This is a hand signed matted 8"x10" print of an original watercolor painting titled "Sella the Rufous Hummingbird". Each image is printed with archival inks on watercolor paper stock for a long lasting print resistant to fading. For every print sold, I will be donating 10% of the profit to wildlife rehab facilities, organizations & sanctuaries.
Sella's Story:
At an art event in Tennessee, I met a wonderful customer at my booth named Bill, who kindly shared his story with me about his sweet rufous hummingbird named Sella. Three years ago in late October, Bill had forgotten to take down his hummingbird feeder for the season. To his surprise, a unique looking hummingbird appeared and was wanting to retrieve sugar water from his feeder. Bill refilled the feeder and this little hummingbird kept coming back. The odd thing was that she should have already migrated for the season, but Sella was different. Sella wasn't the typical hummingbird you see in Tennessee, she was a rufous hummingbird, also known as a wintering hummingbird, who are generally found on the West coast.
A Southeastern avian researcher came out to Bill's apartment and they put a small ID band on Sella's leg so they could track her migration. For three years in a row, Sella has come back to Bill's feeder each winter and has stayed. Bill has set up a heat lamp and weather protector over the feeder so the sugar water won't freeze and the feeder won't get covered in snow. Bill got the name for Sella from the scientific name of the rufous hummingbird, which is Selasphorus rufus.
When he told me this story, I was captivated by his kindness for Sella and I knew that I wanted to do a portrait of her for him. If you would like to see her full story there is fantastic video you can watch here:
