A Black Rainbow

A Black Rainbow, 2016  Oil on Board, 10" x 10"

I first learned of Ted Hughes book of poems, Crow, from my husband who would quote from the Lineage poem.  When I began photographing and then painting the crow, I pulled the book out.  I was intrigued by the mythology, its harshness and bleak outlook.  

The origin of Crow is well documented. In an article written in 1985¹⁹, Hughes explained:

        Crow grew out of an invitation by Leonard Baskin to make a
        book with him simply about crows. He wanted an occasion to
        add more crows to all the crows that flock through his
        sculpture, drawings, and engravings in their various
        transformations. As the protagonist of a book, a crow
        would become symbolic in any author’s hands. And a
        symbolic crow lives a legendary life. That is how Crow

        took off.