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"Hummer"
Everyone is fascinated by hummingbirds. They streak across your field of vision then they stop abruptly in mid-air to investigate a colorful flower. You can't help but watch as the tiny bird moves up and down, backward and forward, then plunges its long beak into an inviting blossom in search of nectar. When you are close enough you can hear the hum of the wings which beat so fast they are just a blur.
Hummingbirds are pugnacious little rascals. They will attack, with their long sword-like beak, birds three times their size. They are not intimated by humans. If you hold up a vial of sugar water, they can easily be enticed to perch on a finger.
Of several species of hummingbirds in the United States only one, the ruby throat, is usually seen in the eastern states. The colorful little flyer visits for thirteen to fifteen weeks between May and October. As fall approaches they move to the gulf coast, usually in Louisiana; and in what has to be one of teh most heroic migrations in the animal world, they fly across the Gulf of Mexico in one long nonstop flight landing in Yucatan and Guatemala.
In his painting of "Hummer," Dempsey Essick has created a stop-motion view of a male ruby-throat hovering at a favorite dining spot. The large red trumpet vine flowers are a sure fire attraction for the miniature bird who will dip his long beak into each blossom to extract the sweet nectar and perhaps an insect or two.
Dempsey has captured all the colorful aspects of "Hummer" from the bandana-like red throat to the iridescent greenish color of his head and back feathers. The flamboyant blossoms of the trumpet vine point in different directions like horns calling to any other Hummers in the neighborhood.
"Hummer" has not only been a signed and numbered print but also a pill box, perfume bottle, and is included in our 8 pack of hummingbird note cards.