Painting Crows
September 27, 2016
Recent watercolor paintings of crows
“All that is wild, is winged.”
— Jay Griffiths
I’ve been painting crows in preparation for some October displays at the library where I work. I have plenty of models — I bet I see at least one crow every time I step outside. With my hearing loss, I no longer hear the high-pitched tweets of many songbirds, but I still hear the raucous call of cawing crows. I’m thankful for that!
They are ubiquitous, as noted in the following poem. I love how Mary Oliver calls them the “deep muscle of the world.”
Crows
by Mary Oliver
From a single grain they have multiplied.
When you look in the eyes of one
you have seen them all.
At the edges of highways
they pick at limp things.
They are anything but refined.
Or they fly out over the corn
like pellets of black fire,
like overlords.
Crow is crow, you say.
What else is there to say?
Drive down any road,
take a train or an airplane
across the world, leave
your old life behind,
die and be born again —
wherever you arrive
they’ll be there first,
glossy and rowdy
and indistinguishable.
The deep muscle of the world.
September 27, 2016 at 7:51 am
Your crow paintings are beautiful as ever, but they also capture so much humor and personality. You wield a deft brush, Rosemary!
September 28, 2016 at 12:19 pm
you have contrived to give each its own character, expression and personality. Not crow is crow.
October 16, 2016 at 9:13 am
Ah, these are wonderful! Especially the last – there is so much life and immediacy there – as if he just dropped onto the page by some magic.