Archives For bird

New Minis!

marylizingramart —  August 10, 2011 — Leave a comment

In preparation to list on Etsy, I’ve been making some new mini pictures! Here are a few of the 3×3 pastels which consist mostly of “the birds and the bees,” with the occasional snail or other tiny creature thrown in here and there!

These pieces range in price from $35-$45 depending upon the frame. The pastels are drawn on Sennelier La Carte Pastel Paper and sprayed with a fixative for durability. All birds are native to Alabama, and any bird can be drawn on commission at the same price. These make great gifts!

In Art, bee, bird, Birmingham, commission, etsy, honeybee, Ingram, Liz, Mary, miniature, pastels, Sennelier, soft pastel, Southern
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Escape Day Spa

marylizingramart —  June 8, 2011 — Leave a comment

Artists are always looking for new ways to share their art, and to merge the message of their art with the right location. Recently, I have taken some of my art to Escape Day Spa, a peaceful new spa located in a quiet house-turned-buisiness just off the main street in Crestline Village, Mountain Brook, Alabama. I like to convey a sense of peace and stillness in many of my pieces, so such a relaxing location seems a perfect fit. Below are a few of the paintings currently displayed (and for sale!) at the spa.

Waterlilies, 4×4 and 5×7 Soft Pastels

Joy, 8×10 Soft Pastel

Ocean Cliffs, 14×18 Soft Pastel

The Empty Tub, 18×24 Soft Pastel

In Alabama, Art, artist, bird, Birmingham, Crestline, dove, Escape Day Spa, flower, Ingram, Liz, Mary, ocean, pastels, Sennelier, soft pastel, waterlilies
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The Little Bird Hope

marylizingramart —  April 5, 2011 — 1 Comment

The Little Bird Hope, 8×10 Pastel on Card

Hope is the Thing with Feathers
by Emily Dickinson:

“Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
and sore must be the storm
that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land
and on the strangest sea;
yet, never, in extremity,
it asked a crumb of me.”

Sometimes the little bird hope seems very small, almost hidden in the branches of my heart. On those days when hope is difficult to find, when I feel deflated and situations seem so very hard to bear, if I listen carefully in a quiet moment I can hear hope’s tiny song in the hazy parts of my mind. It’s quiet song sustains me and tells me to be patient, to breathe slowly and wait for peace to come in whatever form. Sometimes it is hard to lean on this little bird’s uncommon and unlikely strength, but I have found if I just stop and cling to the small part of me that remains strong, I will weather any storm. Hope is ever-present and even a small bit can warm our hearts on the darkest and coldest of days.

On those brighter days when all the world seems charmed and full, the little bird hope steps out with a flourish of feathers, encouraging me with it’s bright song that life is full of beauty and grace. No matter the circumstance, hope’s presence is felt in large and small ways…never abashed, always supporting, ever aware.

In Alabama, bird, Birmingham, Emily Dickinson, Ingram, Liz, Mary, pastels, Sennelier, soft pastel
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the Raven

marylizingramart —  March 25, 2011 — 2 Comments


the Raven, 8×10 Soft Pastel on Card

Warning: this is not the most cheerful post, so if you want to read something peachy today, this post isn’t for you. This does not mean that I am wallowing in sadness today; these are just my thoughts and expressions on a darker subject of the human experience. This piece was inspired by yet another poem by William Blake:

The Human Abstract

Pity would be no more,
If we did not make somebody Poor:
And Mercy no more could be,
If all were as happy as we;

And Mutual fear brings peace;
Till the selfish loves increase.
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.

He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the ground with tears:
Then Humility takes its root
Underneath his foot.

Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of the Mystery over his head;
And the Catterpiller and Fly,
Feed on the Mystery.

And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat;
And the Raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.

