For the Birds

Oct 19, 20212 min read

Birds of the North have inspires me to creativity on and off from the time I started painting in earnest The following is a collection I have been adding to for the last year - images as diverse in style and topic as the birds in the paintings.

Looking back I see the images reflect the different styles of painting I explores - from black silhouettes on etherial backgrounds to detailed landscapes to repurposing old paintings.

“Dreaming of Flight” - 2019

”Family” - 2019

”Fall Rhapsody“ - 2020

Outside the front window at my work birds of all kinds flock to the trees enticed by the kindness of my co-worker who sun, rain and snow puts out food. In the fall Bohemian Waxwings eat the fermenting berries off the tree and get drunk - perhaps not to rhapsody but for me the colours of these birds is intoxicating.

“Loons on the Lake” - 2020

Summer vacation is not about heading to a distant location for my husband and I, it is about camping. In Tumbler Ridge there may not be a Loon Lake, but the call of loons is heard most evenings as we camped by the many lakes in our area. It is a sound that speaks to me of peace.

I once read that a acrylic or oil artist will sand off a painted canvas that “didn’t turn out“ and restart. A fresh coat of white and the underlying textures left behind give the new painting depth.

In watercolour there is only paper - and while some colours can be “lifted” off the page leaving an almost white paper, there Is no painting white over the page to start from scratch. But one can deepen the colours - add layers of transparent hues over an old painting - and create a textured effect that adds a new quality not found in paintings otherwise.

I find I am repurposing paintings lately - inspired by my painting group and the amazing artist and leader Darcy Jackson.

The last two paintings remind me that all things can be made new.