures come before the words right now. It's the insanity that keeps me sane …I think!

In this sketchbook* entry (finished this morning), the heron and the bear are peering over the sheer cliff to the ocean below. The small white tern is perched on a ledge far below. The situation doesn't seem too scary although there is an approaching bank of fog in the distance.

• Do the bear and heron see the tern? Are they even looking for him?
• Is tern hiding from the other two animals? Maybe he just wants some "alone time".
• Has tern made a narrow escape? Realistically, terns can fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic, surely escaping from a lumbering bear and an awkward heron wouldn't be so difficult.
• I think Mr Tern is just tired of his companions (and maybe they know it too!).

a painting in my sketchbook
mixed media 4/13/2012

detail

 In the next picture, we see that Mr. Tern is back in a rowboat. This is similar to the boat we saw him in back in February 2009 when this whole business started ("Owl & Tern"). Things are different now but he seems to want to quest on; his wings get itchy. He wants to fly and see the world. And he wants to share it with others.

Maybe. …to be continued… definitely.

Bonne journée à tous!

Mr Tern all alone in his boat
4/13/2012
mixed media

detail

* both images are a combination of media: collage, crayon, watercolor and acrylic paint, charcoal, pastel, ink and pencil and then poorly photographed with a cheap point & shoot digital camera.

Can't Sleep?

Owl cannot sleep.

She tries many different positions but she is wide awake. 

Does she wonder where Tern is? What is he doing? The moon rises and sets.

Tern finally returns and sings a lullaby and soon Owl is peacefully sleeping. When the sun peeks over the horizon Tern warns the the other birds "Shhhhhhhhhh!"