Monday, December 27, 2010

Jay

Blue Jay, oil on panel, 12" x 12"

Here is a recent painting of a Blue Jay that flew into an on coming car this past summer.  My daughter and I witnessed the poor bird's accident while on a walk together.  As you may know, I have been painting dead birds for at least a decade.  The first dead bird was a Mourning Dove left as a prize by our cat.  After that first painting, people started to bring me their cat kills and dead bird finds.  I see these birds as fleeting gifts of infinite beauty.  It is a challenge and honor to try to capture that beauty.  You can find a few examples of my previous bird paintings on the still life page of  my website.  Unfortunately, most of the birds were photographed using old school 35 mm slide film.  Remember that stuff?  Well, those slides don't scan so well and those paintings have found good homes long ago.  So I don't have very good images to share with you.  I guess I'll just have to keep painting new ones.  :) 

Blue Jay, oil on panel, 12" x 12" (detail)
Blue Jay, oil on panel, 12" x 12" (detail)      

4 comments:

  1. Thank you Eleanor and Isabel. Happy Painting to you both!

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  2. Oh wow! i am painting a blue jay too, and this one is very nice, well done. It is though sad to see a dead blu jay D: but anyways, it's wonderful!

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