Magpie & Painted Hills painting: First Friday Art

Today I’m sharing a painting I did of a Black-billed Magpie flying over the Painted Hills. They are both characters in my magical realism work-in-progress novel with the working title of Darkness of Hills, Lightness of Wings. I wrote this book for kids in the 8 to 12-year-old age range. Yes, it’s fiction, but it includes factual information related to history and nature.

In the book, the main character, Jīnsè, moves from China to Oregon to work with her grandfather, a local doctor. After a traumatic event, she develops the ability to understand animals and also receives messages written on the hills. The magpie character shown in my painting is named Liàng. Jīnsè also has a snarky seagull friend she names Rěnshòu.

I painted this piece on watercolor paper with watercolor paints and ink from inksticks. I used my set of Chinese brushes. Once again, I was impressed with the Chinese inkstick ink. The ink has a nice consistency. I edited the picture with Corel PaintShop Pro.

Most of the time, I do pencil sketches of characters when I’m working on books. I decided to put a little more effort into creating a color piece. Becky Wallick, my blogging friend at Wild Sensibility, suggested I include some of my artwork when I send out manuscripts for review. Thanks for the great idea, Becky!  😊

I used this picture I took at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon to create my magpie and Painted Hills painting. The colors of the soil on this visit really stood out after a rainstorm.

I took this picture of a magpie in Bozeman, Montana. Though they live in my neighborhood in Bend, I’ve never had one visit my yard. Maybe one day…

Kam Wah Chung

I decided to write a book for kids after visiting Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, Oregon. When a long-abandoned building was opened in 1967, a treasure trove of artifacts was discovered inside. This building served as a medical clinic and apothecary, meeting place, boarding house, place of worship, and store for Chinese immigrants and local residents from the late 1880s to 1940.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art (FFA)

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