Giant Trolls Spotted at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens!

I thought my recent visit to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens was special enough with the spectacular orchid show going on currently, but little did I know there was an entire world of whimsy to behold outside!

Sculpture artist, Thomas Dambo is becoming world renowned for his cheerful and thought-provoking large scale trolls made out of recycled wood. You can even see all the places his huge trolls are ‘living’ throughout the world in a fun interactive map, aptly named the Troll Map.

Right now there is an instillation of six trolls sprinkled throughout the walking paths of the botanical gardens, and my partner Alan and I had a truly fantastic time enjoying one of the first days of spring and happening upon them during our stroll. This one even had his hand out ready to make friends!

“Trolls: Save the Humans blends art, nature and messages of sustainability in a unique outdoor art installation. ”

— Atl Botanical Gardens Website

Dambo’s message is ultimately that trolls live for thousands of years and can see that the way many humans live cannot be sustained by the natural world long-term, so they have appeared bringing gentle reminders to treat the natural world a little more kindly… certainly a message we can all get behind! Read more about how he’s doing that here.

I really don’t know anything about Dambo’s building process other then the recycled material aspect. I assume he’s got a team helping out, and you can tell the faces and hands in particular are tightly and skillfully designed with so much dimension and personality!

Like this not-so-little fellow was supposed to be building a little garden maze out of a bucket of found pebbles (which are like hundred pound rocks to us). This pic was taken from an elevated walkway, and I just really adore the relaxed pose and the way he’s looking up with that casual smile as if we did just happen upon a sentient being doing an activity he loves. The attention to detail is really remarkable!

Now this next one hangin bird houses is not my photo. The light was hitting him in such a way that I couldn’t get a good one, but I wanted to share him anyway because I just LOVE the idea of them reaching up high to make sure the birds have a happy safe lil nest!

He was actually more in the trees than that pic shows and there were little bird houses hanging in a bunch of them surrounding him.

The last one may have been my favorite just because it plays with the Human Scale of Art that I teach my kiddos so well. The introduction of the Smart Car really just ties it into our ‘real’ world so nicely, and will never let me look at those cars the same way again!

I mean just look at how those bodies are crafted. The way the leg bends over and the positioning of the supportive arm - the proportions really check out!

Alan and I were actually lucky enough to make the acquaintence of another Dambo Troll at a super fun music fest, Hulaween 2022 (notice the costumes!), that we were even allowed to climb all over!

Hulaween is such a unique event full of dozens of interactive large scale sculptures, projections, sand castles, and lazer light shows - truly living art!

Ha! And last but not least.. I had almost forgotten about this adorable scene I fortunately captured at just the right moment.

3.26.2023

Orchid Show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden

Wowowowowow is all I have to say about this living exhibit! So many unexpected colors and textures represented in this world-class collection at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

There is a truly impressive permanent orchid house at the gardens, and my partner Alan and I were also lucky enough to make it down there for the annual full bloom and extended exhibit.

I didn’t even bother to record the names of all the different varieties, I was just too entranced soaking them all in.

I dubbed this kind the Ramen Noodle orchids, can you see why??

This kind may have been my favorite of them all (although it is hard to choose just one favie!). I just can’t get over that color combo.. I may have to attempt painting it!

And how big are they!? Seriously have never seen so many huge and healthy orchids in my life!

I was so enchanted by the ones with the extra long tendrils especially! Plants are basically aliens!

Oh my gosh! Don’t even get me started on all the pitcher plants!! Squeeee!!

The botanical garden also had lovely walking trails (which had a super special whimsical outdoor sculpture exhibit that I’ll share here soon - stay tuned!) and three different greenhouses; one featuring dense jungle plants…

one featuring high elevation tropical plants…

and one featuring an arid climate full of cacti. So epic!

And as a special treat to you, me fellow artists..

If you would like to use any of these images in your art go right ahead! Please tag me on Insta @caleighbirdart so I can see what your making (and share with my audience too!).

And one more thing… I want to give a lil shoutout to Alan for taking some of these great pics! I’m always so grateful for my perfect adventure buddy. Thanks for treating me to a lovely day of brunch and the gardens, Alan!

3.9.2023

3 Ways to Add Some "WOW!" to Your Art

Making your artwork really stand out can be a difficult task these days considering just how many incredible artists there are currently working in the world today… but it’s totally essential if you ever want to gain some real traction!

