Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Watch
acrylic
9 x 14

















Birding continues...


It's Wednesday, and that means it was my day to be a volunteer/demonstrating artist at Heritage. It's an opportunity to support the gallery, socialize with other area artists, meet the public - and still get a lot of painting done.

I am sometimes conflicted about aspects of trying to survive as an artist living alone. Most of the time I treasure my solitude, but there are times I wish for someone else to worry about the bills, or the laundry, or the vehicle maintenance. It's easy to forget the trade-offs. I was reminded today of the value of my independence. Three of the five artists there said that their dream was to have time alone: take an art vacation or go to a retreat. There was a note of desperation from one artist - just to be left alone. I kept quiet. Why rub it in?






















Here are a few more of the ongoing Bird/Wind series. I'm posting a detail of another "bird" piece - it's unfinished, but it's also different - much more moody and as much a landscape as a study of birds. I like the "fuzzy chick" look of the white birds, though they are in fact, White Herons. The painting is allegorical, though I leave the particular story up to the viewer. I'll continue to post my progress, and a view of the entire painting.

















Fledgling
acrylic, 9 x 12


Moult
acrylic, 9 x 12

3 comments:

Roy said...

I love Crows, so much so that Crow is one of my totems. I really like the painting The Watch, especially because there's a bit of humor peeking through there, and I find Crows to be the stand-up comedians of the bird world. Good work!

Marcy said...

As I've said before, there is just something about the blackbird. However, in this instance I found myself particularly struck by the herons. With my browser set to full-screen, I sat and looked at this one for quite some time over morning coffee. For this viewer, it seemed almost like a faded or fading memory; as if some being of the future were trying to retain - or even share with others - a memory-picture of what the Earth once was.
Lovely.

Shayla said...

I'm especially taken with "The Watch." Now he's a force to be reckoned with. Magnificent! You have such energetic brush work, Patrice.