Samantha

Samantha 6 x 6 inches, oil on Gessoboard

Collection of the Artist

A bird flew high, fast and hit one of my two large studio windows. It was such a horrible noise. While I was running down my stairs to go outside and check, I was hoping against hope that the bird would be just stunned, but she broke her neck and passed very quickly.

Seeing this bird on the ground and knowing how she died, I was in shock. A flashing thought that Cardinals mate for life brought my heart down even more. Then the artist in me couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. I studied her feathers, her eyes and decided I would feel better if I made a painting of her. She wasn't given a name in life, but I gave her the name Samantha.

The pose is from a photographic source. I chose this pose because of the gesture, almost like the bird is asking why are you sad? Samantha's unique coloring is what I wanted to capture and I'm thankful that I have a measure of artistic skill to create a painting of her. But my thinking I'd feel better when finished didn't happen.

I'll wait for her painting to dry, get it framed and then Samantha will be on our living room wall along with my other favorite paintings. In the meantime, I taped a sheet of white copy paper in the middle of each studio window. Now, birds won't be tricked by the windows reflecting my woods.

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