No. 172

No. 172 / Board Meeting
Original Watercolor — Paper size 9 x 12 in.

There is a bridge along the river that displays fun mural paintings and it is the home to a flock of pigeons. Every time I ride my bike through the area the birds scatter like a bunch of dandelion spores. Yesterday I was determined to go down and draw them. Pigeons are quite colorful—perfect to paint. And it appears they have some interesting variations in pattern/color. In doing a search about pigeons I found some interesting info about their service during WWII. I found this little tidbit on Wikipedia: 

Cher Ami, a homing pigeon in World War I, was awarded the Croix de Guerre Medal with a palm Oak Leaf Cluster for her service in Verdun and for delivering the message that saved the Lost Battalion of the 77th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Argonne, October 1918. When Cher Ami died, she was mounted and is part of the permanent exhibit at the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution.
Anyway, I wish all you dads out there a Happy Father's Day!