Finally!!!!
I FOUND them!!!
Owl pellets.

After years of knowing what to look for and searching diligently, I got them! Whoooo Hoooooo! Yessssssss.

Owl pellets are regurgitated fur and bones. Owls cannot digest them. It’s really not gross at all. If you have a cat, it’s just like a hair ball.

I collected 2.5 pellets. When I started to dissect them with tweezers, there was a definite smell, just like rotting fruit. I don’t know why this is, but it was there. Over the period of 2 hours I carefully separated several bones and was in nature heaven!

How To Look For Owl Pellets:

Owls LOVE pines trees on the edge of a field. When you see this inspect the pines. This picture is white wash not sap. White wash is owl poop. Many people assume this is sap because it is on a pine. When you see this on a tree, inspect the ground around the tree. That is where you will find the pellets.

Here is a pellet. It looks like poop but it is not. Sometimes you can even see the bones sticking out of the pellet. This one was very dark and about 2 inches long. That information is important because it can tell you what type of owl it was. I don’t have that information but in the future I may try to find out.

Here are some of the bones I cleaned off. I did not even save them all. WOW. Let’s just say W O W!
Can you find one single tooth, it has a root on it…how cool. I’ll give you a clue….near the top left corner. I cleaned 6 skulls in 2.5 pellets. I believe I have 2 rat skulls and 4 mice skulls, but not sure.

Now that you know how to find owl pellets, keep your eyes open when hiking. You too can have this much fun in nature!!!

The cold realities of winter did not hinder our love for art and nature. All eager participants showed up bright and early on this frosty January morning, ready to get to work play. We did however, agree to sketch from inside the nature center as the wind was fierce and the wind chill was in the teens.

Here is the class studying the frozen Long John Slough. We talked about the different colors you find in the distance and the foreground and the beautiful colors hiding in the shadows on the slough.

The class did a wonderful job of representing the slough and as a result produced a moment in time, freezing it on this frozen day, and took home a lovely piece of artwork. I’m very proud of each one.

Here is a close up of my sketch. I try to enforce the rule of there being no rules. Our artwork may not look exactly like the real thing, but that’s okay. We are capturing a feeling not a photo.

After class a few of us agreed to a winter hike. Here Katie and Michelle are bundled up and ready to go exploring!

How blessed we were to have a fresh inch of snow cover every single limb and tiny branch the night before. I think to myself, it is no magic (although it looks like it), the Father places every snowflake in its ordained position with care. I am truly thankful and in awe.

We stopped on the Black Oak Trail to study the shadows and listen to the tiny trickle whispering from the pond. This very much feeds our soul and renews our spirits…a much needed rest from a hectic work week.

Don’t let the cold stop you. The next class is Saturday, February 25, 2012. If the weather is too cold we will sketch from inside. I am however always willing for a hike afterwards!

Kitty from Behind - watersoluble graphite pencil

I decided to change up my mediums and practice sketching with something other than watercolors. General’s Sketch & Wash pencil (made in the USA, yeaaaaaah!!!) is a nice change of pace and I highly recommend it as a quick, yet fun sketching tool.

It acts just like a pencil, however it is watersoluble, which means you can take a clean water-filled brush and move the graphite around.

Kitty Profile - watersoluble graphite pencil

You do not need watercolor paper either. I drew this in a sketchbook with 70lb paper.

Between the two sketches, I think I prefer the simple line contour drawings over the heavily shaded profile sketch. Quick and fun!

Glitter Snowfall watercolor sketch

As the sun peeks out from the clouds, the snow is transformed into glitter. Glitter, literally.
It is falling soft and slow, straight down for there is no wind. A calm hush prevails.

It is a very holy moment.

As I sketch this scene from my window, a foreclosed house is in my view. There is no smoke from the furnace pipe and the eyes of the house are black and cold. My anxiety rises thinking of how many of these are on my block. Will mine be next?

But this moment is truly holy for God is trying to teach me how to be still, to appreciate this very time filled space and be happy in His wonder.

I close my eyes and praise Him for who He is. In the midst of all the problems, my anxiety fades away. I open my eyes and watch the sparkle of the snowflakes. Those tiny mirrors reflecting the sun, how amazing. I am happy. I am living in this moment. I am living under His care.

Bridge on Blue Trail Bullfrog watercolor sketch

Come hike with me on the blue trail at Bullfrog Lake!
Click to listen (hiking on gravel trail with dried leaves)

There, now you’re hiking with me!

