The Raven

The Raven

24x24 acrylic on canvas

I thought I'd share some recent progress on a larger painting I've been working on.

What started out as a colorful mess 

(my mom and I did some collaborative painting on some of these initial layers)

became a collection of branches with some interesting bulbs on them

and then I became obsessed with this Springy green color and decided I needed it everywhere! And here this painting sat for several weeks.  I had it up on the wall so I could take little peeks at it throughout the day.

I finally felt like it needed something and this figure of a woman came to me and I ran with it.

After a little more defining, this swirl of 'leaves' came dancing out of the corner. And then again this painting sat for a couple of days. It didn't 'feel' quite right, but I didn't know what direction I wanted to go...

And then it just hit me... this raven 

(you might call it a crow, but we called them ravens in Alaska)

was just waiting for me to set him free.

And I feel REALLY good about where this painting sits now. Maybe a few final touches, but now it feels right. 

Ravens seem like such mysterious birds to me. It reminds me of the raven  I saw on my visit to Portland last year. I was walking to my last day of painting class with Jesse Reno and this raven appeared to be following me the whole way. I would think he was gone and then peek over my shoulder and see him, still there.  The way he looked at me was as if he expected me to understand what he was telling me. It was a strange moment, wondering if this bird was bringing me a message I either should or shouldn't listen to.  How was I to know? I've never had an experience with an animal like that.  When I told everyone in the class about it, they said I should have just asked him. I never uttered a word, but the next time I see a raven you can bet that I just might ask him what he wants.