@smurtha.bsky.social
I'm a painter of birds and landscape, in oil and watercolor. My day-job is creating exhibits for museums, specializing in dioramas. When I can squeeze it in, I'm also a folk musician, focusing on traditional Irish music.
"Homecoming" has been accepted into the 50th annual "Birds In Art" exhibit at the Woodson Museum in Wausua, WI! This is the premier show for avian inspired art and I am thrilled to have made the cut this year, with a painting that came out of my experience in Antarctica in 2023. #birdsinart
03.05.2025 21:07 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
I am proud that "Antarctic Terns" has been selected for the 65th annual exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists! This year the show opens on September 18th in Idaho Falls. A studio oil painting based on a watercolor done from life in Antarctica. #birdart #oilpainting #societyofanimalartists
25.04.2025 02:38 — 👍 47 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0
I had to take a break from freelance work and deadlines, and found a quick pencil sketch in one of my Antarctic sketchbooks that compelled me to explore this scene in oil.
09.04.2025 01:58 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A plein-air oil from Sunday, "tweaked" slightly in the studio. This was painted in Essex, Connecticut, on the river which gives the state its name. "River Ice", 2025, oil 8x12
25.02.2025 23:52 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
I painted this in the fjords of Chile back in the Autumn, and it will be on view at the Lyme Art Association for their "Exhibition in Four Acts", opening on February 28 and continuing through April 10. Opening reception March 2 from 2-4pm.
"Agostini in the Rain", 2024, watercolor, 6"x9"
Yesterday I heard the sad news of the passing of Helen Hays, an ornithological giant who ran the tern nesting colony at Great Gull island for a half-century. Her impact on tern populations and the people who care about them is unmeasurable. Here she appears in a painting I did there in 2015.
06.02.2025 16:13 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A little sketch during lunchbreak. I’m hoping the crane isn’t there to make “ improvements” that might make this nearby scene less paintable.
23.01.2025 19:03 — 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Besides making art, I also play traditional folk music, often with my wife Deirdre. I'm thrilled that we will be part of this amazing festival in beautiful Brattleboro VT this coming weekend!
bmcvt.org/northern-roo...
Last nights conjunction, or occultation, of Mars and the moon.
14.01.2025 12:10 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
My first Bluesky Post- a watercolor from this autumn that is included in "First Impressions" at the Lyme Art Association in Old Lyme, CT. The show opens this weekend, with a reception on Sunday at 4 pm.
09.01.2025 03:52 — 👍 21 🔁 0 💬 3 📌 0
