Sunday, January 12, 2014

Day 12 - 30/30 Challenge - Mallard

Mallard
Watercolor, 6" x 6", $35
SOLD!

Another day, another duck! 
Sometimes the not-so-great photos make the best reference. I took the photo for this painting on a dreary day, late in the afternoon, several years ago. I was going to toss it, but the intensity of color outweighed the blurriness created by low light and movement. I love the intensity of the male's green head and conversational quack quack quacking. 
The mallard is probably our most common duck and their beauty is easily overlooked - Ho-hum, just another mallard. Birdwatching groups rarely mention them as they peer among rafts of ducks on a pond, looking for the elusive, green winged teal, or Barrow's goldeneye or redhead.  

One of my favorite books as a child was Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. The book is honored with a sculpture in the Boston Public Gardens.

Statue of the title characters of Make Way for Ducklings by Nancy Schön, found in Boston Public Garden
Photo by Gareth Owen

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