Inspired by Herons

Do you have a favorite bird? I just love to look at Herons. All kinds of Herons but particularly Great Blue Herons. Luckily for me, they are here in New England so I get to see them from time to time. On a recent bike ride, a huge Heron flew right in front of me at eye level to land in the lake to my right. It took my breath away - what a treat!  

I’m fascinated by their graceful yet prehistoric look. I love Hummingbirds, Seagulls, and many other birds too but Herons are my #1 favorite bird!

Read on to find out how I have expressed my love for these birds through my art. 🎨📸

Reference photos

Most of my artwork starts with my own photos. I’d say about 85% of it! The only art that I create that doesn’t start with my photos would be my abstract paintings.

When I take photos, I usually have a goal in mind. Just for fun, as reference for painting or patterns, as photos that I can sell as wall art or on products. Why do you take photos? Have you thought about that?

I’ve wanted to photograph Herons for a long time.  I heard of a nearby wild Heron Rookery (nesting area) and decided to visit. Luckily, I have a used 600mm lens for my Canon camera because the nests were way out in a swampy area and very high up in the trees. Access was limited to the adjacent parking lot. This was a challenge for sure. But… challenge accepted!

Two hours of watching the nesting birds went by like a blink of my eye. It was fascinating and so fun. Much of what excites me about photography is actually taking the photos. The sense of adventure is exhilarating.

Taking my photos to the next level

My next step was to review the hundreds of photos that I took  (417 to be exact!) to narrow the list down to those I thought I could use for my art projects. Here is one photo I decided to work with - no editing - straight out of the camera. As you can see, even with that long lens, the birds were still far away. But I just loved that pose!  I had some work to do.  😮

 The Heron on the right had just flown across the swamp and was about to land in the nest. What a beautiful scene – there is even an egg in the nest!

Here is what I did with that photo. The sky was very plain that day so I replaced it. I zoomed in on the birds and I love a square crop so that’s what I did. Here is the edited photo that I call “Heron Love”. Isn’t it a beautiful little scene?

Painting Herons

But.. I couldn’t stop there. I felt inspired to paint that scene and so I got out my acrylic paints and here is my painted version of “Heron Love”. I drew in the scene with a light colored paint and then worked to fill it all in. Whenever I paint animals, it is fascinating how they slowly but surely start to appear on the canvas. It is a building process of one layer after another after another.

I also use Procreate on my iPad to draw and paint digitally. So I couldn’t resist using the shape of the a Heron from one of my photos to create this illustration. Wouldn’t this look great in a baby’s room?

Oh and one more.. I did a digital painting using Corel Painter of the scene as well. I just couldn't stop. Look at how much I got out of that one 'blah' photo! I love the smooth brush strokes of this version. 

Wrapping up

How have you brought a bird species that you love into your life? Do you have a bird (or 4 like my beloved nephew 🦜)? Do you love bird art? Do you love to draw or paint birds? Do you sew using bird patterns? There are so many ways to express our love of creatures of all kinds.

Art is such a fun way to surround ourselves with what we love. Art that we’ve created or that we’ve purchased/collected.  I’m on the lookout for a beautiful Heron necklace too and I’m searching for just the right one.

I’d love to hear about your favorite bird and how you surround yourself with their beauty. Which version of the Herons that I've created from that one magical photo do you like the most?

Let me know what you think - send me an email. 

You can shop my "Heron Love" photo on products here on Society6. 

Bye for now 😎,

Natalie