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."  

Painting, Red-Winged Blackbird in Progress

Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

Returning to the paintbrush as a prop, I wanted a very black bird on this ground.  I had a photograph of this Red-Winged sitting on the bird feeder pole which the brush replaced.  He was singing which usually causes them to ruffle feathers and spread the tail.  But once the brush was in, I thought it looked as if he was riding a rocket.  So.....

Oil on Panel, 10"x10"

the next day, I changed both the angle and the colors of the brush. I received the most beautiful critique from my friend Carolyn regarding all the paintings with the brush.  She said,

 "I like these paintings of the birds on the paintbrush, Christy. I see deep respect for the Old Masters, but also a kind of postmodern nod, an acknowledgement to all who wonder about the function of painting now (that would be a whole lot of us). That paintbrush, loaded as it is, is still a potent tool, you seem to say. Look at the beauty of this bird, which can still be observed even as the earth warms and the species dwindle. That in the latest one, the paintbrush seems to be a rocket or even a missile, touches off associations that are almost painful, and the blackbird seems to be trying to communicate with us. That you are doing these in the age of global warming, diminishing species and coronavirus 19 is no coincidence, although there is nothing about it that feels contrived. :

Despite the Warning, He was Still Considering the Sun

When I finished the ground on this board I considered the yellow area to represent the sun.  Then I began to think about Icarus and his flight too close to the sun which melted the wax wings his father Daedalus crafted for him.  Daedalus had warned Icarus about the sun, but he failed to heed the warning.  He fell to his death as the wings melted in the sun.  How funny I thought that the Cedar Waxwing has the perfect name for this representation.  I have never seen nor photographed a Cedar Waxwing.  But I found the perfect image on flickr by Ronald Zigler.  Mr. Zigler was generous enough to allow my use of the photograph as a resource.  Below is the day to day progress of the painting. The right side of the bird was difficult and reworked each day with not much evidence.  

Three Dories in Progress

Dories, 16x24, Oil on Board

I was very unhappy with the feeling of the space.  Somehow the boats did not really sit right in the water nor feel as if they moved into the space.  I eliminated the horizon replacing it with reflected water.  This also allowed me to repeat the oranges in the boats and give more unity to the piece.  

He Looked, and Fell in Love with Himself

American Goldfinch, Narcissus, 2020, Oil on Panel, 10"x8"

To finish this piece, I added some texture to the upper left corner trying to balance the visual weight of the birds.  I also brightened the reflected bird a bit more and worked the water.