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"Triumvirate"
28 x 26 ˝"
Acrylic on Cradled Birch, 2011
Orioles in African Tulip Tree
$8,400
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During a recent trip to Mexico, I came upon a glorious African Tulip Tree growing on the grounds of the condominium complex next door to where I was staying. I was enchanted to discover that this tree was a favorite hangout for the local oriole population, a bird which I’d tried in vain to photograph in my native San Francisco Bay Area for years. At least one species passes through Northern California every year, but the visitation is brief and the birds are naturally shy, so all of my best efforts had come to naught. But here were three species, Bullocks, Hooded, and Streak-backed, all in the same tree at the same time, their luminous orange hues shockingly close to the flame orange of the tulip tree flowers. Even with such a boon tantalizingly close, the birds were difficult to photograph, and I spent the better part of a morning camped out in close proximity, hoping they would become accustomed enough to my presence to venture into the lower branches. My primary concern in this piece was, of course, the relationship between the orange of the birds and the complimentary blue of the sky. Stylistically, I chose to leave parts of the painting “unfinished” to suggest the fleeting nature of the encounter. The tendrils of color and undisguised brushwork in the background are the abstract distillation of this sense of temporality.
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