The Gods of the earth and sea,
Sought thro’ Nature to find this Tree
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the Human Brain

In religious communities, and especially Christian theology, one hears a lot about “the Fall,” “Original Sin,” “Adam and Eve,” and “the fallen nature of humanity.” These theologies bring a sense of unavoidable doom. While in my own spiritual journey, I choose to search for the good in humanity, the love of God, the optimism and life found in nature, I cannot deny that some form of underlying depravity (thought I hate to even use that word) exists within our beings, that it tries to grow within our minds as our bodies grow. Selfishness, greed, deceit…they are part of us whether we encourage their growth or not. We should and hopefully do resist; we can and should choose goodness, love and service. But it seems, as much as I wish to deny it, that this darker side of humanity–our ability to choose deceit and to cause pain–is inevitably present, and very hard to avoid, if at all possible. If left unchecked, these darker thoughts can grow in our lives as a tree; if indulged, a sort of darkness can roost in the shade of our mind’s arbor like a Raven. This Raven, not meant to be ominous or depressing, serves as a reminder to myself that while a darker side of life exists, it does not have to triumph. This Raven can be an omen of doom, or a sign of life, depending upon our own choosing.

In Alabama, bird, Birmingham, humanity, Ingram, Liz, Mary, pastels, Raven, Sennelier, soft pastel, William Blake
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Joy & Woe

marylizingramart —  March 15, 2011 — Leave a comment


Joy, 8×10 Soft Pastel

Woe, 8×10 Soft Pastel

Something I have found over the course of the past year is that Joy and Woe meet often in life, converging into one simultaneously unified and separately distinct emotion. I have written and created art on these thoughts before (“Sewing Lesson”), and the same poem by William Blake again inspires me. An excerpt from his “Auguries of Innocence”:

It is right it should be so
Man was made for Joy & Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro the World we safely go
Joy & Woe are woven fine
A clothing for the soul divine
Under every grief & pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

In these new pastels, which will be framed as a pair and form a separated but unified piece of art, I have personified Joy and Woe as birds; a pair that travels through our lives, touching down sometimes in turn, but often together. These emotions, as birds, sometimes land in our lives for a moment, and sometimes settle down to nest in our hearts for awhile. Joy & Woe are both part of this life, and to recognize it makes me more grateful for the Joy, and more patiently accepting of the Woe. These contrasting emotions come and go as birds to a branch, woven into the fabric of our lives as the limbs and leaves weave above our heads, and the roots below our feet.

In Alabama, Art, bird, Birmingham, dove, Ingram, Joy, Liz, Mary, pastels, pigeon, Sennelier, soft pastel, William Blake, Woe
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Birds on a Wire

marylizingramart —  March 2, 2011 — 2 Comments


Birds on a Wire, Soft Pastel

Birds on a wire. When I was drawing this picture, this phrase echoed somewhere in my mind. I get a small sense of what it means, but like something free-floating; like a feather you can’t quite catch, just out of reach. To try and clarify this vague colloquialism, I googled the phrase and received similarly vague and mixed results. To some, “bird on a wire” gives a sense of freedom, a bird high in the air, able to fly and perch where it pleases. To others, it is an expression of limited freedom, as a bird tied to a wire, able to fly but confined. “Bird on a Wire” is the title for a song, a movie, and books. There were lots of “not sure what this means,” and “I think I heard it means this…” 

When I hear the phrase, I think of spectators, onlookers, observing and judging from their perch, high above. I have been in that place, drawing conclusions with only a birds-eye view, missing the details-not in a place from which to judge. I have found that when looking at others, we should not presume to have full understanding. We can only see the surface, and maybe- maybe -a little bit more. The human life is so very complex; the human heart a mystery even to ourselves. As Henry James once wrote and William Boyd later borrowed, “Never say you know the last word about any human heart.” 

When I drew these pigeons, I imagined, with a good bit of humor, their attitudes. The large one towards the right, with beak snubbed to the sky is the matronly ring leader, guiding her feathery followers with her too-lofty observations, when all they have is a birds-eye view. The pigeons are drawn with more simplicity than I usually employ, with fewer details and definition, lest we also think we understand the spectators too clearly. 

In Alabama, Art, bird, Birmingham, Ingram, Liz, Mary, pastels, pigeon, Sennelier, soft pastel, wire
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