Blue Jay

Thanks to bidders and watchers

Blue Jay
This painting is 6 x 4", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

The gregarious blue jay is hard to ignore! He can be noisy and bossy but certainly deserves to be forgiven, if one considers those short-comings! His plumage and coloration are spectacular and he plays a very important role in helping re-seed forests. Because jays often do not retrieve the seeds and acorns they buried in the fall, they have actually helped "plant" new seeds! Mark enjoys painting blue jays and has painted many over the years. We hope you enjoy this new ebay offering!

American Goldfinch

Thanks to bidders and watchers

American Goldfinch
This painting is 7 x 5", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

It would be hard to argue that anyone has more lovely summer finery than the diminutive male Goldfinch. In the winter he wears olive-brown like his mate, but in summer he is the most stunning shade of yellow. He is such a welcome resident in our yard and we love to watch him dart about and hear his call "per-chik-o-ree." Goldfinches love thistle seed both as food and a source of nesting material. They use the thistle down to line their nests. They delay breeding until mid-to-late summer when the seeds and thistledown are available.

The Goldfinch has captured the hearts of poets and painters alike. Raphael and Tiepolo both painted the Madonna of the Goldfinch, showing Mother and Child with a Goldfinch. Goya painted Don Manuel Osorio de Zuniga with a magpie and cage full of European Goldfinches.

Earth Day

Happy 39th Earth Day!

I vividly remember participating in the first Earth Day celebration on my college campus.
We were all full of hope that we were going to save Mother Earth from any further destruction. In many ways, I think we have more work to do today than we did 39 years ago! Most of you have probably heard the following before, but it seems most appropriate to think about Chief Seattle's wise words again today on Earth Day!

Alice


You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children---that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.

This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood unites one family. All things are connected.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself....

CHIEF SEATTLE

Lilac-Breasted Roller

Thanks to all who watched and bid

Lilac-Breasted Roller
This painting is 5 x 7", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

The lilac-breasted roller is one of 8 species of rollers in Africa. We really enjoyed watching these jewel-colored daredevils while in Kenya. They certainly put on an exciting aerial show as they fly "sky-high" when engaging in courting or defense behavior and then proceed to nose-dive toward the ground while rocking from side to side. When we thought they would be headed for a crash landing on the ground, they would soar and repeat the entire stunt again!

American Kestrel

Thank you to the ebay bidders and watchers

American Kestrel
This painting is 7 x 5", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

The American Kestrel is a beautiful, small bird of prey that has an amazing ability to hover and in fact the Eurasian Kestrel is sometimes called a Windhover. American Kestrels were formerly called Sparrow Hawks, a reference to their smaller size and sometimes their prey, although American Kestrels in the countryside eat far more rodents and insects than sparrows. Because the fledglings stay with their parents for a time, if you are observant, you just might see a whole family together in late summer.

WEB SITE

Many of you have asked about Mark's website www.markeberhard.com. Here's the scoop! Our web site has been somewhat frozen-up for some time now, which means we have not been able to update or edit it. We are currently working on redoing the site and expect that we will have the new site operable in 6 or 7 weeks. Until that time, you can still view many of Mark's paintings on the site but keep in mind that information about shows and whether a painting is sold or available are not always accurate. Also, please do NOT try to contact us through the website as that feature is currently not working either. You can contact us through this blog by clicking on complete profile and sending us an email that way. Thanks for your patience.

Indigo Bunting

Thanks to all who bid

Indigo Bunting
This painting is 4 x 6", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

Indigo Buntings live primarily in abandoned fields and clearings in the eastern part of the United States except for Florida where they are usually seen only during migratory periods. They do not have any blue pigment in their feathers. They are actually black with the diffraction of light causing them to appear blue. At one time they were caught and sold as caged songbirds. In Elizabethan days the Indigo Bunting was even eaten at important banquets.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter

Completed Painting

Completed Painting

On the first day of spring my true love gave to me...

Three Doves Progress

Three Doves Progress

This image shows a couple days of work. You can notice that the dove on the right is different from the initial drawing. I was never really happy with that dove. That's one of the reasons I paint on board. Changes are easy. Just a little scraping and sandpaper. There is a first coat of color overall with the final painting of the Ornamental Pear blossoms having been started on the far right.

Carolina Wren

Thanks to all who bid

Carolina Wren
This painting is 4 x 6", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

Most everyone is familiar with the little vocal wren.

There are nine species found in North America, the Carolina Wren being one. Wrens seem to be telling us to "not give up" as they build their nests in just about anything they can find, often turning this way and that to fit a long twig through a tiny opening of the nest. They are quite busy little birds and a male will often build a number of nests until he pleases his mate. Wrens are so much fun to watch and make up in antics what they lack in coloration.

Zebra

Thanks to all who bid!

Zebra
This painting is 5 x 7", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

Africa is the land of camouflage and after our first trip to Kenya we would tell our friends "You don't know what camouflage is until you've been to Africa." Mark and I remember being a little embarrassed on our first game drive in the bush when our driver pointed out an elephant, not really that far in th distance. It took us a while to see him because, despite being huge, he blended so well into the landscape. Zebras are much easier to spot and in fact, to the human eye, "stick out" quite well on the plains. But yet they too benefit from camouflage - their stripes confuse predators attempting to single out an individual in a herd. It is fascinating that like our fingerprints, no two zebras have the same exact stripping.

These photos are of Plains Zebras observed at Keekorok and Sweetwater in Kenya and were the inspiration for Mark's ebay offering.