Painting birds is so joyful for me so I wanted to revisit the varied thrush but this time in oils. This piece was not painted alla prima. I let the first layer dry and then was able to scratch through to some of the bright under-painting where I wanted. Check out near the bird’s claws for example. I was quite pleased with the balance between representing something real and having an abstracted feeling. There is a very free feeling in that colourful background.
Here is Tom’s poem that goes with this painting. He actually wrote this one separately from the painting but it turned out to be perfect for it!
Branches glow like ladder-rungs
up, up the trunk in springtime sun:
a thrush alights upon the bark,
it’s orange breast a joyful spark
of colour after winter’s grey
that ushers in the brighter days.
image (c) 2021 Hilary Farmer
poem (c) 2021 TJ Radcliffe
Green Tea Doodles 
This is really wonderful Hillary! I am completely captured by the colour and rhythm. My eyes keep traveling and landing on new elements. I love the balance of of just a touch of realism!
Thank you! So lovely to hear. π
I am not a fan of these types of colours, but that bird is do so darn well.
I get it! Those tones arenβt for everyone …but I was happy with the bird too.
Looked out the window this morning and there were at least a dozen varied thrushes digging in the garden looking for worms (I guess) after the rain overnight. So I will likely be painting more of these beautiful birds and experimenting with different backgrounds!
And that is always the best approach, keep on searching and experimenting. No one would make any progress in art if they listened to fans like me and stuck with our preferences….
Indeed. Who knows where it ends up but itβs really about the journey and discovery. (Nice to have fans like things too though! π)
I think that is where an artist must be true to themselves, and make the work for themselves. Then, any fans that come along will like them for who they truly are, and what they truly believe in as an artist. Better one true fan than a thousand false ones…
So true. …a thousand true fans would be ok too. π€£
If that is the case then give me one billion true fans that want to throw $100 bills at me all day, every day. That would be nice too.
π