Exploring & Nesting

Pink lady slipper (Cypripedium acaule)

It's daunting in the Spring to sketch what is in front of me in Nature. There's newness everywhere and I want to posses it all. It's a weird desire; however, this is a fact of the artist's life. If I drew a tenth of it, I would be forever rooted in one spot! On this morning's walk I found familiar lovely things that stayed still so I could draw them.

Pink lady slipper orchids are just starting to emerge and bloom. Twenty years ago, I hid an engagement ring beneath this flower's broad scoop-shaped leaves for my then-girlfriend to find. Prior to this signal moment, I found lady slippers in wilderness areas in the Midwest and Canada during unforgettable botanical excursions.

Where to begin? There is something interesting and beautiful EVERYWHERE I look.
Here, sketches of pine branches and barberry

Finally, as I emerged from the forest paths I looked up and my eyes instantly fell on this delightful scene below: a robin sitting in a cramped little nest in a small tree. She stayed still and let me draw her portrait. I'll be back tomorrow to see how she's getting along.

See how she's stuffed into this nest? Bright yellow beak and tail up in the air. Kind of funny.