Meadowlark Festival, Background to the painting, Spring Awakening

I was delighted to be asked to do a painting of a Meadowlark to celebrate the20th Anniversary of the Meadowlark Nature Festival for 2017.
Although I went down to Okanagan College and the Penticton Museum to take photos and measurements of specimens of the Western Meadowlark, it was a very special experience of observing and hearing the Meadowlark in Osoyoos at the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre that was the inspiration for my painting.
I had been sitting at my easel painting plein air adjacent to the land north of the cultural centre when I heard the distinctive call of the Meadowlark. Since I had my camera with me, I was able to quietly turn and locate it perched on top of a nearby sage brush. This was the perfect interaction of being out in nature, as the melodic song of the Western Meadowlark filled the air. The title of my Acrylic on Canvas painting, Spring Awakening, not only emphasizes the Meadowlark in its habitat in the season of Spring, but also refers to the awakening on our part to recognize that we must preserve species that call this ecosystem home, and if possible take part in saving grasslands and antelope brush ecosystems that are disappearing. I am honoured to be an artist for the Meadowlark Nature Festival, as it is such a highly respected organization that has raised awareness through so many outdoor local activities and field trips to protect our sensitive ecosystems and their natural inhabitants.