I remember a plaque doctor print back in college. It was either a medieval history course or a presentation about population die-backs, but a 17th century plague doctor print was used and it left an impression. Funny thing is, back in October I had a creepy dream with a plague doctor and Rook.
The dream was like this…the evening sky was a bruised maroon and the air was stale. Broken fence posts marked the edge of a field. Upon a lone, standing fence post a Rook stood pecking at a morsel. The bird beckoned me forward. At the Rook’s post, the landscape fell away into a valley. A plague doctor trod along a dirt road that cut the valley. He briefly slowed to let dust settle as a pickup truck shot past. Keeping pace beside him was a Bloodhound collared in the same waxed leather worn by his owner. The hound noticed me, shook his head and sat with a yawn. The doctor, recognizing his companion’s absence, turned back and then followed the hound’s gaze. He met my stare and the hound let loose a baleful howl. I awoke.
Not sure what it means, but it made me want to paint a Rook and the plague doctor print made a perfect background instead of a medeival map
It took me many sketches to get the pose right until it worked in conjunction with the print. When I say “many” it was over a dozen sketches. The print I manipulated in Photoshop to give it some texture and a basic, steel gray background. After printing and mounting, something seemed off. I couldn’t imagine painting a black bird on a steel gray ground so I gave it a coat of alizarin crimson. I gave the Rook highlights using blue/violet interference paint to give its feathers that shimmery, iridescent look. The interference paint being a complement of the crimson base, really made the Rook pop.
The Rook (along with Crows and Ravens) were once considered harbingers of doom and destruction. I could see fearing them in the middle ages. I can’t imagine living through something like the Black Plaque so I named the piece Earth Died Screaming after a song by Tom Waits. The song is full of apocalyptic imagery which fits the plague years and tone I wanted to portray. The piece is 10 X 14 mounted on a birch panel.
