Painting My World

34th Annual International Miniature Show July 1 - August 1, 2026 Parklane Gallery 130 Park Lane Kirkland, WA 98033 425-827-1462.  Showing two American Robins.

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches      Here is my oil painting of a female Common Merganser. I observed it swimming and diving along with a White-winged Scoter and Common Goldeneye in Agate Bay, Two Harbors, on March 29th and 30th of this year.       The three birds seemed to be getting along famously and hung out by the ice shelf that occupied the waters near the Edna G, an old tugboat.  Common Merganser and White-winged Scoter, Agate Bay, MN, March 29, 2026.      Edward Howe Forbush wrote about the Common Merganser (formerly called Merganser) in the 1936 edition of Birds of America. His comment, seemingly geared toward waterfowl hunters in particular, is the following: “Its flesh as ordinarily cooked is so rank and strong that its flavor is not much superior to that of an old kerosene lamp-wick but some of the hardy gunners of the Atlantic coast know how to prepare it for the table in a way to make it quite palatable.”    ...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches      Here I have painted a Ring-necked Duck in a less complex style than usual. The hard edge of the water meets a tan-colored background void of complicated brush strokes and detail. The bird is simplified, yet the attentiveness given to this painting was no less measured.       When I paint birds, I like to learn about them, too. On January 15, 2021, I photographed this handsome fellow in the icy waters of Agate Bay in Two Harbors, MN. Besides the overall coloring indicating it was a male, the tan and gray feathers on the side of its belly designated it as nonbreeding. At the time, I didn’t know that. My intuition told me that no birds breed in Minnesota during the wintertime, so its breeding capability, or lack thereof, never crossed my mind; but isn’t it great when a bird’s feathers have something to say besides determining its sex? I think so.       Diving for food in frigid Lake Superior, this duck ...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches      Once in fear of going extinct due to their rate of decline in the 20th century, Buffleheads have weathered threats to their survival. Recent data from Ducks Unlimited’s website shows almost a quarter of a million Buffleheads were killed each hunting season from 2019-2022, with Michigan, Wisconsin and California possessing the highest harvest rates. Currently, they are a species of low concern per the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.       Sometimes called Butterballs due to packing on so much weight, these ducks have the distinction of being North America’s smallest diving duck. During breeding, which occurs mainly in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska, females nest in tree cavities excavated by Northern Flickers or Pileated Woodpeckers. Since tree cavities are in high demand – around 85 species of North American birds are known to use tree cavities as nesting sites – it’s a good thing that Buffleheads accept human-mad...

24 x 24 inches - Oil on Belgian Linen      Broken records, trusses, and trees.       The winter of 2022/23 was a tough year. Snowfall amounts were extraordinary and broke records with 104.1 inches in one season. Our garage’s trusses broke, too, and the rooftop caved in under the weight of the snow. Young jack pines, ones that we’d planted seven years prior, bent and broke, and it was the first time I’d ever seen upright tree cages that looked perfectly normal at eye level squashed at the bottom, resulting in tangled messes of heavy wire compressed like accordions. Heavy snow will have its way.  Jack pine damage from snow weight. Photo taken May 10, 2023 at my home in Duluth, MN.      Spring joyously arrived and brought my first sightings of snowshoe hares to my yard. They’re one of those animals I thought I’d never see. Why haven’t I seen them before? I was lucky enough not to assume they’d stick around (they didn’t), so I got phot...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches      Who doesn’t love hummingbirds? After spending a fair amount of time figuring out my next painting, I took a break and started photographing hummingbirds a few weeks ago. And then I went through some old photographs of mine and chose to paint this one. This Ruby-throated Hummingbird is sitting on a Diabolo Ninebark branch, one of my favorite shrubs.       Male hummingbirds have begun their migration, I haven’t seen one in a while. The females and their offspring remain, but their days are numbered. Soon, they will be gone, too, on their way to Central America and the southern tip of Florida.       I am primarily a non-fiction reader, and the best book I’ve ever read about birds – in this case hummingbirds –  is Fastest Things on Wings by Terry Masear. When those northerly winds start to chill your bones and the snow keeps you inside, I highly recommend snuggling up with this book. You won’t be d...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches      Of all the birds in the world, the Western Meadowlark might rank near the top to qualify for a new name, for it is not a lark. It’s a member of the Icterinae subfamily, i.e. blackbirds.       This well-known grassland bird is the state bird of six states: Kansas, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, North Dakota and Nebraska. In Minnesota, good opportunities to see this bird can be found in the tallgrass prairie biome in the western and southwestern parts of the state. Of all the biomes in Minnesota (tallgrass prairie, tallgrass aspen parkland, hardwood forests and pine forests), the prairie is my favorite.       Each year, I make a point to visit the prairie, usually somewhere I’ve never been before. This year’s visit included Buffalo River State Park (25 mi east of Fargo) and surrounding areas.      With less than 1% of Minnesota’s native prairie still in existence, prospects for the Western Me...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches      This is an oil painting of a Veery as seen at my home on May 26, 2020. It's a bird that I commonly hear in my neck of the woods in the spring and summer. They are generally known to be secretive birds because they inhabit dense woodlands associated with wet areas such as streams, rivers or swamps. I have seen and heard them singing from tree branches and hopping along the ground both at my home and during visits to Lake Maria and Carlos State Parks in Minnesota. Perhaps I’ve gotten lucky obtaining good photos of these birds, but I often find that just spending time outdoors, especially during spring migration, really pays off.       Thanks to a fascinating 19-year study of Veeries’ nesting behaviors by Dr. Christopher Heckscher of Delaware State University, it's been determined that these birds can predict the severity of Atlantic hurricane seasons. In the years when Veeries called off nesting prior to May 23rd, there w...