Now there are an infinite number of ways to create notable artwork, and today I’m super psyched to share three fantastic ideas to add a real ‘WoW’ factor to artwork that pretty much any artist can implement within the work they are already creating. I have personally used all three of these methods within my own work, and have gotten wonderful feedback each time.

How to Wow!…

1. Play with proportion

   Making something unusually small or large can be a really unexpected, surreal, or memorable treat for your audience, especially if they are able to experience it in person. This also make for great selfie-with-your-art moments with the added bonus of people wanting to publicly post their interactions with your artwork (so make it easy for them to tag you!!)

2. Make people laugh

   Bringing out emotions like sadness, longing, or even hope or nostalgia can be a very powerful tool for connecting deeply with your audience, but in this case, laughter truly is the best medicine. It takes a certain skill to create quality art that also makes folks literally want to laugh out loud, and because it’s so rare, your art will stand head and shoulders above similar artists. This is another way to make your art super-shareable as folks genuinely love cracking a smile with their friends and followers.

3. Use familiar materials in a new or unusual ways

   People love feeling inspired to try new things, see objects in new ways, and interact with the world around them in unusual ways so sparking some imagination within your audience by doing or creating something they have never seen before will make you a favorite artist your audience will keep coming back to out of pure curiosity if nothing else. And yep, you guessed it… folks love sharing jaw-dropping or just plain old weird content too… so give them something unusual to impress their followers with!

Featured Artists:

Claes Oldenburg

Salavat Fidai

Bry Marie

Sarah Ann Sweeney

Zeezytat

Dorielle Cami

Callen Schaub

Ai Weiwei

Erika Iris

7.18.2021

Drying Duo Tone Flower Petals?!?

Whoa did I just walk right up on the middle of the Deck of Cards painting the white roses red or is this the neatest lil abomination ever?!?

There’s an entire full rose bush full of these light pink flowers and hidden amongst them are these fascinating fuscia petals, either showing up as a handful of individuals…..

or, oddly enough, split directly down the center of a petal.

And you know once I find anything delightful or unusual in everyday plants I compulsively must see what will happen if I try to dry them for art.

These turned out pretty well so far! They’ve only been drying for about three weeks in the dark so the color is still so vivid. I’ll probably take one out and experiment with it in resin to see how well the color lasts because I sure would love to use these unusual specimens in a painting!

6.9.2021

Picasso Figures Exhibit at the Frist Museum

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to see about 80 original Pablo Picasso figure works at an international traveling art exhibit here in Nashville, TN at the Frist Museum. It was a truly incredible collection dating from the late 1890s when Picasso was a teenager all the way up to 1970 just a few years before his death.

Combining this super special opportunity with even more knowledge I've picked up teaching my art history class made this an unusually inspiring and illuminating art show (that I actually couldn't help but visit twice!).

I hope you enjoy this visit, and my own personal anecdotal 'Favorite Picasso Ever' story! And I hope I can encourage you to go see original art in person whenever possible as well, whether by a big name like Picasso or by your own local artists:)

4.25.2021

In Heaven at the Picasso Exhibit

I got to do a few figure drawings from actual PICASSO’s todayyy!!! 🤩🤩🤩

This wonderful local museum, the Frist, has an exhibit currently featuring about 80 figures by Picasso. They’re all on loan from the Picasso museum in Paris and it’s truly an incredible collection; Nashville is the only city in the US that it’s even visiting!

I’ve actually seen just about this entire collection already from when I visited Paris and went to the Picasso museum, but visiting a beautiful masterwork is like seeing an old friend, some thing I try to do time and time again. I spent four hours in the museum today really sitting with many pieces. I had my headphones on playing some Chopin and later on some cello music, just vibing out with the paintings, taking in each and every brushstroke, and indulging on a few sketches before I left.

If you’re not someone who normally goes out to see local original art in person, much less masterworks like this when they come to your area, I would highly recommend you begin to make that a hobby. Seeing my favorite paintings in life makes me more of a fan girl than any celebrity ever could. Inspecting their strokes, admiring the luminosity, seeing every little nook and cranny purely the way your favorite artist created it... nothing in between you and their hand but the movement of paint they left behind. It’s such an ethereal experience....

I can honestly say I Learned so much from Picasso‘s brushstrokes today, even having seen a lot of these paintings before. Because I’m in a different place in my life I saw them in a different light and I actually got inspired for a few of my own works. Check out a few of these incredible works, more will be coming along with a few more sketches. I just got home a few minutes ago and I’m literally on an art high 💜🤤🎨

And, lucky me, I’m actually going back to visit these works again next week! My mom is coming to town for her first visit to my new spot (yay!) and I’ve already got us tickets to see Picasso together!

