Written by Today is in honor of John James Audubon (1785-1851) as he was born on this very day a whopping 231 years ago in Les Cayes, in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). He arrived in America in 1803, and for nearly half a century he was the dominant wildlife artist in the young little country. His seminal Birds of America, is a stunning collection of 453 life-sized prints and is considered to be one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. In the early 1900’s, the National Audubon Society was officially incorporated and named in his honor. Its mission is “to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.”
For my part, I decided to doodlewash a Little Blue Heron because I saw it was listed as a priority bird on Audubon’s site. Surprisingly, it’s thought to be a close relative to the Snowy Egret. When it’s young it looks very similar but then molts to a dark slate-blue plummage when it grows up. Males put on quite a display with various alluring postures and vocalizations to attract females. If a mate is found, the male will gather nesting material for the female, but she has to do most of the actual work of constructing the nest. As ever, not terribly dissimilar to some human households.
John James Audubon was an avid observer of nature because he loved being a part of it. Many of us who love to sketch the natural world feel the same. He once remarked, “During all these years there existed within me a tendency to follow Nature in her walks.” Later in life, Audubon made some excursions out West where he hoped to record the Western species he had missed, but unfortunately his health began to fail. He died in his family home in on January 27, 1851 but left a legacy behind that few would ever achieve. This day reminds us to appreciate nature and everything she has to offer. As Audubon said, “A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children.”
Join me any and all days you like during April by celebrating a National or International Day with a doodlewash! Tag your image #doodlewashaday and I’ll feature everyone who played along on doodlewash.com at the end of the month!
About the Doodlewash
M. Graham watercolors: Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Gamboge, Cobalt Teal, Cobalt Blue, and Neutral Tint. Sennelier L’Aquarelle: Opera Rose. Lamy Safari Al Star pen with Platinum Carbon black ink in a 5″ x 8″ 140 lb. (300 gsm) Pentalic Aqua Journal
Love the colors of this wonderful bird Charlie!
Awww thanks Jessica! 💕😃Never tried anything crane-like before so figured I’d give it a go!
Beautiful doodlewash of the Little Blue! I find herons (all the different species) hard to draw because they’re such a weird shape…but I love them…just like I love yours! 💙
Like I told Kerfe, you might want to check out a biography of Alexander Wilson. He is known as the Father of American Ornithology and by all accounts of their peers, produced far superior art than Audubon. 🙂
Thanks for introducing us to Alexander Wilson Teresa, he captured such beauty in birds!
Thanks, Cathe! My son has got me to join his crusade to make Wilson as well-known as Audubon because he was the original bird-man! 😀
Thanks Teresa! 💕😃 They totally have a weird shape…lol…realized that half way through the drawing. Yikes! Tough! And I almost mentioned Wilson in this article…hehe… He deserved to get a day as well, but it was Audubon day so I left him out so John James wouldn’t be so jealous. 😉hehe
LOL! You crack me up! x
beautiful blues and purples! just lovely!
Thanks so much Jodi!! 💕😃I’ve got a thing for purples lately…not sure what that means. Lol
iridescent colors!!! – fantabulous.
Thanks Judy! Glad ya liked it!! 💕😃
Beautiful bird, gorgeously painted, and I really enjoyed the info about Audubon.
Appreciate it Sharon!! 💕😃So happy you liked this one!
Impressive Heron Charlie. Love the colors you chose. 🙂
Thanks Susan!! 💕😃 They’re harder to draw than I realized! But any chance to play with purples is worth it! Hehe
This is wonderful Charlie! I love the colors and the look great job as always! 😉
Thanks Carolina!! 💕😃It was fun to try a crane like bird. And far more challenging than I expected. Glad you liked it!!
I can see that isn’easy but you did it greately with all the beautiful hues of colors! I love it!
Awww thanks! I’m so glad!! 😃
The colors are so vibrant! Wonderful Blue Heron, Charlie! 💕🎨👍 Enjoyed your history lesson as well. 😊
Thanks Jill! 💕😃 Glad you liked both! I had zero personal blue heron stories, so history lessons are my go to! Lol I wish I did though…these birds would be cool to see in the wild! 😃
What a beautiful bird. I love that blue! What a wonderful tribute to Audubon!
Thanks Kari!! 💕😃 It was fun to try a heron for a change. Not that I’ve drawn a million birds yet or anything, but more than other animals at least! 😊Hehe
The blue heron is one of my favorites. Interesting information about Audobon. Thanks Charlie.
Thanks so much Sharon!! 💕😃 They’re such beautiful birds! Glad ya liked it!
gorgeous Charlie, well done and great info!!
Thanks so much Debi!! 💕😃Appreciate it!
no worries Charlie 🙂
That quote is so very true. It makes me sad sometimes when people don’t realize this a lot more. I love Audubon’s illustrations, while they don’t always look in very natural poses, but they are gorgeous nonetheless.
