Blue Sky Chickadee with Pussy Willow - oil 9X7.5 oval canvas Painting

I grew up on a back road dairy farm outside of the tiny village of Cherry Creek in far Western NY State. My mother taught my sister and me artistic techniques such as perspective, shading, and proportion when we were very young, and as a result we were both known as 'class artists' starting in elementary school. We had no television on the farm to distract us and learned early to entertain ourselves with art materials when we were not busy doing chores. I love to hike wilderness trails with my Nikon camera - especially during the magic hours of dawn and dusk. I have hundreds of wonderful reference photos, though I often paint scenes from memory as well. I am a member of our local Catawba River Arts Guild and some of my art work is on display at the Azure Sky Gift Shop at The Riverwalk in Rock Hill SC. I also accept commission work.