4.9.2021

Copying vs. Stealing vs. Being Inspired

Are you familiar with the difference between copying vs stealing vs being inspired? The lines can get a little blurry sometimes, especially when needing to use reference photographs that you may not be able to create yourself. While it's fine to copy (with credit given) while we're just practicing, when it comes time to make real work that represents us as individual artists, it's absolutely essential that we do not take nor take credit for other people's work.

Hopefully this video will answer all your questions about how to get inspiration from artists we admire, without stealing their ideas. Make sure you tune in next week too because I'll be bringing you 5 different ways to find copyright free images for you to use in your art that don't cost a thing!

Both the master copies above are mine from years past. The first one is by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec called “Corner of Moulin de la Galette’, which I painted in 2015 after visiting his works at the National Museum in Washington DC. The second one I painted in Florence, Italy at my first atelier program back in 2010 after ‘The Annunciation’ by Antonello da Messina.

7.5.2020

Quick Visit to St. Pete

Oh my gosh I had to run an errand in St. Pete yesterday which afforded me about two hours exploring outside of the house and it was GLORIOUS!! Plus this is such an adorable and artsy city anyway, it’s right up my alley.. not to big, not too crowded, but still a bustling art scene (during normal times).

My first stop was the Leslie Curren Gallery which has a great variety of traditional work, but also lots of textured abstracts and small sculptures. I’ve always loved art exhibits, but now that I haven’t seen one since March I enjoyed experiencing these works twice as much!

Copper Tritschellers

Steven Kenny

Afterwards I strolled down to the Morean Arts Center and was really blown away by this fabric artist who puts so much detail and layers into each piece. Simply remarkable!

Krystle Lemonias

I also loved these alleyway paintings! They really feel so familiar, like you’ve viewed this space before out of the corner of your eye but you just can’t place it…. I should have taken a better reference photo so you could see the size because this piece is about 8 feet tall and is a wonderfully full of detail.

Nicolas Kalemba

And what’s not to love about some sumptuous flowing oozing colors that look almost like alien ice cream?!

Chelsea Rowe

All in all a pretty super duper way to spend the day!

6.25.2020

Visit to Circle B Bar Nature Preserve, FL

When I read ‘lots of wildlife' in the reviews, I honestly did not think much of it… but WOW was I wrong! I got so much closer to huge dinosaurs in the form of herons, cranes, and gators than I could have ever imagined!!

What an awesome up-close animal crossing experience! These cranes were not concerned about our presence at all!

Do you see that camo gator hiding out in plain sight in the pic above? We also got to see a heron tousling with his “sushi” dinner before getting spooked by a really big alligator splash just behind him.

And how about this Florescent Swamp Chicken (possibly not the scientific name) pecking here and there?! I wish the brightness of her face would have come through the photo more - it was like traffic cone orange!

There were literally huge wetland birds in every direction, mostly oblivious to our passing by. Circle B Bar is over 1,200 acres of nature preserve with about 10 miles of trails throughout with both hikers and families enjoying all this pristine coastline, so the animals at this point feel very safe and carry on their normal activities as if we weren’t even there. So fascinating!

I was literally speechless with just how many HUUGE gators there were just a foot or so below the grassy pathway. We even saw and heard them leaping out of the water at prey, sometimes within fifteen feet of us! Yikes!!

All in all, a fabulous day with my adventure buddy Baila!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering… I do believe I’ve made a personal breakthrough and will be carrying a parasol with me from now on on flatland hikes because this Bird is officially over getting sunburned, ya dig??? ;)

6.17.2020

Creating a Care Package for a Friend in Quarantine

You’ve probably heard me talk about my love of snail mail (which is pretty intense, let me tell you!) that I’m sure I got from my father who, whether living in the same town or across the country, always sent special handmade cards and collages.

I’m just going to say it, surprise care packages are literally EVERYTHING.

So join me tday for some real hand-made from the heart artsy good vibes I’m creating and sending to one of my favorite people in the whole world, Jimi, who is a nurse having to quarantine when he’s not on shift. He hasn’t been able to see his kids, family or bandmates in well over a month, not to mention working the most stressful job possible during a global pandemic.

Want a step-by-step of how I make my sketchbooks with any kind of art paper? Find the video here or the blog post here,

OR if you’d like to know the next time I’m making sketchbooks (they’re larger than the one in this vid), follow this link to stay in the loop. You even get to choose your own toned or white paper!

4.25.2020