Mother’s Day Hummingbird Size: 12.5 x 18 cm (5 x 7 in) Medium: Scratchboard Support: Scratchbord Notes: — My mom was the inspiration of this piece. She loves hummingbirds. I also took it as a great opportunity to stretch my own wings a bit (as it were). All of the scratchboard pieces I’d seen had been pretty static, and I was thinking that I could exploit the illustrative techniques I’d gained over the years to try to put some action into this medium. Every scratchboard hummingbird I had seen had the bird’s wings frozen, as if by a high speed camera. Watching hummingbirds every year in my backyard, I know that that’s not how they look in real time. So I put in some wing motion blur. This techinque drew it share of raves from the scratchboard community. Originally, the hummingbird was going to be approaching a flower (it was sketched out on the board), but that simply wasn’t satisfying me. When I realized that mother’s day was coming up, and that this was inspired by my mother, I opted instead to put in the hungry chicks. They definitely work much better than the flower would have. This image and many other images by CJ Carter are ready for purchase in a variety of formats: prints, canvas prints, phone cases, and so much more. Help support this site and the artist by dropping by the store and getting gifts for yourself, for family, and friends.
