I’m sometimes asked why birds? So many of my artworks feature them. They’ve always been a symbol of freedom to me. Watching them take flight, coasting on the air currents, or hunting on the wing, always makes me pause. Looking up, I take in the sky and all the space beyond us, and it puts life into a little perspective. That peace that I always feel is something I wanted to share.
Then comes the colour! I always enjoy the quote from Georgia O’Keefe that refers to her oversized paintings of flowers –
“I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking the time to look at it – I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers”
I was inspired by this line of thinking to use colour to bring a new focus to these beautiful birds, inviting people to connect and to find that little moment of pause more often. To notice the beauty around us everyday that we get so accustomed to seeing that it becomes part of the background noise of our busy lives, is to ignite our curiosity again.
Colour has such power to move us. Some of my subjects have been reimagined in vibrant hues, other’s are birds as they are in the wild but with backgrounds that are vivid in colour. I hope that my colourful paintings bring you a smile, or a contemplative moment – or even a “what, really?” of surprise.