bird art

Jitterbird /  by Brad Sneed

The Ruby-crowned kinglet is a a tiny, (not much bigger than a hummingbird) active backyard visitor. It skitters about the foliage, flicking its wings constantly, like a water droplet on a hot skillet. It’s a challenge to track this little firecracker when using binoculars. I created this abstract painting inspired by this energetic little bird.

The original painting, Jitterbird - Ruby-crowned Kinglet, is in a private collection.

A Study in Red /  by Brad Sneed

The Northern cardinal is a year-round resident where I live, and frequent visitor to our backyard pond and feeders. It’s one of my favorite birds, and so not surprising perhaps, the subject for several of my paintings. In this latest work, Red Bird - Northern Cardinal, I tease apart those very cardinalesque attributes -chunky orange beak, angular crest, the male’s black mask and high-chroma scarlet feathers- and apply them to the canvas in a way that I hope is pleasing to the eye and reflective of my fondness for this lovely and cheerful song bird.

This original acrylic painting is available for purchase from my shop.

Bird Notes /  by Brad Sneed

I’ve added a new set of Backyard Birds notecards to my Etsy Shop. The pack includes eight cards and envelopes. Each card features an illustration a different species. On the back of the card is a blurb about the bird.

My latest collection of Backyard Birds notecards.

My latest collection of Backyard Birds notecards.

Card front.

Card front.

Card back.

Card back.

This 5th edition of my Backyard Birds series features a Brown Creeper, American Redstart, House Sparrow, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Summer Tanager, White-crowned Sparrow, Gray Catbird, and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

Check out Backyard Birds Collections 1 through 4, as well as sets of Waders, Ducks, Corvids, Woodpeckers, Owls, Birds of the Flinthills, and Hummingbirds. Birds aren’t your thing? Take a peek at my set of Damsels & Dragons notecards, showcasing colorful illustrations of dragonflies and damselflies!

All notecard sets may be purchased from my Etsy shop, BradSneedStudio.

Great Blue Heron /  by Brad Sneed

I’ve long admired these majestic birds, though always from afar, until one day I froze while passing by a window facing the backyard. Standing in our pond (this is a decorative hot tub-sized pond) was a Great Blue Heron! He was there to poach a goldfish or two, I suppose, but must’ve sensed or seen me, for he launched and was gone. The encounter, though brief, made an impression!

Prints of this bird are for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Barn Swallow Pattern /  by Brad Sneed

It’s been an exceptionally wet summer here in the middle of America. Lots of rain means lots of puddles which means lots of mosquitos which means there is food aplenty for critters that enjoy a mosquito meal. One of those mosquito-eating critters is the lovely Barn Swallow. Sadly, these birds don’t live in my neighborhood, but they were plentiful at my rural childhood home. They nested in the rafters and under the eves of the barn and outbuildings. There was a family that returned year after year to nest above a window on our house. By summer’s end, my family shared the homestead with at least 30 swallows! Those warm August evening skies were filled with careening fork-tailed birds gorging on mosquitos and other flying insects. That memory inspired this illustration.

Migrating Gulls /  by Brad Sneed

Inspiration is all around us. Recently I looked directly overhead and witnessed hundreds of Franklin’s Gulls wheeling beneath an azure autumn sky. The image lodged in my brain and created an itch I had to scratch, resulting in the image, below.

Prints on paper and canvas are available in my Society6 store.

Migrating Gulls