Lazuli Bunting Watercolor

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Here we are already on July 8th! Which means it’s Draw-a-Bird Day over on CreateArtEveryday, and it’s also #WorldWatercolorMonth created by Charlie O’Shields over at doodlewash.com. 

Yesterday afternoon I felt inspired to paint a Lazuli Bunting I photographed back in May 2014. I used a Pentel Graphic Gear 0.7 to lightly sketch the beak, and snag it’s perched on, but kept the rest the painting loose.  I’m pleasantly surprised how well it came out for not trying to sketch the whole bird.

The Lazuli Bunting is a Spring/Breeding visitor in my region of Northern California.  I was very excited to see it him and add him to my “life list” back in the Spring of 2014.

Lazuli Bunting in Watercolor

The image I used as my reference is here.P52 18 of 52 Lazuli Bunting-1st yr Male

Paint, Paper, Brush:

Sennelier L’Aquarelle in Cinereous Blue, French Vermillion, Bright Red, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, Naples Yellow Deep, Warm Sepia, Hooker’s green, Phthalo Green Light.

I painted this in my Strathmore Watercolor Art Journal 400 Series 8.5″ X 5.5″ 140lb paper.

Brush:  Di Vinci Artissimo Rd #1

I’m posting this on both Creatarteveryday’s Draw a Bird Day, and #WorldWatercolormonth.  If you have a moment please head over and check out the amazing work being done by artists all over the world.

More to come…

 

Thursday Doors 27/52

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I’m back to my NYC files for this week’s Thursday Doors.
On our first full day in the city we decided to get a quick education of the lay of the land by taking the Big Bus City Tour. While on the top deck of the bus we passed this door.

Cunard Line Doors

This building is the Cunard Building located in Lower Manhattan. The doors and entrance looked like they were made of gold. I had to get a quick photograph.

I knew nothing about the building or its history so, I looked it up once I returned home to CA.

History gleaned from Wikipedia

The building was designed between 1917 and 1919 and built between 1920 and 1921 by Benjamin Wistar Morris, architect, and Carrère & Hastings, in a consulting role. While the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House already dominated Bowling Green, the Cunard Building was held in high regard almost immediately upon its opening in May 1921.[1] It featured more than 600,000 sq. feet of space in a modified Italian Renaissance style. Its great hall, which itself was more than sixty feet tall, was the home of Cunard Line and Anchor Lines with a number of other tenants throughout the building.[2] While 25 Broadway is considered to be its primary address, it’s also known as 13-27 Broadway, 13-39 Greenwich Street and 1-9 Morris Street. Within the borough of Manhattan it is designated Block 13, Lot 27.[3]

Its time as a ticketing hall ceased in 1968 and the building was sold in 1971. Its interior was converted to a post office, which remained in service until 2000.[4] On September 19, 1995, the first floor interior, formerly Cunard’s ticketing office, was designated a New York City landmark. The designation included the entrance vestibule and lobby, the passage to the Great Hall and the Hall up to the height of its rotunda. [3]

In 2014 the Great Hall became an event venue operated by Cipriani S.A.[5]

~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunard_Building_(New_York_City)

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Delkin Digital Film

This post is part of Norm 2.0’s Thursday Doors.  If you love doors and would like to see the doors others are posting, or post doors you’ve photographed and join other door lovers from around the world click here.

At the end of Norm’s latest Thursday Door post is a little Blue Link-up/View button click it to be taken to a page with all the links to view all the posts, and add your own if you’re a door enthusiast too.

More to come…

Sunflowers

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I went with a group of friends to Central Valley Sunday to photograph Sunflowers which are at peak right now.  The fields of yellow are quite beautiful.

Sunflowers

The flowers were facing east…anticipating the sunrise perhaps. They were back-lit so, I used my flash to open up the shadows, and keep the sky blue.

These don’t look like they’re the type of Sunflower that produces seeds, and they’re not very tall. Perhaps this crop is used to make cooking oil or feed crop? I’m just guessing though.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 24-70mm| SB600| Delkin Digital Film

More to come…

 

Happy Independence Day!

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Happy Independence Day!

I’m spending the day with my family, laughing, eating way too much, and being thankful for all my blessings; the freedom, and liberty we have in this country which was hard won by my/our forefathers.  John Adams summed my feeling today when he said, “[L]iberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.”
John Adams

I wish all my fellow countrymen and women a wonderful day full of fun, great food, and maybe some fireworks shared with those you love!  If you’re not celebrating Independence Day today I hope you have a lovely day too!

I made this image a couple of weeks ago at the Rodeo with a Nikon Df & Nikkor 80-200mm lens.

More to come…

Thursday Doors 26/52: N°1005

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Wow, this week is the halfway point for my year commitment to posting a door a week on Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors! This year is just flying by!

While I was at the Rodeo last week-end hanging around the stables photographing competitions, and candid portraits I noticed the stable doors, so of course this week I’m sharing Stable Doors and a very shy horse.

N°1005 -I couldn’t get this horse to stick its head out the door for the life of me! I think I needed to have a carrot or sugar cube instead of a camera.

I do love the bits and pieces hanging from the opened half of the door.

Stable Door 1005

…a close up of the latch,

Stable Door Hardware

A Cowboy practicing his ropin’ in front of a Stable Door N°1022

Practice makes Perfect

Lassoing a dummy cow/bull in front of a Stable Door N°1022

Practice makes Perfect II

…and this blond beauty at N°1002 wasn’t shy about poking its head, and nose out to find out what the heck all the clicking was about. 🙂

Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This post is part of Norm 2.0’s Thursday Doors.  If you love doors and would like to see the doors others are posting, or post doors you’ve photographed and join other door lovers from around the world click here.

At the end of Norm’s latest Thursday Door post is a little Blue Link-up/View button click it to be taken to a page with all the links to view all the posts, and add your own if you’re a door enthusiast too.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm & 80-200mm| Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2015.5| Hand-held

More to come…

Summer is…

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Rodeo!

I spent the day at the San Benito County Rodeo yesterday. It was hot and dusty, but fun to watch.  I got there early to photograph the cowboys, and cowgirls getting ready for their events, and capture some candid moments, and some posed moments too.

Here are Miss San Benito Rodeo 2015 in red, and Miss San Benito Rodeo 2016 in pink . They were helping out with the Halter Horse competition.

Miss San Benito Rodeo 2015 & 2016

Before the Rodeo started the Horse handlers were driving the Buckin’ Bronco Horses to the staging area.

Bronco Horses

Cow roping

Cow Roping Rodeo

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm & Nikkor 80-200mm| Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2015.5

More to come…