Well, they’re exotic to me, anyway! Whenever I draw and paint, I always try to use as subjects things that I can actually see around me. This is why I draw so many deer and horses and crows and pine trees, and why I don’t do many lions or flamingos or palm trees (you don’t get many of those running around in rural Aberdeenshire). Of course, there are times when you really need an exotic subject (for example the Beast from the East that I posted last spring) but for the most part I like to be inspired by what I can see around me. So I don’t usually do designs of American birds. It’s not that they’re not beautiful – quite the opposite – but it’s just that it’s frustrating not to be able to observe the living animal. I have to work entirely from photographs and that can cause problems. But, a while back when I asked for ideas that blog readers might like to see as freebies, someone suggested the cardinal (that is, the North American bird) and of course these are such spectacularly beautiful birds that I couldn’t resist the idea.
Cardinal 1 (the male)
Cardinal 2 (the female)
So for the first freebies of 2019 here are two cardinals, a male and a female. I’m not sure that they’re very successful – I did have several problems with them. In the first place, although the picture is accurate enough, the female looks as if she's got a Christmas hat on! And it was frustrating not to be able actually to see how these birds moved and flew and sat on trees. Finally I don’t think I chose quite the right thread colours for the stitchouts, so maybe you might want to consult some pictures of real cardinals to see what you should use. But they’re such wonderful birds that I hope these will turn out OK for you
If you'd like to try them, here's the male, here's the female, and here's the worksheet
They are beautiful! Thank you so much!
I wish you a Happy New Year!
Mia, I adore you sharing your thought processes, self critiques, and your opportunities for growth.
I love the cardinals. They were all over the winter snow where I grew up.
Would videos help you see movement and posture?
Hi Mia, Thank you for sharing your lovely cardinals with us, and as usual, I love the different fills that you used on the birds. I hope you have a Great New Year!
I always love your birds and these are beautiful! Thank you and Happy New Year!
I love the birds Mia, even though I live in the US, its in Nevada and it not part of the Cardinals range. I never knew that the female was a different color. So thank you for you enlightening me. Here is a small video with info on the cardinals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvrAF2XWizo
They are beautiful! I can’t imagine only imagining and photos. In my backyard, they always come in pairs of a male and a female. It’s so worth putting out seed for them. Thank you for the pair!
Thank you again! You are so good at capturing expressions. My bird loving friend will love these on a kitchen towel!!
Thanks so much for the cardinals! Finally, a FEMALE cardinal. This is the first I’ve seen and she is a beaut for sure.
Thank you, love these birds.
Hello Mia
It’s very beautiful
I love these two birds
Thank you very much for your beautiful cardinals!