Coinciding approximately with the winter solstice, Starlings descend en masse upon Shady Side, chattering, foraging, and rising and descending in waves. Aflight, they evoke descriptions of Passenger Pigeons once filling the sky. For two days after Christmas, they were joined by Robins and Red-Winged Blackbirds splashing in the bird bath, eating winter and beauty berries, and foraging beneath the bird feeders and about the yard. The painting/collage Visitation: Foraging draws on this seasonal avian activity. Serendipitous tracing of a carved wood screen’s shadows led to my painterly flocks. The color palette is all around this time of year. The photo below was taken this morning from our living room window. It does not do the Starling’s visitation justice, but gives you the idea.
Apropos of Winter Landscapes, read a well written article here on a great painter, Charles Burchfield in today’s Washington Post.
Happy New Year everyone!
