Missing birds

Swan pond, 8x10" oil on panel

There were actually two swans in this lake. I took several decent photos of them, but including them would have ruined the painting. They would have become the focal point in a hurry, ruining the overall impact and abstract qualities in this landscape. It was intentional that I painted all the sky in the water rather than above. I haven't looked at the painting upside down, but it might be fun to.

It’s the exception when I can appreciate wildlife in a painting. Unless it’s a bird perching motionless, I think the lack of movement in a painting of a wild animal is a contradiction. The only successful painting of a bird in flight I can remember seeing was a cardinal, indicated only by a red streak of paint. It was so much more convincing than a bird stopped dead in mid-air. Imagine a plein air painter saying to a bird in flight, “Okay, freeze!” Or even better, “Twenty minutes, and then we’ll take a break.”