Losses and Hardships

"Losses and Hardships" - oil on plywood, 15 x 16.25.  Available here and at Artfinder.

Fairy tales were a natural fit for the fantastical imagination of the young artist. Since her earliest childhood, she seemed to dwell partway between the real world, with its disproportionate share of losses and hardships, and some otherworldly wonderland of levity and light — a wonderland Virginia could now bring to life for the world.

​ - from THE MARGINALIAN, on the life and art of teenage artist Virginia Francis Sterrett by Maria Popover.

The fairytale crowd are corralled into the studio waiting area this week, as we pause to mention the lives of crows.  Alice and her cohorts will return next week with gusto.

Rocky and Natasha, our adopted crow family, seem to have lost not one, but two fledglings this season.  Their little departed selves ended up in our vicinity, so we scooped them up and gave them a proper farewell.

Losses and Hardships

One of the crows (Natasha, we believe) spent a few late afternoons on the birdbath near the tiny memorial site, watery-eyed and listless.  We know that crows do mourn, and we thought perhaps she was (and hoped she was not ill). We sat with her when we could, softly talking and making our own (awkward) crow sounds.

I suppose we have created a fairytale around these two city crows.  We watch them, make up stories about what they're doing or thinking, add a wonderland of levity and light to their little lives.  We illustrate with our words, appreciate with our eyes and connect with our hearts.  Anthropomorphism at its best.

​What we really want to know is - what stories do they conjure about us?

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About the art - beginning with a crow photo and a ton of words about mourning and crows for the AI bot, I finally landed on an inspiration image that combined both birds and abstracts into something emotionally representative (in my eyes).

A piece of square, thin plywood left to me by my recently departed art friend seemed the perfect substrate for this subject.  Beginning with thinned oil paint and the basic background, adding the crows one brushstroke at a time and resisting​ the urge to perfect the details.  Walking back to look, walking forward to dab.  This piece has been varnished with Gamvar Gloss, an odorless varnish which brings out every bit of color.

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Congratulations, Molly and Dotty!  Wonder Mike and Lilly drew your names out of a bag of treats - you're the winners of the June Reader Giveaway!  Watch your mailboxes for a little original art coming your way.  And thanks SO MUCH for participating!