Yeah…I loved that quote but it doesn’t seem to be a code everyone loves by. Totally agree on Audubon…lovely stuff, but the poses are a bit strange. He had an interesting way of seeing!
Lovely heron, Charlie. I’m a great fan of Audubon – and now, thanks to Teresa, I’ve discovered Alexander Wilson!
Thanks so much!! 💕😃And yes!! Alexander Wilson’s work is awesome! I just couldn’t upstage poor Audubon on his day though! 😊hehe
What a stunning heron, the colours are beautiful. I had never heard of Audubon, but have taken a peek at the website, such beautiful works, thanks for the info.
Thanks Rebecca!! Glad you liked this! 💕😃 Oh wow! Glad I could introduce you to Audubon! And as Teresa mentioned check out Alexander Wilson as well! 😃👍🏻
Oh I will do thank you for that info x
I love blue herons and Egrets. Yours is fabulous! I’ll go check out the art of Audubon.
Awesome!! They’re so cool birds…love their look! So glad you liked my doodlewashed one! Thanks Catherine! 💕😃
What a wonderful post. I love the beauty and shimmer of your Blue Heron.
Thanks so much Cathe!! 💕😃 I actually attempted to let a layer dry for once. Didn’t quite wait long enough, but better. Hehe…I have the patience of a 5 year old boy. 😊
Great quote Charlie. I’m continually amazed at the sheer number of his paintings. And the Audubon Society is a good working tribute to him. As is your lovely heron! (K)
Thanks Kerfe! 💕😃Yeah…He was so prolific it was astounding!! I can’t imagine producing that much fully finished work!
Wonderful job with a gorgeous subject, Charlie! He glistens off the page! I love his little patch of ground and his eye just keeps drawing me in. Beautiful details. Well done, my Bro! <3
Awww thanks Sis!! 💜💜😉 So thrilled you liked it!! I had wished I could have made him bigger to see the face better, but he barely fit in my little sketchbook! Hehe… Herons are such pretty birds!!
Aren’t they gorgeous? Love the blues and purples in this one too! I was wondering how you managed to make him fit. He looks great!
Thanks! I actually sketched it too big and then had to redraw the contour smaller so he didn’t look like the Heron That Ate The Sketchbook! Yikes! lol
lol! 😀
Beautiful heron :-). Gorgeous colours! And thanks for the interesting information too!
So happy you like my heron doodlewash, Myriam! 💕😃 Thanks so much!
Nice colours, Charlie. I love this type of bird.
Thanks Tom! 😃They’re a bit strange in shape so harder to doodlewash than I realized. Hehe
Yes, to echo everyone else: those colours are marvellous, a very pretty heron! And a worthy celebration; it’s been a while so it’s great to hop onto Google and be reacquainted with his works (all of them!!)
Thanks Jacob! 😃Somebody didn’t get much sleep then last night if they googled and looked through over 453 birds!! Hehe… Audubon makes me feel like a slacker. Lol I can only manage the one doodlewash a day. 😊
Haha – maybe not 453, but I was quite taken aback by the volume of work. You are no slacker! You’ll be at 454 before you know it!
Hehe… at one a day, it’s going to take me awhile! And my first month was kind of rough. Can’t believe it will be a year in July!
Party time come July, then! And it’s a year for me on 1st August, though I’m shamefully lagging behind in the early hundreds when it comes to posts. You’ll surely be up in that four hundred region by the end of the year if you carry on as you are!
Yay to a year! That’s awesome! We need to have a blog anniversary party. Bring the zonkey!! 🎉
Beautiful painting Charlie.
Been MIA traveling back to Wisconsin. Went thru MO rather than KS. Good decision with all the storms. We had no problems.
Thanks so much Teri! 💕😃And hope you waved while going by! Glad to here you made it through the storms safely!
I’d be an Audubon, if I could. Who knows, Charlie, you could become the watercolour version, the way you’re going with this doodlewashing business! 😀
PS: Lovely heron, lovely swish new blog theme…very nice and professional. And with a typeface that us blind people can read…
Thanks Janina!! 💕😃Glad you liked this! hehe… and happy you like the design tweaks to the site! Yeah.. I can handle small fonts either! lol 😊
What a wonderful bird, Charlie! I love it’s color especially. I’m finally finding time to look at the weekly email about your blog again – and this bird really pulled me in and made me want to come and see it on the blog. Wow.
Aww thanks so much Corinne! 😃💕So happy you liked this one! It was fun to try a crane-type bird shape. First time I’ve done one like this.
Well it is very successful – love the different shades of blue turning to violet even.
I love birds and yours looks lovely!
Aww thanks so much! 😃💕