Nature's Details: Experimental Painting Series
Oil on Paper and Canvas, 2020
These works were created during an experimental painting course using a maquette for reference.
These pieces are available for purchase.
These works were created during an experimental painting course using a maquette for reference.
These pieces are available for purchase.
Resilience
Acrylic on Canvas, 2018
A New York Times article titled "Shorebirds, the World's Greatest Travelers, Face Extinction" written by the director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, John Fitzpatrick, inspired this piece. These far-traveling birds are remarkable in their ability to travel distances spanning across the globe in a matter of days. Their decline is devastating and demands our attention because humans, too, depend upon shorelines and bodies of water that are in danger due to the systemic illness of urbanization.
Fitzpatrick writes: "The global collapse of migratory shorebird populations is much more than a calamity facing a group of exquisitely evolved birds. It also tells us that our global network of aquatic systems is fraying. If water is the world’s lifeblood and aquatic systems are its connective tissue, then the decline of the planet’s most spectacular global travelers signals a systemic illness that demands our attention and action."
The painting includes these threatened or endangered shorebirds: Australian Painted-snipe, Far Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Wood Snipe, Piping Plover, Spotted Greenshank, Sociable Lapwing, Great Knot
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/27/opinion/shorebirds-extinction-climate-change.html
A New York Times article titled "Shorebirds, the World's Greatest Travelers, Face Extinction" written by the director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, John Fitzpatrick, inspired this piece. These far-traveling birds are remarkable in their ability to travel distances spanning across the globe in a matter of days. Their decline is devastating and demands our attention because humans, too, depend upon shorelines and bodies of water that are in danger due to the systemic illness of urbanization.
Fitzpatrick writes: "The global collapse of migratory shorebird populations is much more than a calamity facing a group of exquisitely evolved birds. It also tells us that our global network of aquatic systems is fraying. If water is the world’s lifeblood and aquatic systems are its connective tissue, then the decline of the planet’s most spectacular global travelers signals a systemic illness that demands our attention and action."
The painting includes these threatened or endangered shorebirds: Australian Painted-snipe, Far Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Wood Snipe, Piping Plover, Spotted Greenshank, Sociable Lapwing, Great Knot
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/27/opinion/shorebirds-extinction-climate-change.html
Contamination
Acrylic and Trash on Wood Panel, 2015
Humans pose a huge threat to many species, yet we continue the same trends of self indulgence at a high cost. Pollution and pesticides wipe out 67 million birds in the US every year. Although this only accounts for 7.1% of the manmade causes of avian death, it leaves a huge dent in populations. Pollution is a byproduct of our convenience, and it is impossible to sustain species at this rate—they are at our mercy. Rhymes with PurpleOil on Canvas, 2015
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Beecause of DeathAcrylic on Canvas, 2015
Bees are integral to the success of our own species, yet we continue our unsustainable trends that are leading to their demise. There is an interdependence between all things, living and dead—in short, humans will not survive without bees. EphemeralAcrylic on Canvas, 2015
Life is fleeting, but still manages to arise from anywhere it can. |
Red-Winged Fairy-Wrens
Acrylic on Wood Panels, 2017
These pieces are available for purchase.
These pieces are available for purchase.
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Weather PhenomenaAcrylic on Canvas, 2018
Pieces painted to match weather phenomena, set to an Estonian choral piece about the seasons under the direction of Professor Tim Fitzpatrick. These pieces are available for purchase. |
Rufous Hummingbirds
Acrylic on Canvas, 2014
Don't Squish BugsWatercolor on Paper, 2016
As humans, it is important to know the impact we have on the environment. Even the smallest of things is connected to us; there is a network between every living thing. |
How Would You Feel?Acrylic on Wood Panel, 2016
Our society functions off of plastic, and it is filling the planet with no projected end. Plastic is especially out of place in our oceans, where it can replace half of an organism’s food source. Sea turtles are one of these victims. If--like the turtles--your plate was full of trash, how would you feel? As humans, we are responsible for the destruction we have caused, because it affects our world too. Change is necessary. |
Horsetail Falls, YosemiteWatercolor on Paper, 2016
North CascadesWatercolor on Paper, 2016
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EliminationWatercolor on Paper, 2016
This piece (Elimination) responds to the concerns I have about the environment after the election, because it is an issue we are all responsible for as humans, regardless of political beliefs. The birds in this painting are dead Bleeding Heart Doves, a species of pigeon that naturally has a red breast. Doves have been regarded throughout history as a symbol of peace and hope, but their death in my piece signifies the lack of hope and the fear I now have in not only our government but the American people in upholding essential environmental policies. We, as a species, need to not only be aware of our effect on the planet, but consider the fragile balance between life and death in our everyday lives. Like Sir David Attenborough said, humans should “cherish the natural world, because you’re a part of it and you depend upon it.” Although the recent election has diminished the hope many have for conservation efforts, it is still important for every one of us to be aware of our environmental impact. |