This new exhibition of paintings was inspired by watching birds build their intricate nests. I used a mix of oil and acrylic paints and applied fine, detailed brushstrokes to make my avian subjects look lifelike. 

Scroll down to enjoy 

Robert E Fuller

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EASTER EXHIBITION

BRILLIANT BIRD NESTS

Paintings Inspired by Nesting Birds in my Garden

 

For the following collection, I focused on bird species that design and build intricate nests.

Long-tailed tits build domed shaped nests that enclose their chicks, keeping them safe. They stitch these together with cobwebs that stretch to accommodate their broods as they grow up. 

Goldfinch nests are cup-shaped. Made by the females out of moss and lichen, they are usually lined on the inside with wool. Occasionally goldfinch nests are also decorated in flowers.

Wrens build a cup-shape out of sticks and then weave grasses and moss into it. These birds often also use existing cavities to nest in.

Swallows make relatively solid nests out of mud. The mud helps ‘stick’ to walls. They tie each layer together with strands of grass and line them with feathers. 

During dry summers, swallows are unable to build their nests. I have put out trays of mud to help them! But sometimes, I put out a prop for them to build their nest in, as shown in the painting above. Click here to read about the time I persuaded a  pair to nest in this storm lantern. 

Robin nests are shallow cups, built by the female from leaves and moss and lined with hair. These birds often like to nest close to where people live. This painting was inspired by a robin nest in an old kettle in my garden.

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Paintings Inspired by Nesting Birds in the Countryside 

For the following collection, I was inspired by bird species that nest on the ground or dig out an underground nest.

Kingfishers dig long tunnels into riverbanks with their long sharp beaks and then excavate a round nest at the end. The access tunnel is cleverly designed to slope to allow excrement to drain. Read More

Curlews scratch a hollow in the ground and line it with grasses. They choose dry sunny spots on open grassland. Read more

Lapwings scrape out a hollow and line it with grasses. They often choose arable fields or areas of short grass from where they can keep a look out for predators. Read more.

 

The female mallard builds a nest from leaves and grasses and lines it with down plucked from her breast. When she is ready to lay she also pulls a grasses over her so that she is hidden from view.

 

Grebes nests are very innovative. They collect reeds from the lake bottom and pile them up into floating nests. Secured only by reeds, these inevitably sink, so the grebes keep adding more grasses on top.

 

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Paintings Inspired by Birds that Nest in Trees or Buildings

The following paintings were inspired by watching birds nesting in buildings or tree hollows. 

Both male and female woodpeckers work together to chisel into the bark of a tree trunk and excavate a deep hole to nest in. It can take them up to three weeks to dig out a deep, safe nest.

 

Birds of prey scratch out a shallow hollow into the debris of the bottom of a tree hole or other cavity to lay their eggs. The painting above was inspired by a kestrel nesting near my garden. Read More.

 

 

 

Barn owls also scratch out shallow hollows inside natural tree cavities, or, on ledges in old barns. I follow the lives of these owls and kestrels via nest cameras. Click here to watch them on my livestream.

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Enjoy This? You’ll Love My Spring Collection 

Click on the link below to see more of my artworks from my latest ‘spring’ collection. 

 

Paintings of Wildlife in Spring | Easter Art Collection