Friday, August 11, 2017


I've been trying to find Robin's Egg Blue. In the natural world, of course, it is the color of a robin's egg, which protects the egg from heat better than a darker color and from light penetration better than a lighter color. In the printer/computer world, the color is called cyan, a blue-green shade that is one of three primary pigments, the others are yellow and magenta, that create all the other colors for printing full color photographs and prints. Cyan is also called turquoise (darker) and aqua (more green). They are all different from Sky Blue.

I looked at photos of robin's eggs. They vary in shade from lighter to darker, some more blue, some more green. By itself on a swatch, robin's egg blue looks green to me. Does it to you?

courtesy of Wikipedia

Is this Robin's Egg Blue?

Or this building?

Do you see Robin's Egg Blue here?

courtesy of Google play

I decided to answer a challenge to use robin's egg blue in a piece of artwork. I'm painting a nest on a circular sheet of handmade paper. I plan to add drawings of robin's footprints, eggs, and some of the feathers. Feathers are so beautiful that I find it hard not to pick them off the ground when I find them and carry them home. But the American Robin is on the list of birds from the Migratory Bird Act of 1918 that makes it illegal for you to collect any of their particulars. The Act, which is updated periodically, was approved because at the time hunters were killing masses of birds to feed women's desire to decorate their hats with feathers, nests, and other bird parts. An exhibit about Degas at the San Francisco Legion of Honor showcases hats from the Impressionist era, which use a plethora of bird feathers and even an owl's head as adornments.

When I find a feather on the ground, I take a photo where I find them, check more feathers on the Internet, and try to draw their exquisite formation as closely as I can.

I've assembled most of the pieces of the painting. I'm not finished. After I submit the painting to the challenge, I am going to send it to the Treewhispers site so that Pamela Paulsrud can add it to her collection of tree stories.

Why robin eggs are blue...

Science Daily, May 27, 2016,

Migratory Bird Act list

SF Museums of Fine Arts:

Pamela Paulsrud, Treewhispers blog:

Peace be with you, James.


  1. Breathtaking nest artwork, Martha! Your eggs look like miniature Earths to me with your swirling nest and blue backdrop their orbit. A whole world in a robin's egg? Art inspires!

    1. Wow, Teresa, you've made this painting better by your description. Thank you. Hugs!

  2. your creativity never ceases to amaze me...I know this is a trite statement but it says what I want to say. I do love your blog and our friendship. wow...we go back to days in Paris and before! so glad to be connected online
    Much love,

    1. Thank you, Jan. You know how much our friendship means to me! Hugs.

