A Prickly Situation

                      

                              Goldfinch with Thistle,  Oil on Board, 10"x8"

As part of the series that places the bird with its food source, I placed this American Goldfinch with a thistle.  Initially, the composition as seen on the left had a single thistle hanging as to be dried.  My in-house critic found this unintelligible.  Questions arose: does the space need to be identifiable?, should the depth of the space be clear?, is this surrealism? realism?  My decision was to add more thistle.  The image on the right shows the beginnings of this approach.  

Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants with sharp prickles all over the plant.  The prickles are an adaptation that protects the plants from herbivores. The varieties are vast, some considered beneficial for pollinators. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland, land of my maternal heritage. According to a legend, an invading Norse Army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scottish army's encampment. During the attempt one barefoot N0rseman stepped upon a thistle, cried out in pain, thus alerting the Scots. The spear thistle, presented here with the Goldfinch, is considered the likely thistle the Norseman stepped on.  

Fertility, Pomegranate

Pomegranate, 2019, Oil on Board, 10"x10"

The uncertainty in this piece lies in the scale of the pomegranate.  They are in fact larger than life size.  This alone would not seem problematic except for the small scale of the overall piece.  As such, the pomegranate seems out of scale or too large for its environment.  Also, the left half wants to float rather than sit.  

"There is no must in art because art is free." Wassily Kandinsky

Synchronized Swimming Carolina Wren, 2019

Synchronized Swimming Carolina Wren, 2019, Oil on Board, 12"x24"

Toward the end the challenge here was to have reflections that did not compete with the line of wrens above the water yet offered a balance and realism to the idea. This was the first time I worked with indigo blue, now my new favorite go to color. Indigofera tinctorial, also called true indigo, is the plant from which indigo dye comes.  It is the dye used in denim for blue jeans.  The dye is not light fast, which is one of the plusses of use in jeans.  The Winsor paint however is a synthetic pigment and will not fade. In 1997 when the Shakespeare Globe theatre was reconstructed in London, Indigo was used to paint the heavens of the theatre. 

Fertility a Work in Progress

Pomegranate, 2019, Oil on Board, 8"x10"

I've reconsidered the leathery skin color of the pomegranate halves.  There is still at least one more session on the skins.  Reds can be difficult to work with. When tinting they can become opaque and pink rather than a bright light red.  

Hera, 2014, Oil on Board, 24"x18"

Hera, the Greek Goddess and wife of Zeus, shares the pomegranate symbol with Persephone. Ancient images of Hera sometimes depict her with the pomegranate.  The ample and deep red seeds associate the pomegranate with fertility and blood.

Fertility a Work in Progress

Pomegranate, 2019, Oil on Board, 8"x10"

Initially I considered the pomegranate as a prop for a bird in much the same way I used the orange and Baltimore Orioles together.  Since, I wanted a natural relationship, my research found only parrots or the Arizona Verdin.  Neither appealed to me.  So, as it stands now I will give the pomegranate a solo performance.  

Throughout history pomegranates have been a symbol of prosperity and abundance.  Most notably in Greek mythology it symbolizes Persephone's time in hades. Images of Persephone show her holding 7 pomegranate seeds symbolizing her 7 months in hades and the northern hemisphere's 7 months of winter.  

Synchronized Swimming, A Work in Progress

Synchronized Swimming, 2019, Oil on Board, 12"x24"

Upon returning to direct application of paint, I lightened the blue and eliminated the orange band behind the birds as I didn't feel there was adequate contrast.  

Cornell University's ornithology lab is a great resource of information about birds.  They say the following of the Carolina Wren. 

• Unlike other wren species in its genus, only the male Carolina Wren sings the loud song. In other species, such as the Stripe-breasted Wren of Central America, both members of a pair sing together. The male and female sing different parts, and usually interweave their songs such that they sound like a single bird singing.
• One captive male Carolina Wren sang nearly 3,000 times in a single day.
• A pair bond may form between a male and a female at any time of the year, and the pair will stay together for life. Members of a pair stay together on their territory year-round, and forage and move around the territory together.
• The oldest recorded Carolina Wren was at least 7 years, 8 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Florida in 2004. It had been banded in the same state in 1997.

Synchronized Swimming

Drawing Preps for Carolina Wren

As our winters have warmed, the Carolina Wren has been a frequent visitor to our Massachusetts backyard for several years.  I've had to discourage it from nesting in our kitchen window box.  It seemed happy enough to relocate to our shed.  But, because of the very harsh winters the past two years, they have not been around.  As the name indicates, they are a southern bird which are sensitive to cold weather. I'm hoping to see a return this spring.  The long, upward-cocked tail, the white eyebrow strip and the burnt sienna and ochre color rewards the eye.  Only the male sings, and with such glee and voracity. My planned composition is to position 10 of them across the bottom of the board where they will be reflected in a band of water. 

Oil on Board, 12"x24"

The board has begun with an application of blues and ochres.  I intend to apply transparent white over this base in another attempt at indirect painting.  The value should be lightened to a great degree.  Thankfully oils are very forgiving.  If all fails, direct painting it will be.