Why are there so many crows?
To me it's simple....Crows are so variable....They can express so many of the things I want to say.......but to explain how they came to hold such a significant place in my work.....and to justify my almost constant use of their personnae.... that's complex.
The crow suits me........it's free...... and strong.....and maligned.....It soars atop mountains, its wing span dark and sleek......it screams its independence for all to hear.....(no passive aggressivity from these old souls)......it survives...it flourishes.... it's intelligent......(did you know some crows use tools?)
In the mythology of almost any civilisation you care to study the crow plays a part. Noah sent a crow out to find dry land.....it was too smart to return to that old sailor, so he sent out a dove.....or so we're told...but there is a sub-species of white crows......that's right.....pure white.....but with that same spirit.....that spirit of legend. There are many colour variations of the crow and....the bluejay.....that raucous winter screeecher, is a close relative.
In other traditions the crow is a trickster....or a shapechanger......and in my tradition...my personal tradition.....the crow represents the double edged sword of what others see as a gift but has at times seemed to me to be a curse...art. That creativity......that talent...that sets you apart from the rest of the world......that makes you stand alone. That's what "The Crow Lady" is about......I'll show you that another time.
The large (60" x 40") work below is the first crow painting I ever did.....the seed of all that was to come. I was living in a small village just outside of Cambridge, England.....in a lovely old house set between a sheep farm and an old church......Now because of the sheep and their rather casual approach to chewing and digesting, their droppings where large, generous and everywhere.....this attracted crows.... crows as big as cats.....crows that could take down a rabbit....crows that strutted like gangsters..... I was fascinated by them but didn't understand why as they flocked and cawed back and forth from nest to field, hundreds of them....Then one day I realised they reminded me of the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz......The flying monkeys that had terrified me as a child......Terrified ....Fascinated.....Inspired......... I knew I was on to something.....
To me it's simple....Crows are so variable....They can express so many of the things I want to say.......but to explain how they came to hold such a significant place in my work.....and to justify my almost constant use of their personnae.... that's complex.
The crow suits me........it's free...... and strong.....and maligned.....It soars atop mountains, its wing span dark and sleek......it screams its independence for all to hear.....(no passive aggressivity from these old souls)......it survives...it flourishes.... it's intelligent......(did you know some crows use tools?)
In the mythology of almost any civilisation you care to study the crow plays a part. Noah sent a crow out to find dry land.....it was too smart to return to that old sailor, so he sent out a dove.....or so we're told...but there is a sub-species of white crows......that's right.....pure white.....but with that same spirit.....that spirit of legend. There are many colour variations of the crow and....the bluejay.....that raucous winter screeecher, is a close relative.
In other traditions the crow is a trickster....or a shapechanger......and in my tradition...my personal tradition.....the crow represents the double edged sword of what others see as a gift but has at times seemed to me to be a curse...art. That creativity......that talent...that sets you apart from the rest of the world......that makes you stand alone. That's what "The Crow Lady" is about......I'll show you that another time.
The large (60" x 40") work below is the first crow painting I ever did.....the seed of all that was to come. I was living in a small village just outside of Cambridge, England.....in a lovely old house set between a sheep farm and an old church......Now because of the sheep and their rather casual approach to chewing and digesting, their droppings where large, generous and everywhere.....this attracted crows.... crows as big as cats.....crows that could take down a rabbit....crows that strutted like gangsters..... I was fascinated by them but didn't understand why as they flocked and cawed back and forth from nest to field, hundreds of them....Then one day I realised they reminded me of the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz......The flying monkeys that had terrified me as a child......Terrified ....Fascinated.....Inspired......... I knew I was on to something.....