It is very calm. There is no wind and the trees are mute.
Can you see the peach color in the sky just above the horizon? I LOVE that! Blue grey above us, but peach in the horizon.

It doesn’t smell like January outside. It smells just like March, when winter hangs on but the thaw of spring is in the air. It is so mild (41°F) that the trail is covered in mud. Does that mean we should stay off? NO! We put our waterproof hiking boots on and prepare to GET DIRTY!

I stop by the bridge and walk down to the water. Only when the nearby cars from Archer Ave stop, you can hear the tiniest trickle from the creek. Ice fills the creek and bright green moss covers the rocks. The sound is small, but the peace is grand.

Chickadees are out in full force. They warn each other of my approach. The call sounds something like this: Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee. The more “dee’s” you hear the stronger the warning.
Don’t worry little chickadees, I mean no harm.

I hope you enjoyed our hike at Bullfrog Lake on the Blue Trail. If you cannot hike on your own for health reasons or such, just turn up your volume, listen to the sound of hiking on the trail, and look at the trail photos. Soon you will feel like you are out in nature!

I painted this for my friend’s step-daughter. She is visiting from Costa Rica. This is her first time in America.

So what does a girl from Costa Rica need from Chicago?

SNOW!

Unfortunately as it turns out, this is the mildest winter Chicago has had in a very long time. Mild and dry. Right now it is 53°F, downright hot for a January day in Chicago!

Oh well, we will bring the snow to her in the form of a watercolor painting! I hope she likes it! I wrote her a note on the back of the painting:

I do not speak Spanish. I totally cheated and went to Google Translate (hahahaha) and typed in this paragraph:
“Welcome to Chicago in the winter-time. I hope it is not too cold for you. I am happy to meet you! Your new friend, Christine.”

Maybe my Spanish speaking friends out there can tell me if I did okay?

The original painting is a gift, however if you are interested in an archival print or a greeting card with this image, please visit my page on Fine Art America:

Thank you!

Shelf Mushroom at Willow Springs Woods watercolor

It’s been a while, huh?

After having the stomach virus, I managed to find a tiny piece of ice to fall on….right on my tail bone *oooooouch*. That left me sore for over two weeks! Soon Christmas arrived and the holiday parties kept me busy. All of these things kept me out of the woods for about a month.

Well, I’m glad to say I’m back on track!

Today I escaped to Willow Spring Woods for a quick hike. Here were my observations:

“The wind is strong but I am not cold. Bare trees above me creek loudly. Just above them a hawk silently glides sideways, pushed by the gusty wind. Intermittent snow flies making my inner child very happy.”

Many of the oaks have shelf mushrooms hanging on the trunk. I love to study the lines and the many different subtle colors.

The trees on the trail seem to speak as they creeeeeek in the strong winds. I like to stand beneath and stare at the tips which sway back and forth, back and forth.

This tree has been invaded by fungi. I didn’t realise it at the time, but this picture has awesome texture, separated in thirds!!!

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday with family and friends.

Now, let’s get back to business and pick up those paint brushes!!!!!!

Have you ever been in a spot where things seem impossible and you just don’t know what to do? Maybe you weigh your options but any decision you make will still not work.

When you don’t know what to do, seek God.

I try to do this in my own life.  It’s not always easy. Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times for many reasons, but never because He’s mean or likes to deal out punishments. Here what is says in the bible about such times:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Rom 8:28

You can view it like taking medicine, tastes horrible but in the end beneficial for wellness. You just can’t see the end result yet.

God always has a plan for those who seek Him and He is always in control. Even when it looks just the opposite. He will provide a path for you.

As a free gift, I offer this piece of art. You can download a full 7×5 .pdf here:
free_download_Winter_Night

You can print it, give it as a gift, or maybe make Christmas cards with it?
Have fun!

Winter Night by Christine Novak Kane is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Downy Woodpecker at Suet Feeder watercolor sketch

This is my suet feeder which is right outside my window. It contains a pure white suet cake (tree-rats don’t like it) and is inserted under the roof. A black metal grate holds the cake underneath and allows only the birds that can hang upside down (woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches) to feed on it.

After battling tree rats, starlings, and grackles who ate my cakes in record time, installing this feeder was the perfect solution.

Now I am rewarded with the visit of some special downy woodpeckers everyday. O how blessed I am!

I always get excited when the male comes by because I recognize the red spot on his head. He is very handsome.

