Last piece for 2019 or the decade for that matter. This piece I’m naming “Monashee Raven” and it’s done in acrylic over segments of maps from British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba stained with watercolor mounted to a 12 X 16 panel. It’s named for a mountain range in British Columbia that appears in the lower right side of the piece.
Corvids really fascinate me. They’re both social and solitary birds. Jays and Crows tend more toward the social while the Raven more solitary; pair oriented. I can relate to that. I’ve never really been a “people person” as large crowds make me edgy. When the situation allows I can be social, but I’m also quite happy when I don’t have to be. It was tough being that way when I was teenager. Hard to believe I played bass in a band, but then again I wasn’t the one out front. I’m content being this way now. I am who I am.
As I look back over the decade, my art has really changed. I started the decade as a purely digital artist who was more Pop art oriented. I would create pieces in Photoshop and have them printed to canvas. Below is “Fiscal Policy” and is the last digital piece I did in 2010. I still have it and it’s on a 18 X 24 canvas.
It all changed in 2011 when I was searching for artistic direction and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak landed on a branch outside my studio. I asked myself if I could still paint with traditional tools so the Grosbeak became the subject. The first series (In Fine Feather) of paintings were done all on canvas with the background just flat application of a single color or washes of two colors. Maps were added to the mix in 2016 as I transitioned to more mixed-media methods and tried to discuss via postings what compels me to create these pieces. I take artistic license with my birds. They are more “artistic” and less accurate from an ornithological standpoint. My pieces are a reflection of the examination of my life or reaction to forces affecting the natural world and our possible futures. Birds are the vehicle for the narrative. I can’t help being a storyteller. I’ll continue with birds on maps and other paper ephemera as well a fabrics into the new decade. I hope this helps me stand out in the field of avian art. I also hope you’ll continue with me on this journey into the next decade!
