Northern Cardinal Fledgling

Fledgling, 2016  8"x8", Oil on board

This guy may look like an adult, but he certainly wasn't.  Day in and day out we could hear his screeching voice demanding, "feed me.  feed me."  I was lucky enough to catch this pose while he was in full throat.  I learned that baby birds fledge within 20 days because it is safer to be out of the nest and away from predators even if the bird is still dependent on the adults for food.  

The Eastern Towhee

Towhee, 4x4" Oil on Board, 2016

The towhee, a member of the sparrow family, is a most elusive bird.  It feeds primarily on the ground.  I very rarely see it in the trees.  So, I was quite lucky to capture it sitting on this branch.  When they feed on the ground they stand with both legs parallel and then hop back dragging leaves and debris with the feet. This exposes insects for feeding.  This foraging is so noisy that one would think a deer or squirrels are the actors. 

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole, 4x4" Oil on Board, 2016

Baltimore Oriole, 8x8" Oil on Board, 2016

Baltimore Oriole, 8x8" Oil on Board, 2016

The Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole, 8x8" Oil on Board, 2016

I was surprised to find that the oriole is part of the small blackbird family.  It is named from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of England's Lord Baltimore.  

The Oriol's Secret

Oriole, 8x8" Oil on Board, 2016

A few years ago when I would walk through our neighborhood, I noticed there Baltimore Orioles.  But we had none in our yard.  Up went an Oriole feeder and voila!  They began to appear.  This year we are fairly certain they nested in our yard because we heard their beautiful voices all day long coming from our trees.  Emily Dickenson writes in her Nature, Poem12, The Oriole's Secret.

To hear an oriole sing

May be a common thing,

Or only a divine.

It is not of the bird

Who sings the same, unheard,

As unto crowd.

The fashion of the ear

Attireth that it hear

In dun or fair.

So whether it be rune,

Or whether it be none,

Is of within;

The "tune is in the tree,"

The sceptic showeth me;

"No, sir! In thee!"

 

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.

Crow Grinned

Crow Grinned, 2016, Oil on Board 10" x 10"

CROW BLACKER THAN EVER  Ted Hughes

When God, disgusted with man, 
Turned towards heaven. 
And man, disgusted with God, 
Turned towards Eve, 
Things looked like falling apart. 

But Crow . . Crow 
Crow nailed them together, 
Nailing Heaven and earth together - 

So man cried, but with God's voice. 
And God bled, but with man's blood. 

Then heaven and earth creaked at the joint 
Which became gangrenous and stank - 
A horror beyond redemption. 

The agony did not diminish. 

Man could not be man nor God God. 

The agony 

Grew. 

Crow 

Grinned 

Crying: 'This is my Creation,' 

Flying the black flag of himself.