I do worry about their safety sometimes. Being upside down can put you in a disadvantaged position, don’t you think? And with many birds in my neighborhood comes many hawks as well. Why does the downy woodpecker constantly make a noise when he eats? “PEEP, PEEP, PEEP….” Over and over they call. Isn’t this giving away your location?!?

Has anyone else found this to be strange?

So let’s enjoy this time of the season by making a pastel painting of a November Sunset! This is going to be 100% pastels from start to finish. It won’t be too hard and you will have sooooooooo much fun in the process!

Step 1: I am using a sheet of Kitty Wallis Museum Grade 18×12 pastel paper. It feels like sand paper. You can get this wet and apply an undercoat, which we will do in a few steps. I made a rough sketch with a pastel pencil, it doesn’t matter what color, it will disappear in the end.

Step 2: Holy Hot Tamales!!! This is a fun step, well all of them are fun, but this step will connect you to your child like self buried deep, deep, down somewhere. Don’t worry about the bold dark color. This will be painted over. In this step and the next few, we are just laying down color. I am using Rembrandt pastels. Scribble in most of the sky using a dark pink, a little red and some orange. Repeat the same colors in the water.

Step 3: Now take a medium blue and scribble in the rest of the sky and some of the water. Take a dark blue and scribble in where the distant trees are just above the horizon.

Step 4: Look Mom! Look what I brought home from 1st grade! Hahahahahaha. In this step scribble in the land with a dark maroon/brown. Wait until you see what comes next!

Step 5: Now we are going to spread it around. Pour a small amount of turpentine (smells) or turpenoid (doesn’t smell) in a cup and wet a 2″ bristle brush. Dab on a paper towel to get excess off. You do not want it sopping wet. Start on the lightest color and touch the pastel spreading it around with small sweeping strokes. Clean brush before you move to the next color.

That’s what I’m talking about! Yessssss. Spread it around now! This is an undercoat. Don’t worry how obnoxious it looks. We are going to apply another top coat of soft pastels. Only a tiny amount of this color will show through. Let this dry completely.

Step 6: We will start at the top and work our way down. When your undercoat is dry, take a light pink pastel and paint in the sky. I hate saying exact color names or numbers on my step by steps. I do not want people to run out and buy more art supplies because they think they don’t have the “right” color. All colors are right. All colors are usable. Use what you have. When I’m determining what color to use on top of an undercoat, I just use a shade lighter.
Paint in the sun colors using a lighter orange and a touch of dark yellow. Paint the lower half of the sky with a light blue.

Step 7: With your finger and a light touch, blend the two colors with a sweeping strokes.

Step 8: Using the light blue sky color, fill in the water near the horizon. Take a medium blue pastel and paint in the distant trees. Using your finger blend the trees upward towards the sky. Looking good so far.

Step 9: Now I realized my maroon land color was not dark enough, so I’m adding a very dark blue Unison pastel color. The darkest Rembrandt is not really dark enough for me. Unison pastels can get very, very dark. I also painted more of the water with the light sky blue color.

Step 10: This is a close up of the land where I’m going to describe how to paint the dried grasses. Now because the light technically is coming from the back and it’s the beginning of evening, the grasses will not have much color. Using a dark blue pastel pencil, make dots and lines on top of the water just above the land. This represents cattails in the distance. Next take a gray-purple pastel and make lines for grass on the land. I like to be messy about it. Neat is boring.

Step 11: Take a lighter pastel, like a light gray-brown and make some grasses in the front. Take your dark blue pastel or pastel pencil and make some tiny grass sticks here and there in the very front, some put right in the water. Oh this is coming along nicely!

Step 12: Using a dark blue pastel pencil, paint in the trees. I thinned them out from the picture. I didn’t want them to be too distracting. After my trees were established I went over them with a dark brown color. Working on the water, take the same sky colors and paint the foreground. Don’t forget the nice orange color of the sunset. Make sure you add the tree trunks reflecting in the water.

Step 13 Final: Add more blue sky color to the water in the foreground. Because the wind was so strong, it was breaking up the reflection in the water, so paint some more like blue and pink in the water.
Lastly, let the sun kiss the tree trunks and limbs by adding some hot colors; hot pink and orange work nice. Finished!

“Sweet November Sunset”
pastel
18×12

If interested in purchasing the original, click here to see availability.

I hope you enjoyed this free step by step pastel painting demonstration. I am so very honored that God has blessed me to be able to share this with you.