My Day Was Made in a New York Minute by my blog friend in St. Croix

Today I received a "You Make My Day" award from a fellow acrylic artist in Saint Croix (Virgin Islands?) who got one from a blogster in New York City from whom I got a N.Y. pigeon photo about a month ago (before I even was aware of the St. Croix artist's blog!) that I used as a reference photo for my Sacramento City acrylic and oil painting class to paint from. Small blog world! I post my award here as well as the Pigeon photograph that I knew would make a swell painting assignment. Tomorrow I will post my acrylic rendering that I did along with my students.
Thank You Bonnie Luria for the award (she is on my blog roll. Check her out, especially the view from her balcony!!!!!).
The pigeon photo is from a wonderful blog called Pazs' New York Minute. Wonderful ruminations on life and the city and a pigeon or two!
It's June 3 now and I'm posting the New York City pigeon I painted from the Pigeon reference photo I "stole" from Pazs' New York Minute. The class assignment stricture was that the background had to be white. My students grumbled about that, but when you are a college professor, you are a mighty tin horn god and you must be obeyed! What flummoxed (like that word?!)
my students was the observational intensity in rendering the back feathers from the bird's shoulder on down towards the tail.
After I tolded them I was going to flunk their sorry asses if they didn't do a good job on EACH AND EVERY ONE of the feathers, they buckled down and did admirable paintings! You may have noticed that my painting has very hard shadows under the individual feathers and all the feathers have not been rendered, but remember and NEVER EVER FORGET that I'm the professor, and my work is beyond reproach!!!!!