Sometimes paintings paint themselves and other times there is a long process. I worked on this little bird for several months. I began with a photo of a white-crowned sparrow perched on one of my fence posts. I was inspired by the humble beauty of this tiny creature that often goes unnoticed, but is a frequent visitor to my yard. I began painting from the photo just as I had framed the image with my camera. But as I worked, I felt there was something missing, not in the bird, but in the piece as a painting. Through my contemplative intuitive process, I added the ornament below, thinking I would paint the design. But as I progressed, I began to feel that the design in color and line detracted from the image of the bird instead of complimenting and balancing it as I wished. Therefore, I decided to incise a simplified version of the design into the paint and water-guild with 24 ct. gold leaf on top. I immediately felt it conveyed the idea of the importance of balancing nature and humankind and how beauty and humility can be found in both and the possibility that when they work together, their beauty is compounded.

I love what one of my Instagram followers had to say about it:

“Love seeing the progression of this piece. 👏👏👏 stunning transformation. When I first saw this today, I was drawn to the contrasting ideas of a humble, naturally beautiful creature juxtaposed to the ornate, golden architecture of man. Just love these two concepts side by side, making us think about the range of beauty as we see it - natural and man-made.” janniblack_art