Oh, that Bad Bird. Have you had a naughty-boy dog? cat? boyfriend?  (I know you have.)  I painted this as an homage to that thing in us that seeks a little bit of darkness.  Even if they’re not good for us, we love them.

I started this painting by collaging a Matisse book that fell out of its binding to the 24″ x 24″ canvas.  I like painting on substrata that is almost fully obscured.  The Bird is the Raven King, a  black-feathered emperor of darkness, impossibly charismatic.  There’s a girl bird suggested in there.  You can see ravens underneath in the collage layer, but I meant this painting, with it’s little pink and green “curtains” on the side, to indicate a tragicomic scene in the drawing-room comedy of our love lives.

I gave him a crown, because he rules.

Who’s your Bad Bird?

News: a two-blog day! Woof!  Thanks to great friend, writer, cook and painter Sharyn Dimmick of the Kale Chronicles, who was kind enough to feature my Sonoma Pears Poached in White Wine, and a painting of a nocturnal pear.  Don’t miss her unique style: original art paired with each recipe.  She is that goddess, a woman who knows how to use her both her CSA veggie box and her paint box.