4 x 4 inches - Oil on Panel      This is my oil painting of a Common Raven.       In 2003, Vladimir Putin visited the Tower of London in the UK, a legendary castle that employs a Ravenmaster to care for a minimum of six ravens whose sole purpose is to prevent the Tower from crumbling and the kingdom from suffering great harm should they, the ravens, ever leave. It’s quite a superstition, but the Brits take it seriously.       During Putin’s visit, he was greeted by a 12-year old raven named Thor who was perched on the steps that lead up to the White Tower. Thor said “Good morning” to the Russian president. It wasn’t an unusual reception, Thor was known to greet anybody; but what the president thought about the raven’s greeting is unknown. One source described Putin as being “taken aback”.       There are all sorts of stories about ravens being harbingers of death or impending doom, so it might be interesting to k...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches            Last year, Red Crossbills visited my feeders containing black oil sunflower seeds between May 15 and May 28th. Those sightings remain the only time I've seen these perfectly-named birds.       Compared to most birds, there’s a lot more to learn about Red Crossbills. The following paragraph taken from allaboutbirds.org [accessed Feb. 10, 2025] summarizes this bird well.       "Traditionally considered a single species of multiple races, Loxia curvirostra may actually comprise more than half a dozen separate species—each of them showing a mix of traits so close to the others that they are inseparable in the field. Even taxonomists with specimens in the hand are often uncertain of what they have. Birds of different bill sizes and shapes apparently prefer different conifer species (the smallest types feeding on hemlocks, the largest on white pines), but the differences must be measur...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches Copyright notification: The internet is a scary place. I have seen my artwork on unauthorized websites. This is called stealing, also known as copyright infringement. The only authorized websites allowed to display my artwork are www.beccamulenburg.com, www.beccamulenburg.blogspot.com, and galleries currently showing my work. Any other website, posting, sales of my work, or the like, is illegitimate and operating under copyright infringement which is against the law. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. Please be aware. Copyrights do not transfer with the sale of any of my artworks.

Oil in Panel - 4 x 4 inches      It’s New Year’s Eve and some of you might be indulging in celebratory food for the occasion. So, it seems appropriate to bring up the variety of ways birds feed their young... or don't.       There are birds that feed their young for months, some only a matter of weeks, and then there are those that don’t feed their chicks at all. Bald eagles are examples of birds who feed their young for months before they fledge. On the opposite spectrum, brush turkeys don’t feed theirs at all. Their babies must fend for themselves upon hatching in order to survive. That’s right. No parental help whatsoever. Chicks, find your own food, we’re outta here, says mom and dad. Crazy, right?       When it comes to Eastern Towhees, they’ll feed their young for almost two weeks before fledging occurs. Nothing unusual about that. However, Eastern Towhees belong to a group of birds that will feed other bird species, too. The...

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches.      This is an oil painting of a Canada Jay as seen in Sax-Zim Bog, MN, during a visit in January, 2022. These birds have several defining characteristics. I was struck by the number of nicknames this bird has. Whiskey Jack may be its most common nickname, a word derived from the Indigenous North American Cree word ‘Wisakedjak’ meaning “an adventurous and humorous trickster afforded prestige as a teacher to humankind. Wisakedjak is also rebellious.” (Robinson, 2018) Other nicknames include camp robber, moose bird, meat hawk, venison bird, and gorby. Gray Jay was its official name for a while, and I’ve heard that name used often.       Canada Jays live in cold climates and can be found in every Canadian province, and in higher elevations in the western United States, as well as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, Maine, and New Hampshire. They are non-migratory, but occasionally irrupt southward. They will eat just about...