CURRENT WORK - BIRDS

[Click on any image to start a slideshow.]

With few exceptions, the birds depicted in this series seem to be painted on wood and then burned. In actuality it is the other way around.  I first burn the image of the bird into the wood and then go about painting. The amount of visibility of the wood-burning varies depending upon the statement of each individual piece. Over all, the message is this: Yes, these are—or once were—what we call “birds”. In some cases I show a particular type of bird.  Each is presented in various states of visibility as a commentary on the extinction of a variety of species. 

We are fortunate to live in a time when birds still thrive, to a greater or lesser degree. It is a gift to be able to see them—even the ones we cannot identify.  Most of my paintings are of songbirds.  To hear a bird sing moves me.  I feel hopeful, peaceful and certain that ‘all’s right with the world’.

However, when I work on a series that has to do with nature, I become increasingly saddened by the state of the environment. The process of trying to turn things around seems interminable. Perhaps it is already too late for the birds—and for us.