tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618025896103645633.post7727452410399631979..comments2023-11-25T08:33:24.935-05:00Comments on art, birds, nature: Crimes in Science and ArtKen Januskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984782169460110520noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618025896103645633.post-59603021794328603192008-12-26T13:28:00.000-05:002008-12-26T13:28:00.000-05:00Thanks Pam,I added the slideshow recently. I'm deb...Thanks Pam,<BR/><BR/>I added the slideshow recently. I'm debating whether or not to keep it. I don't want to slow down the page-loading so much that people abandon ship.<BR/><BR/>Now I'm off to play with my new set of Derwent watercolor pencils. I also got some for my wife so we can now fight for space in front of the window that looks out on our birdfeeders..........Ken Januskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16984782169460110520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618025896103645633.post-71618111612457761632008-12-24T20:56:00.000-05:002008-12-24T20:56:00.000-05:00Haven't had time to read your post but you page lo...Haven't had time to read your post but you page looks great! It's fun to peak in from time to time and see where you area headed :)Pam Johnson Brickellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07927455773097702525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618025896103645633.post-40787334084538617132008-12-15T22:10:00.000-05:002008-12-15T22:10:00.000-05:00Hi Sid,That is a really great Eric Ennion quote. I...Hi Sid,<BR/><BR/>That is a really great Eric Ennion quote. Is that from the 'Drawing Birds' book by John Busby? I have the second edition of it and love it. But I don't remember that particular quote. Maybe I need to read it once again.<BR/> <BR/>It was actually reading that book about 3-4 years ago that reminded me how much I used to love drawing from life, especially walking around San Francisco in the late '70s. I really think it was that book more than anything else that convinced me to start drawing and painting birds.<BR/><BR/>Lars Jonsson was one of the people that really stood out in that book as well, maybe at least partially because you could see he was looking at individual birds.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for reminding me, and other readers I hope, of some great bird artists and bird quotes. It's been a pleasure to read the Ennion quote.Ken Januskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16984782169460110520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618025896103645633.post-21307619455689202932008-12-15T13:29:00.000-05:002008-12-15T13:29:00.000-05:00British bird artist John Busby quotes the famous b...British bird artist John Busby quotes the famous bird artist Eric Ennion (1900-1981) as follows:<BR/><BR/>"..in spite of all they share in common, no bird is content to be a nonentity, an average bird amenable to all its wants and ways to measure others by. And if such a bird were invented--for the purposes, say, of a book--it would, by its very perfection, belie the essence--and much of the charm--of its race. We should be wandering in a fools' paradise from the start. Birds are not hypotheses, they are live, and not to be shorn of personality, not to be plucked from their surroundings." Also, Swedish bird artist Lars Jonsson takes pride in painting birds as unique individuals, each with its personal peculiarities of plumage, shape, behavior (and perhaps "personality" too?)<BR/><BR/>Sid Frissell .Sid Frissellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11851619477196587545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618025896103645633.post-1499252872796093432008-12-14T23:10:00.000-05:002008-12-14T23:10:00.000-05:00Hi MadSilence,Yes you are right: Squirrels are def...Hi MadSilence,<BR/><BR/>Yes you are right: Squirrels are definitely evil! They tempt you into allowing them to stick around by their playful antics. Then they eat most of the birdfood in winter. And the rest of the year they either dig up the bulbs in the garden or wait until the tulip is just about to bloom, or the eggplant is just about ready to pick and bring in for supper. Then they pounce, taking just one big bite that lops off the tulip flower or renders the eggplant unappetizing at best.<BR/><BR/>It's hard not to interpret this as truly evil human behavior. Of course we do talk about 'squirrelly behavior.' Perhaps that is an example of skiamorphism?<BR/><BR/>I guess it all just goes to confirm that it is a tangled web that we and the other species of the world create for ourselves.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments MadSilence.Ken Januskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16984782169460110520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618025896103645633.post-63126629061197595252008-12-14T20:35:00.000-05:002008-12-14T20:35:00.000-05:00Since we view all creation through the lens of our...Since we view all creation through the lens of our humanity it would be a struggle not to anthropomorphize. As a life long birder I enjoy the aesthetic appeal of the avian form. Our house is decorated with several prints of nature scenes & birds. But somehow I've avoided attributing human characteristics to my bird friends (oops). Now those darn squirrels at my bird feeders are definitely evil! <BR/>~MadSilenceMadSilencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14247714475972112958noreply@blogger.com