Creativity Is For the Birds

I recently posted about reigniting my artistic self through sketching backyard birds and mentioned that I wanted to share why birds were a significant creative theme in my life. Here’s how it’s all connected.

My experiences throughout my 45+ years on Earth are unique to only me, but I know I’m also somehow connected to everything and everyone I’ve ever met or shared an experience with. I’ve discovered that our experiences are like colorful threads that connect and weave our creative passions into the world around us. I believe the universe calls people to do and create things that they cannot always explain in the moment. Let me help clarify this by sharing my personal experience with the birds I’ve encountered throughout my life.

Born in Puerto Rico in the late 70s to two navy engineers who loved animals so much that we had a dog, a cat (until he ate one of our birds), a baby raccoon (till he grew into adulthood), and several parrots and parakeets including a blue and gold macaw, a green conure, and a yellow parakeet named Tweety (who was eaten by the cat). There was a true pet menagerie inside my house throughout my childhood.

At a young age, I showed a high level of artistic skill and quickly developed a love for the arts and animals around me. I painted, drew, and sculpted funny little birds and other creatures. My first notable painting was a watercolor of a mallard duck. There was no denying my natural abilities and passion for art expression, and many people were amazed that a five-year-old had painted the duck. My grandfather proudly framed and hung it in his insurance office for several decades, but after he retired the painting disappeared. He was never quite sure what happened to it.

Fast forward a few years when I received the 2nd place overall and People’s Choice awards at the Mystic Art Show at the age of 16 for a colored pencil sketch I did of an African Grey bird (a parrot my father owned at the time). This was one of several art awards and contests I participated in during high school, but it was the only one where I was competing against adults. This pivotal moment in my past confirmed my abilities, but the voices of my family members warning against making art a career finally took over, and sketching became something I only did occasionally. In fact, I rarely “finished” any sketch I started, until January of 2022.

After the day I drew the finch and echinacea, I kept drawing birds regularly. They will forever be a part of my creativity taking flight. Perhaps now you see the thread of experiences woven between me, my art, and my feathered friends.

Birds were the first thing I wanted to sketch.

As I got to know each of the beautiful bird families I saw, I started noticing the little things they did and how they interacted with one another. One amazing interaction I witnessed between a colorful Hummingbird and a brown and white Junco became the catalyst for what transpired within my own creative soul the day I started sketching again and gave me the inspiration that led me here (can’t wait to share the full story with all of you in a future post). To date, I’ve drawn more than a dozen birds, each one a part of my creative journey or a life experience.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll post a short message with a new bird drawing that was created following the “Finch’s Feast.” To kick things off, here’s the second drawing in this series, titled What’s the word Hummingbird!

Interested in purchasing a limited edition matted print of this cute little guy? Click here to see if prints are available.

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Thanks for reading this post! If you have a story about the “common creative threads” in your life, I’d love to hear about them. Comment on this post or share them with me on the Lucky Starz Life Facebook page.