Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Witness

The Witness, Oil on canvas, 40x30

I am calling this painting done, but we'll see. Often I
stare at a painting long enough and I see what needs
to be changed/added. This was a fun piece, bringing
together the figurative and the abstract. I loved
working this way. I tried to make a Raven out of it,
but it insisted on being a Crow. Same family, Crows,
Ravens, Blue Jays, Magpies, right? My mother was
a big bird watcher. She said the Jay family was the
smartest as they used objects as tools. I guess no other
birds do that.

So I just opened the dictionary of bird totems and it
says in the first sentences "My grandfather told me
that the crow was the smartest of all the birds. What's
more, it even knew it was the smartest of birds and
enjoyed it to the fullest. In fact, it was so smart that it
chose to stay a crow, rather than move on to some other
area of evolution". There you go. As far as the totem it
says "Wherever crows are, there is magic. They are
symbols of creation and spiritual strength. They remind
us to look for opportunities to create and manifest the
magic of life. They are messengers calling to us about the
creation and magic that is alive within our world everyday
and available to us."
I like that and I'll leave you to it.

May magic and creativity abound in your day.

5 comments:

Teri said...

Katherine--I absolutely LOVE this piece! I wish that I had $1500 laying around...I would buy it in a heartbeat! I love what you have done as far as composition, color, AND subject matter. It speaks to me and I have the perfect place here at home for it. If I win the lottery...!

Uta said...

Ooh very delicious for the eyes. I particularly like those runs at the top. Lovely meaning of crow too. Glad you are back creating :)

Katherine said...

Jeez Teri I wish you had $1500 laying around also, I'd love to sell it to you. Thank you so much for your feedback it means a lot!

Katherine said...

Uta I love feeding your eyes with delicious art. :^}
All kidding aside thank you and yes, it is lovely to be back at the canvas.

Ann Christine Dennison said...

I love this, this crow has personality! The combination of this an the abstract background is perfect.