Coming Out of the Darkness

Jan Timmons, a photographer on flickr was gracious enough to allow my use of her photograph, American Goldfinch in flight.  The area to the left of the bird is darker than indicated here. But, I intend to darken it more.  I want the bird to seemingly appear out of the dark ground.  That will mean working the tips of the wing on the left into the ground.  

Out of the Darkness

The Judith Klein Gallery has a call for a summer exhibition titled, "Towards the Light" with the theme of transition from dark toward the light.  Philip Rantzer is the juror.  It is a nod to the hope that the worst of the pandemic will be behind us by summer.  It is unclear if the show will be online or open to the public at the gallery.  This board has developed from my Red-winged blackbird painting palette.  I thought it would serve the theme of darkness.  I would like to have a small bird in flight emerging from the darker parts of the board.  

Painting, The Red-winged Blackbird

Painting, The Red-winged Blackbird, 2020,  Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

The Red-wings mate and nest in the marsh at the back of our house.  As they fly out of the marsh and directly at the house and the feeder, they make this very high pitched sound with a bit of vibrato.  When they sing while perched they often fluff their head feathers and spread their tale.  This is a male.  The females are very different, brown and flecked.  When the viewer looks, I want her to ask, "Why did the artist do that?  Is the bird the artist? Should I now consider the object as a painting before I consider it a representation of the bird? Is the bird saying, Consider me all you want, but protect me if you value me."